The After Effect of Unexpected Expenses
Then…
- I remember when unexpected expenses meant deciding which bill would be paid and which bill would have to wait.
- I remember when unexpected expenses meant I had to borrow money from a friend or family member to make it through the end of the month.
- I remember when unexpected expenses meant we had to eat dinner at mom’s house a few nights a week to make the food at home last.
- I remember when unexpected expenses meant another trip to Social Services for assistance with the electric bill.
- I remember when unexpected expenses meant asking for more hours at work.
- I remember when unexpected expenses meant a domino effect that took 2-3 months to recover.
- I remember when unexpected expenses sucked because they threw my life out of whack.
And now…
Unexpected expenses are more of a inconvenience, instead of a major setback.
Wanna know what happened to me yesterday? Oh hell, I’m gonna tell ya anyway! LOL
My baby, Honda Love, tried to give me grief this past weekend. She decided to test my patience with a warning light at the most inconvenient time - when Debt Hater and I were trying to find a bar for after work drinks. LOL I probably should have taken that as a sign, huh? But noooooo, ya girl doesn’t do signs when margaritas are on the brain. LOL So I said, we’re gonna ignore this for now and keep it moving.
Then after work drinks turned into Saturday. And Saturday was ripe with its own distractions. I had a fabulous friend visiting for the weekend and we broke bread ’til the wee hours of the morning. Let’s blame that one on wine. LOL Ok, so Saturday turned into Sunday, and Sunday…let’s just say I ignored the warning light for 3 whole days.
On Monday morning, I finally decide to take a quick peek at the owner’s manual. This is when I learned that the warning light was related to the emissions system. Oh damn, that sounds kinda important. So I keep reading and notice words like ‘emergency’ and ‘major damage.’
Shyt!
So I pull into the nearest Honda service center on my way to work and inform them of my little inconvenience. As usual, they treat me like a customer from a lineage of royalty. Oh don’t worry, I’m not naive. They have my entire vehicle history at their finger tips and they know I take care of my Honda Love = $$$$$. Within five minutes, they take my keys and tell me it’ll cost $110 to “diagnose” the problem. He rattles off a litany of things that it “could” be. My brain does not process the number or the premature diagnoses. So I say ok. Then they tell me that they’ll call to inform me of their findings. Cool.
So I’m standing there. He’s looking at me. I’m looking at him. No words are being exchanged though. He probably thought I was worried about the cost, but I was thinking…looka here partna, you just took my car and ya girl gotta get to work. Let’s get moving! Then the light bulb goes off - I can see it in his eyes - and he goes “Oh, the metro stop is right on the corner to the left. We’ll call you in about an hour.”
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH…
Now if I didn’t hear anything else he said, I was definitely listening now. I’m thinking, did this dude say “metro?” Naw bruh, I just gave you my ve-hi-cle and I’m about to drop some cold-hard-cash up in here. Either you need to give me another Honda to drive or you better get that courtesy shuttle on and poppin’. Ya heard me! Dude said the shuttle drivers weren’t in yet and asked if I could wait a half hour. Lookin’ at my watch, it’s 7:15. Uh, how about no! So I said, “how did you get to work this morning?” He said, “I drove my car.” Then I smiled. 
By the end of the day, I had to fork over $233 for a new oxygen sensor and air filter. Although it was not part of my budget, I didn’t have to think twice about the impact it would have on the rest of the month. It just means I’ll need tighter controls on my cash flow when I go partying with Serenity this weekend. And it may require another shopping hiatus. But that’s ok. I can live with it. As long as I didn’t have to ride the metro, right? LOL
And guess what? The Honda service manager was kinda cute, so I tried to get him to pick me up from work too. LOL! But he reassured me that the courtesy shuttle would be front and center at 5:00 on the dot. And sure enough, they were right there waiting. When I picked up my car, a business card was stapled to the receipt. On the back was a handwritten phone number and a message that said, “call me when you really need a ride.”
Ha! Maybe $233 wasn’t much of an inconvenience after all.
~*~*~*~*~*~Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!
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I never get digits when unexpected expenses arise. You lucky …
Always bring your “A” game, never know when you’ll meet Mr. Right. Wait…you’re half married so you don’t need that advice. LOL [-SM]
I love how that went down. So uh u gonna call him? And just so I can assume right, he drove you to work right?
I doubt it. And yes he took me to work. LOL [-SM]
“call me when you really need a ride.”
LOL! Can I have some of your swagger, please? Glad everything worked out for you.
Girl, I don’t have any swagger. I was just tryna avoid the metro! Ha! [-SM]
That check engine light is never usually an emergency situation. If you have an AutoZone or Checker/Shucks/Kragen in your neighborhood, take it there. They will plug in a computer to your car and tell you what the problem is for FREE. No need to spend $110 on the diagnosis at Honda.
I have more money than time and the $110 went towards the repair, so it’s all good. If it were a battery problem, sure. But an engine/emission problem, Auto Zone can diagnose but not fix. I’ll take my chances with Honda. [-SM]
Girl, I would have died if I read that note on that card.. Hmmm. My mind would have gone WAY above what he might have been referring to.. LOL! And I’m looking forward to the partying.. And I was just thinking this morning that I wonder when it happened that I didn’t look forward so much til paydays. I was wondering if my son even knew when my payday was. I remember when I was younger, and my Aunt got paid, I knew b/c we were balling.. But then mid month, hey we were at home waiting til the next pay check..
Trust me, we’re on the same page b/c I was thinking the same thing. Just didn’t want to imply it here. [-SM]
Wow, I was thinking, “girl, check your gas cap”. That is usually what causes the check engine light to come on. Trust me the BMW dealer will charge $500 to diagnose that little problem.
I did that on Friday but the light remained. [-SM]
Ladies, check the gas cap first when that light comes on. It may take a few cycles to turn off but, much cheaper than a trip to the stealer.
LOL @ stealer. Thanks for the warning. [-SM]
Frugal JD
ooh Mr. iCandy has competition??!! Go ‘head!
Competition is a lovely thing! It keeps the game fair. LOL [-SM]
I think I will take my credit for this. After all, I did tell you to ignore the light! LOL
Yea, it’s all YOUR fault! LOL [-SM]
I’m working on getting to the point when an unexpected expense doesn’t take 2 - 3 months to recover from (I’m really working on making sure those “unexpected expenses” aren’t trips out of town, more food than I needed to eat and clothes I could’ve waited on!).
LOL…I love it!
I’m glad it all worked out and you are so right about unexpected expenses…
Love the explicit “If you are going to treat me like a Queen, then go all the way. Would you expect a Queen to take the metro and pay for the so-called privilege?” LOL
WOW, S-W-Agger all the way…My Mommma says always dress like your going to meet your husband LOL..you are str8 Cakin Pimpin…LOL
Metro???
I’m glad everything worked out.
I was going to tell you to check the gas cap too but frujaljd beat me to it. My ‘03 Impala has done it a couple of times in the past two years and every time my son has gassed up and been in a hurry and the gas cap wasn’t put on properly.
On a previous car when the mechanic couldn’t figure out what was wrong they replaced the oxygen sensor.
Look at it this way, it couldda been worse ! Magaritas— I like!
-making a “to do” list for next month.:)
The one and only Single Ma! LOL