Uncommon Cents

If you’ve followed my still unfolding truck odyssey you’ll note that I made reference to my emergency fund and I’m needing to dip into it. This is warranted in my opinion; this is an emergency, although not in line with a medical emergency or unemployment. While my need for a vehicle is not in line with my need for shelter, air, or food, it’s definitely higher up than, say, a new computer or bicycle or digital camera.

The problem that comes up with dipping into the emergency fund is discerning what expenses are truly related to the emergency and what are not. For instance, I got a ride home from a friend on the night of the incident and a ride into work today from a different friend. In each case, I gave the driver a few dollars (and a thank you card) for gas. Are those dollars part of the emergency?

Similarly, because I was running so behind on Monday, I couldn’t do my usual grocery shopping and dinner prep. Is the soda I bought the next morning (in lieu of the one I usually bring out of my grocery stash) and the fast food meal I bought the next night part of the emergency as well?

In the first case, I think the answer is yes; in the second, the answer is no.

One of the issues I have with urgent or emergent situations is that they tend to get me out of my routine, and when I get out of routine, efficiency and frugality go out the issue. It becomes difficult to get blog posts done on time. It’s easy to decide to eat out rather than make food at home. And of course, the longer I stay in this funk, the worse the situation becomes.

For me, at least, emergency spending can easily become overspending. When I’m in this mode, I must refocus, retreat, review, and reverse–anything to get myself back in gear and back in routine. Awareness is a lot of the battle, and now that I’m aware what mode I’m in, I need to make effort to get out of it.

Tags: Emergency fund, Frugality, Social aspects

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