It’s been a rough couple of months around here financially. First, we had the rather expensive car repair. Then we did our taxes and found out that not only are we not getting a nice fat return, Bruce actually owed money!
Then last week, we called a repairman to come look at our dishwasher – it was running so hot, it was melting plastic items, and in fact melted through most of the bottom of the utensil basket! (We could only use two of the 8 slots!). We booked him to repair the dishwasher (which was off warranty) and change the water filter in our fridge (which we thought was covered under our extended warranty – it used to be). Turns out, the filter is no longer covered by the extended warranty ($125), and the dishwasher cost us $176 for parts and labour. Ouch, ouch.
Unfortunately, it may not end there. After replacing a faulty heat sensor, we ran the dishwasher a couple of times, and both times water pooled in the bottom. Pressing the drain button cleared it out, but it was a concern… until Tuesday, when more than an inch of nasty mucky water pooled and would not drain, and the dishes were also all coated with yuck. Sigh. So the repairman is due back on Friday. I’m hoping that this will not cost us anything, simply because obviously whatever he did last week contributed to this problem!
As well, while getting a filling replaced this week, my dentist discovered a crack in my tooth – he’d like me to have a crown put on it. My insurance covers filling – but crowns are only covered 50%, and a crown will cost $890. That’s $445 I would have to come up with to pay my share – and right now, I don’t have that money.
The issue we’re having is, as much as we have some money put aside for things like this, the fact is, we’re pretty much out of that money. Our curveball account has cobwebs. So even though we weren’t making huge progress on our debt repayment, now we may have to slow down even more to build another cushion back up. At the same time, we absolutely have to have the appliance loan paid off by mid-June, so that takes priority. Things like this are why I think we never really get ahead on our debt repayment – we get so frustrated by things like this, we give up and just continue on the same path. I’m not sure how we’re going to deal with all of this, but we’ll figure it out somehow.
That TOTALLY SUCKS. I like your attitude. You will find a way. Just don’t dwell on it and everything will turn out just fine
Yep we’re pretty frustrated with the dishwasher situation, especially since I do a ton of cooking and it takes time to get everything cleaned up after. Time I could be spending blogging!
If that repair guy has the gaul to charge $300 for a filter change and a bit of dishwasher repair (which didn’t even FIX the problem), then he should be fixing his failed handiwork. If it costs you much more, it may have been better to just buy a cheap new dishwasher. If he doesn’t fix it, please post his name so I know who I’d want to AVOID AVOID AVOID for repairs (if I were ever living in your neck of the woods).
As for your tooth — don’t get a crown if possible. If “bonding” is covered (or mostly covered) then have him clean it, fill any cavities in it, and BOND the tooth. It doesn’t last forever, but if it’s covered and resolves the problem even for a year or two, it defers the expensive/long-term fix.
Turns out he dishwasher was a simple clogged drain – he fixed it free of charge. I’ll look into bonding – I definitely don’t have the $$ for a crown right now! Thanks for the tip!