Most people hate to admit when their significant other is right and they are wrong. Luckily for Ellis, I’m not one of those people. When I began this project earlier this year Ellis, an experienced writer of web content, admonished me. “Honey, if you are going to do this, keep in the habit, otherwise life will get in the way of posts.” And as he predicted, my otherwise busy life overshadowed the blog. But I’m back! And determined to keep you up to date on my quest to being at the top of my game, both fashionably and fiscally. So rather than updating you on all the things that have transpired since my last update, I’ll just jump into “today’s” issue – the importance of a rainy day fund.
I moved into my house when I started grad school. It’s a sweet mill-style bungalow with hardwood floors and tall cabinets. I fell in love. But after all of the inspections were done, I knew I was in for a world of work. The house had to be re-wired, the foundation needed to be “shored up”, and the AC unit was deemed “on its last leg.” It was, however, still working which, on the grad school budget, was good enough for me. That unit, which I have recently learned is older than I am, has kept chugging along all this time. That is, until this summer. In Columbia, which is “Famously Hot”, there is nothing more upsetting than opening your back door after a long day at work to a wall of heat. Well that nightmare has been a reality for me on multiple occasions this summer. The coils of the old unit freeze from being over worked, and I’d open the door to two wilted panting puppies and a homemade sauna. Earlier this summer Ellis wanted to go ahead and replace the relic of a unit, but once we got it kick-started again, I hated to do it. But just as Ellis predicted, the unit finally died here we are without any AC, having to coordinate replacement of Old Less-Than-Faithful. Thankfully the last few days have been unseasonably cool so the house is pretty pleasant.
Ellis and I juggled multiple HVAC repair guys coming in and out of the house giving us estimates ranging wildly in price (ranging over $3000.00 from highest to lowest quote). We decided on this great repairman who was referred to me by a staff member at my office. Thankfully we’ve been saving along and along to prepare of rainy (or in this case, hot) days. I am also excited to report to you all that if you are planning on making any home improvements THIS IS THE YEAR! This year, thanks to some changes in the Federal Tax Code, homeowners are eligible for a multitude of tax credits for home improvements that make your home more energy efficient. You can take a look at a great breakdown of the different credits here, but for our purposes we will be able to get back 30% of the cost of the new unit come tax return time! It will be hard to see all my hard saved money leave my little nest-egg account, but it just goes to show how incredibly important it is to have that money available. This should also be just the incentive I’ll need to do my taxes earlier than April this year.
And for the official record: Ellis, you were right. Twice!
Next time, Mad for Vintage Fashion
