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JINX

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Are you superstitious? I’m typically not.

But yesterday as I was typing up a post about mending holes in pants and being mid-way through a No-Spend week, I swear I felt a little bit like I was jinxing myself. I ended the post with this one sentence:

Fingers crossed there are no disasters and nothing crazy comes up! (knock on wood)

I swear I felt a little tingle in my tummy, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. It was like when someone is behind you and you can *feel* them without actually seeing them. I brushed it off at the time. But I sure did remember the feeling at 6:00pm that evening as I was driving home from work, when my car started dinging a million warnings and the power steering went completely out on me.

Luckily, I was able to safely navigate into a parking lot on the side of the road. I was able to call hubs to come get me, and everything was fine (no one got hurt, no accidents, etc.)

BUT. So much for that “no spend” week.

The silver lining of the story is that I still have an extended warranty on my car! Remember when I just had to use it for the first time this past summer? At the time I said I should probably cancel the warranty afterward because, honestly, who ends up using it more than once? Statistically speaking, I thought we were in the clear. We should cancel the warranty after the service and take whatever refund we were owed (since we had bundled the warranty with the car loan, it has already been paid in full).

I am now SO GLAD we didn’t! I was able to use our Roadside Assistance through our car insurance (we use and love Progressive!) to have the car towed to the dealership for the warranty repair work. I’ll also be able to use a loaner car, also covered by the warranty company, for up to 7 days. There’s a deductible that applies (it’s either $200 or $250, can’t remember at this point), but I’m sure that’s MUCH better than what I might end up paying otherwise (there’s some issue with the power steering, advanced trac, and also some warranty backup camera issues that were unrelated but will get repaired at the same time).

It’s still a huge inconvenience. Last night was a mess – super late dinner for the kids, no baths, late to bed. And this morning was tough too – with only one car we had to take the girls in early so hubs could get to his own school classes. I’m at home waiting for the tow truck (which is currently running late) and then I’ll be getting picked up by the rental car company so I can go get a rental for the week. Obviously totally interfering with my work day and I’ve had to cancel some meetings and move other things around. I’m frustrated we aren’t going to be able to have a no-spend week after all and I’m still stressed about spending extra money given our tax situation (in fact, one of the meetings I had to move from this morning was supposed to be a meeting with our CPA).

But even with the annoyances and inconveniences, I’m BEYOND GRATEFUL I still have this extended warranty and that it’s still in effect. Guys – it expires at 125,000 miles and I’m at 120,000 miles right now. This is HUGE!!! I don’t know what the total vehicle costs will end up being, but I’m thankful that my personal liability is limited to just the deductible.

Now…is it the weekend yet??? Ooof!!


8 Comments

  • Reply Melissa |

    I love reading your blog and I pray your car repair goes well! I just wanted to give you a heads up that I had a similar problem a few months ago and it was not the power steering. It was the tensioner belt. Please make sure the mechanic checks that as well 🙂

  • Reply Teri |

    So frustrating! But silver lining is….you have an emergency fund! And this is an emergency! Remember 3 years ago if this had happened you would be completely stressed out and putting the deductible on a credit card, probably. You’re making HUGE strides…..this is just a minor setback. 🙂

  • Reply Megan |

    That sucks but it is just a small bump in a long road. You will push past it.

  • Reply Megan |

    That sucks but it is just a small bump in a long road. You will push past it.

  • Reply T'pol |

    Hi Ashley, today I came across this article over at MyMoneyBlog about Navient:
    http://www.mymoneyblog.com/dont-trust-student-loan-servicer-navient.html

    Knowing that you have had problems with them, I wanted to share.

  • Reply Joanne Mahoney |

    Frustrating as it must be…you will move past this. On the bright side, you have the extended warranty. Thank goodness! You made the right decision not to cancel it. Next week or the week after that, you can try to have a “no spend week.” It sounds like you are serious about committing to cutting costs….so you will.

  • Reply Hilary |

    A couple of years ago, my husband just so happened to take his car in for engine trouble. He was at 99,850 miles. He needed a completely rebuilt engine, which he was covered for up to 100,000 miles. He was 150 miles away from being responsible for a $3,000 engine! I love when things like this happen and you have the OMG I’m so lucky moments. Glad you are okay! I used to read this blog all the time and dropped off after the last couple left. I’m looking forward to reading again! Good luck in your debt payoff!

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