Let's hear some stories about how your emergency fund saved your bacon.
I'll start...
A large & heavy glass bowl slid off a poorly mounted shelf tonight and landed in our toilet. About an hour later we noticed water on the floor, and we found a hairline fracture in the toilet bowl. Knowing how our apartment operates, guess what we have to buy tomorrow.
Got into a fender-bender a few months ago. Was able to pay my insurance deductible without tapping a credit card.
New toilet installed! parrot
Waiting on the price. :-\
Recently I suffered the pleasure of a hernia. Post surgery my innie is now an outie with a smile shaped scar but I'm not in pain. Needed to tap my EF to cover the gaps of my crappy health insurance.
I got laid off at the end of September 2015. I was really lucky because I was fully buffered, had an Emergency Fund that had about 7-8 months of full on expenses, had 80 hours of leave payout plus 2.5 months of severance (of course the net on the severance check was about 50% of gross because I forgot to reduce my 401(k) contribution to 0% after my last regular paycheck plus the payroll system calculated the taxes as if the amount was representative of a regular paycheck).
Anyway, I didn't work until I got a consulting assignment starting the last week of March 2016. That lasted through the end of April. Then I went on vacation for a week and then I started a new full time job. With minor lifestyle cuts (because I guess I didn't believe I would be out of work as long as I was - I really thought I'd find something by mid-November with a December start) I actually didn't have to touch the Emergency fund until the second half of March. Ended up using about ~$4K (~1/6) of the Emergency Fund which I rebuilt to the February 2016 level by September. At the time I was buying my health and dental insurance off the Maryland Exchange for 5 months because it was cheaper than COBRA $335/mo for POS vs $550/mo for PPO (severance package covered COBRA through the end of Dec 2015). Health insurance at new job kicked in on June 1. My consulting job brought in a chunk of change, but after setting aside 30% for quarterly taxes, I used the rest to keep myself buffered as I transitioned into the new job (my first May paycheck was small because it only covered the 9th-15th) and to start a new category for my HVAC replacement because the seasonal check-up in March said I would most likely need a full replacement in 2-3 years.
Wow, you were definitely prepared. Nice. 👍
Toilet damages: $157. Boo. :-\
@jenmas I've been in that position for about 2 years now: able to handle 6 to 7 months of unemployment. There have been a few occasions where the longevity of the company I work for was questioned (union strike right before the holidays, made a lot of people really nervous). I can't say I was worried. :)
Quote from: asromzek on November 01, 2016, 07:53:24 PM
Toilet damages: $157. Boo. :-\
Bummer. Could be worse, I guess. Plumbers are spendy!
Quote from: Alex on November 01, 2016, 08:30:13 PM
Quote from: asromzek on November 01, 2016, 07:53:24 PM
Toilet damages: $157. Boo. :-\
Bummer. Could be worse, I guess. Plumbers are spendy!
You would think that the 10 years of rent I paid at my apartment would have been enough to cover an accident like that...