Well, it happened. It only took a month but my first task and additional expense as a homeowner has shown its jagged teeth and breathed fire into my wallet. The central air system, which we knew was very old, decided to stop working and given the age and poor maintenance by the previous owner, it will most likely never work again.
Since it’s not financially wise to spend the money repairing a 28 year old, highly inefficient cooling system, we were forced to make a decision about having a brand new A/C installed. Something which was estimated to cost nearly $6000.
Now ultimately our electrical bill be lower and my family will have a high quality air conditioning system for the first time ever, but man does it sting. No one has an extra $6000 lying around. In fact the only way we are able to afford it is because of an upcoming settlement I have scheduled, Lord willing, for next Wednesday. Now I had hoped to be able to put some of that money away to build up our safety net, but God had other plans apparently.
I know I should be grateful that this transaction will provide me with the money for this massive repair, but it’s hard to see so much of it disappear when I had hoped to use the money in other ways.
But in the end, this is what we homeowners sign up for and the security that having a (soon-to-be) comfortable home for my family is ultimately worth this relatively small investment for what I hope to be years of peace of mind and great memories.
Here’s hoping the next big repair is a long way off, I’d like to finish unpacking before having to drop another 6 grand.
