My husband and I recently made a decision—probably better described as a determination—that will affect us in a huge way financially and has the potential to change lives. While it’s incredibly terrifying and a massive leap of faith, we’ve never been so excited!
Things started to fall apart just as soon as we were resolved…
Vet Visit. First came an unexpected vet visit for our puppy who was about 10 months old. We have three dogs besides her who we’ve raised from puppies, so we weren’t overly worried and could find a wealth of information online. However, we’d had some recent concerns about her health that we just couldn’t make sense of, so we thought it would be best to take her back to the vet who spayed her.
HVAC Issues. This summer (during one of the hottest and most humid months in middle Tennessee, of course), we started having issues with the upstairs air conditioning. Unfortunately, we got some bad advice from a technician who suggested “patching” the problem to save money and to potentially get more life out of the unit until we could save up to replace it. That ended up being a complete waste because it wasn’t even a month later, and the air completely went out. And it was only getting hotter out. We couldn’t put off fixing it because our downstairs unit would get overloaded and go out too. The way our HVAC system works is that there are two completely separate units—one for the first floor, and one for the second floor. One thing I quickly learned is that both are considered dual units, meaning it’s a package deal with all-in-one air and heating. In other words, we needed to replace the entire upstairs unit, air and heating included. (This type of HVAC system costs the most to replace too.) Ouch!
Tire Replacement. One of the tires on my husband’s car kept going flat, and he was tired of airing it up. He decided to take it in to the shop one Saturday morning, and we found out it needed replacing immediately. The tech was shocked it held up as long as it did and never blew out on the expressway. He showed us how the tire was literally deteriorating from the inside out. I’ve never seen anything like it! We knew we’d eventually need to replace all of tires, but thought we had a little more life left on the rest of them. We were only able to replace the one tire at this point.
Lawn Mower. The mower we just bought late last summer quite literally wasn’t cutting it anymore between the tough grass (mostly weeds, really) and all the rain we received this summer, which caused the lawn to grow at lightning speed. The sad thing is, we also have a riding lawn mower, but it’s been out of commission for a couple of years. It’s way too expensive to replace or even repair at this point. We finally came to the realization that the push mower would need replacing. The yard was getting too bad, and we were just waiting for the HOA to write us a nastygram about our lawn not complying with the rules.
Plumbing Updates. Since fall is almost upon us and winter is just around the corner, I decided having our annual home inspection would be wise in order to anticipate any work we would eventually need to have done. After all, it would be terrible to find out that our furnace had stopped working in the middle of January! Our house is about 6 years old, so the checklist of things that are wearing out is starting to grow, especially where the builder chose quantity over quality. While the home inspection brought mostly good news, it revealed about $3,000 in plumbing repairs to be done in the next 1-3 months, and a much-needed $150 HVAC repair, which needed to be done immediately.
Dog Sickness. If you’ve ever felt bad for dogs because they eat the same thing all the time, don’t. If you’ve ever thought about feeding them table scraps or “people food,” don’t do it. (Without getting too science-y, a dog’s digestive system cannot process anything too complex; it’s better if they eat the same thing all the time…and you won’t hear them complain!) We’re normally really good about not giving in to the puppy peer pressure, but threw the rules out the window one evening when we gave our dogs a portion of the results of our small cookout—seasoned French fries! The next day, two out of four dogs ended up getting sick at the same time. They sleep in their crates during the day, so when we discovered what had happened, two crates looked like crime scenes. (That is not an exaggeration, I promise.) What an adventure!
Brake Jobs. Over the last few months, my SUV had become progressively worse each time I applied the brakes, especially at high speeds on the expressway. I never had a doubt it would stop, but keeping hold of the steering wheel was becoming more and more of a challenge as the vehicle would shudder drastically at 50+ mph. Since I commute about 50 miles per day, I knew what needed to be done (and soon), but was dreading the deficit to the checking account.
Dental Work. Sadly, it had been at least a year since we were able to go to the dentist with a change in dental coverage (and lack thereof at one point), so my husband recently found out he would need to have some extensive work done.
All these things popped up in about 3 months’ time, so it’s hard to believe how it all turned out…
- The vet visit wasn’t too expensive, and we got the all-clear. The puppy is perfectly healthy!
- We had most of the money already saved up to replace the HVAC system and were able to cash flow the remainder.
- We were thankful to have replaced the tire when we did because the situation could have been much worse! My husband drives a Mustang GT, so it takes a very specific (and typically more expensive) type of tire. Before we bought a new tire, we asked the tech to see if they happened to have a used tire in the right size and type that we needed. They never have used tires when we need them, so it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. But this time, it worked out! We walked away with a gently-used tire that will give us another 10,000+ miles for under $40. Amazing! Now we have some extra time to save up for a full set of new tires.
- We haven’t had much luck buying used mowers the last few years, so we bought a new lawn mower this time around, which ended up being a huge blessing in many ways. It was end of summer (apparently not peak time to sell yard equipment), so the associate at the hardware store gave us a deal, well below sticker price. The first time my husband got to use his new “toy,” he finished mowing the yard in record time, and it made such a difference that the yard looked better than it had in years. The bonus was that it even mulches up the “fertilizer” the dogs plant in the yard, which saves tons of clean-up time!
- My husband completed $1,000 of the plumbing updates for under $150, and we had the major HVAC repair done immediately, which was a drop in the bucket compared to replacing our HVAC system a month or so earlier!
- Thank goodness the dog sickness only lasted 24 hours, and we didn’t need to take them to the vet. The adorable victims are in perfect health again!
- I’m not exactly sure how the dental work is going to shake out at this point, but we’ve got some extra money stashed away in an HSA (health savings account), and surely it won’t be as expensive as an HVAC system!
I couldn’t make these things up if I tried! The fact that they all happened within the span of a couple months is crazy. But as we went through this trying time I was reminded, “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” (II Corinthians 12:9) and—one of my favorites—”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
Mediocrity is the enemy, and being lukewarm makes God sick (Revelation 3:16). So make bold commitments and stand by them. If you live to tell about it like we did, it’ll probably make a great story too! You know you’re on the right path when things happen to discourage you, or when people don’t agree with you. That’s ok! It’s how you know you’re making a difference.
☕️ Journal Java
- What is a determination you had that was met with the greatest amount of opposition?
- What has been the biggest financial setback you’ve experienced when striving for something really life-changing?
- What is the best advice you give yourself when things get tough?