New tires, you can’t eat them, but they can make it harder to eat

 I know most of our posts deal with food and recipes, but I wanted to do a post that harkens back to the budgeting post I did here about the envelope system of budgeting.

 My van got a flat tire the other day. Luckily my dear husband has always made sure I could change the tire on any car we drive. So I changed the tire and then went straight home to see how much money I had in our car repair/maintenance envelope. I set aside money every month in that category since we always drive older cars and all cars need oil changes and tires. There was enough to replace the tire that had worn out, and I breathed a sigh of relief. When I was younger, I did not know about the envelope system and every time something like this happened I would freak out! But now, I can be a little calmer about it knowing that the hit won't be as bad. Of course, now I really have to hope there are no other repairs for a while until I get it built back up again! By setting money aside from our regular account for expenses that happen rarely but do come up, we are giving ourselves a safety net. If money for car repairs or taxes is set aside in a different account or in an envelope at home, we won’t accidentally spend it and it will be there when we need it. 

We plan to put a nice chunk of our stimulus payment into this category to help prepare us for future expenses. I would love to spend that money on some other things, but not having money set aside for our cars makes me nervous, so funding this category pays for my peace of mind. I will continue to add to it every month like I have been and build up a nice cushion since a major repair is inevitable as my car is 20 years old!

 If you don’t have the money, some tire companies will let you finance your tire purchase. Now this can be a double edged sword since in the end you end up paying more for the tires, but if you need them now and can’t buy them outright, there are not a lot of options. I have heard it said that it is expensive to be poor, and this is one of those instances.

Not everyone is lucky enough to be in the same place that I am. I know this, and still remember those days well. Every time an unexpected expense came up, the first thing it directly impacted was what we ate. The EBT Snap benefits can be life savers on an occasion like this, as well as food pantries, your church, and your network of friends. We have been in that spot where the choice was food or paying a bill of some sort, and I have had to get super creative. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Do you have any tips on how to afford car repairs? Please share in the comments below!