That $900 car repair in April taught me to stop ignoring my savings account
My transmission went out on my 2012 Civic on April 12 and the shop in Flint quoted me $900 I did not have. I put it on a credit card I swore I would never touch again, and now I am paying $75 a month in interest alone. I started moving $40 from every paycheck into a separate savings account at my credit union so this never happens twice. Anyone else got a bill that finally made them start a real emergency fund?
Getting that first $1,000 stashed is the hard part, but once you hit it you will sleep so much better. Try bumping that $40 up a little every time you get a raise or pay off a card, it adds up faster than you think.