Eric Holen

This month has been a little more difficult than normal with balancing finances.  It started with an unexpected $450 bill for Potter to have some surgery.  That followed with almost $160 for an air conditioner repair.  In addition to the unexpected expenses, Yvette and I were trying to set aside money for a short trip to El Paso.

All of these challenges reminded me of one of Yvette’s and my financial “backup plans”

It would have been very easy to have started hitting up a credit card when money started getting tight.  However, that would have hurt all of the work that Yvette and I have put into reducing our debt and not using credit.  Another option would have been to dip into our emergency savings account.  However, we have been reserving that for large unexpected expenses.  The solution, Wal-Mart gift cards.

A couple of years ago, Yvette and I started stocking up on Wal-Mart gift cards during the good times.  It started with one card that we received as a Christmas present.  We didn’t need anything at the time, so we stuck the gift card in a drawer.

Later we figured out that having Wal-Mart gift cards tucked away made a lot of sense.  While it would be better to have the money in a bank account, having the gift cards gave us another option for handling expenses without using credit during tight months.

How does it start?  First, during the good times, purchase a Wal-Mart gift card for $10, $20 or even $50 and then stick it in a drawer.  Repeat the process as needed to build an emergency stash.

Then when times are a little tight, pull out one of the gift cards.  Wal-Mart gift cards never expire.  In addition, they can be used for all of life’s little emergencies.  Need a tire for your vehicle?  Need milk, eggs or bread?  Need some medication?  All of those can be purchased at Wal-Mart.

Whatever situation you are in, make sure you have a “backup plan” for getting your through the month without depending on credit.

• Had a great time camping this past weekend with friends at Potters Creek on Canyon Lake. Here it is August and it was our first group camping trip of the season. Hoping to squeeze at least one more this year. Even though I wore sun screen, still managed to get burned on my shoulders and knees. Our friends brought out a personal water craft (PWC). Found out that 42 mph is the fastest my mind and heart would allow me to go.
• After a great trip, got home to find out the air conditioning had gone out again and it was 84 degrees in the house. After removing the panel, I confirmed the capacitor that had just been replaced 11 days ago, went bad. I called San Marcos Air Conditioning and they were out in just a few hours to replace the capacitor under warranty. The technician assumes that since we had not been running the AC very much over the weekend, it was a bad unit. He replaced it with two capacitors, one for the motor and another for the compressor, to distribute the load.
• Talking with the AC technician produced one of those “ah ha” moments. When I asked about installing a new AC unit, ours is 7 years old, he stated that they generally start around $7000. That put things into perspective for Yvette and I. While we continue to reduce our debt, we need to start building a home repair fund for major repairs as our home gets older.
• If everything goes as planned, Yvette’s mom should be permanently moving back in with us next week. After her being here for the month of July and gone in August, we are looking forward to having her move back. We anticipate that she will be taking El Paso trips, for a few weeks at a time, every few months since that is where her family is located.

Buddy, my son for the last 12 years, is growing older each day. It pains me because he has been a part of Yvette’s and my marriage and life for so long.

Growing up, my family always seems to have a cat in the house. It wasn’t until my parents were divorced that we got out first and only dog, Crystal. Unfortunately, Crystal got out and we never found her.

In June 2008, the year after we got married, Yvette showed up at my office with a small puppy. Her co-worker’s dog had puppies and they were trying to give them away to loving homes. It only took me a minute to fall in love with one of the puppies, who I quickly called “Buddy”.

That evening we went to PetSmart where we bought his food, bed and other supplies. Yvette laughed at me because I was pushing him very slowly in the cart to avoid “shaking dog syndrome”.

As much as I love Buddy today, I can’t forget the time he bit me on the nose when I was trying to play with him while he was eating (bad idea) or the time that Yvette wanted to kill him after he chewed up her eye glasses.

Buddy has traveled with us from our mobile home in El Paso, to our apartment in Austin, back to our mobile home, and finally to the our current home.

As I type out this blog post, he is asleep on a dog bed not seven feet from me.

Buddy is getting older. Due to a cataract, he is blind in his right eye. He used to be able to see and bark at dogs on the television, but not anymore. His left rear knee, which has given him problems since we was young, doesn’t work ¼ of the time. He has a skin condition which requires us to put lotion on his chest. Finally, we have an ongoing challenge with keeping his ears clean. With all of his issues, I could not be happier that after 12 years, he runs around the yard and barks like a dog half his age.

Still, I can’t help but notice that he can’t get on the couch without assistance or that he misses the potty sheet on more than one occasion.

Yvette often acknowledges that while we have three wonderful boy dogs, Buddy is my son.

My hope is that “My Buddy and Me” will continue for as long as possible. I love you Buddy.

Today, Yvette, her mom and I spent the day hunting down and buying school supplies for one of Yvette’s co-workers. It was interesting for me on two levels. First, last year I spent a day with two young girls getting them school supplies while their mom was away on a trip and their dad was laid up at home due to a cardiac condition. Second, it reminded me of the financial struggles I went through during my first marriage.

Yvette had found out that one of her co-workers, a mother of two, was depressed because she didn’t know how she could afford school supplies for her two children. Yvette took it upon herself that she and I would purchase most of the school supplies for the two children. I didn’t have any augments since we do not have children of our own and after having bought (and reimbursed for) school supplies the previous year, I know how quickly they could add up.

I remember the financial struggles I went through during my first marriage. At that time, our local supermarket would not run your credit card unless you charged more than $25. So my then wife and I would make several passes through the supermarket charging just under the limit to ensure that we had food to feed ourselves and our daughter Megan.

While I have some of the worst buyer’s remorse, I did not have any problems spending money on school supplies. Even Yvette’s mom jumped in and bought some supplies on her limited budget. It was nice to be able to give back and give thanks for what we have been blessed with.

• Yvette and I were in the gym at 4:50 am this morning, the first time in at least a couple of months. It felt great even if my body told me I wasn’t strong enough to do my old dumbbell routine.
• Almost a week and a half with Yvette’s mom staying with us. The transition has been a lot smoother than I originally thought. It will be strange when she heads back to El Paso at the end of July.
• Wanted to go camping with friends this weekend, but it couldn’t happen. Looking forward to our camping trip at Canyon Lake in August.
• Closing in on a year of maintaining my weight at or below 160 lbs. A couple of weeks ago, Yvette finally made me donate the last of my big clothes that I had been holding onto for just in case.
• Had a great time meeting with friends for dinner and drinks last week. Wish we could do it more often.
• Pleased that we paid off another bill this month as we work towards becoming debt free, except for the house. It is a slow process, but Yvette and I are making progress every month.