Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bank. .. .

Yesterday was just like any other day, well not really, the hubbs let me sleep in after a whirl wind of working day and then night.  He is a sweetie, I think I will keep him.  He went off to work and Big T went off to school, Sprat still sleeping and me still in the bed.  I decided I needed to get up and get moving and Sprat needed to get up too, he has a LOT of packing to do before he heads back to school next week. I started laundry and made my breakfast smoothie.  Have I told you about my smoothies?  I cannot remember if I have shared that or not.  I have been making smoothies with a nurti bullet.  I use fresh pineapple, frozen blueberries, frozen cherries, fresh banana, a piece of ginger and coconut water.  This is the best smoothie, I usually have some left over and I drink that around bedtime if Sprat doesn't get to it first.  He likes my smoothies too.
I finally get ready and I am off to the bank and a few other errands for the day.  I am driving the hubbs truck because my car is in the shop.  I was the victim of a hit and run on the highway right before Thanksgiving.  I am on my way now to get things done.   All of a sudden, it came out of nowhere, yep a deer.  I have been down this road so many times and have seen the deer and was able to stop and let them cross.  Today was not that day, this thing came barreling across the road at me and I could not avoid it.  I hate that feeling of hitting something, this is the second one I have hit in my lifetime.  Things like this usually only happen to me when the hubbs is out of town, I guess I should consider myself lucky that he was in town for this.  I was quite shook up after this and I pulled over to call my hubbs, a trooper, and my insurance agent and to check on the truck.  I sat there feeling stupid and tears streaming down my face thinking how dumb I was.  When I get scared or upset I cry, I have no control over it and I was very upset and shaken up after hitting that deer.  Physically I was fine but emotionally I was pretty bad off.  The front end of the truck was pretty bad too.  The trooper was very nice and very helpful and of course my insurance agent is also the best in the world.   While on the phone with my agent he suggested I take the truck to the shop where my car was being repaired and that my car was ready and I could pick it up and leave the truck.  I was thankful for that we were down to one car.  In the process of dropping the truck off and trying to pick up my car the hubbs phone rings and it is Sprat and he had locked himself out of the house.  He had called from our neighbors house and thankful for our neighbors because Sprat did not know his daddy's cell phone number by heart.  Before we could get the car we had to come home and let Sprat in the house and turn around and go back to get my car. 
Now let's round out the day with a very nice dinner with my three favorite men and oh by the way Happy Birthday to me!!  Yep that deer did a number on my Birthday and I won't tell you how old I am but it was a milestone birthday for me.  Ughhhhhh!!!

Emergency Fund?????

Do you have an emergency fund?  You may have your $1,000 quick cash emergency fund but I am talking about the 3-6 months of income emergency fund.  They are both important and are both very necessary.  The $1,000 quick cash is cash on hand that you can get to easily for emergencies like broken pipes and pay day is a week away or broken heat pump in the middle of summer.   The 3-6 month emergency fund is for times when you may not have an income.  Maybe you or your spouse are hurt and cannot work or you get laid off.  Unfortunately both of these situations can be your reality in today's economy.  
If you follow Dave Ramsey you have heard him talk about both of these items in his Financial Peace lectures.  I told you earlier you would get tired of me saying, "Dave says."  I do believe what he has to say works, we do not do everything according to Dave but we do most.  If you read what he has to say and really sit back and think about it, it makes sense.  I would not do it or recommend it if it did not make sense to me.
I have dipped into my $1,000 emergency fund and I replaced it as soon as dear hubby was paid.  With all of our debt paid except the house, any extra money we get is divided between the 3-6 month emergency fund and extra house payments.  We have already taken two years off of our mortgage and saved a good deal on interest.  You would be surprised what a mere $200 extra could save you in interest.
Now to figure out how much you need for your 3-6 months emergency fund.  Take your expenses for the whole month, be honest, short cutting and lying to yourself will not help you in the long run.  When you have your expenses for the month multiply them by 3 to get a 3 month estimate and multiply by 6 to get a six month estimate.  Last time I checked we had about a 5 month emergency fund.   This is very important for us because my husbands' business is very volatile, he has survived 5 lay offs in the last 4 years or so.  You just never know when you might get that call.  With our emergency fund in place it is not quite as scary.
Since my dear hubby had his injury and had to have surgery and is facing short-term disability and lots of rehabilitation, that emergency fund will be a cushion for us.  Dave always says you need that rainy day fund, because it will rain.  
I think when you have an emergency fund it is insurance against the rain.   We may need ours for doctor and hospital bills too.
I would recommend setting your 3-6 months emergency fund up in a money market account if your bank has one.  As your fund grows you can take advantage of that extra interest.  If it is in a money market account you are less likely to spend it on something that is not an emergency.
I do not get kick backs from Dave Ramsey, this is just something that I believe in and am passionate about.  

Have people just lost their minds??????

A friend and church member posted on facebook yesterday an incident that happened to her while picking up kids at school.  A man impatient to say the least  was trying to get around her and was demanding that she mover her car.  The child she was picking up was not in the car just yet and he proceeded to try and come through her window.  He broke her window, she got out of the car to try and get him away from the child in her car and he then went to his car and tried to ram her car.  All of this in the school pick up line.  I will say again, have people just completely lost their blooming minds?  This man has been charged with everything the Kernersville Police can charge him with.  I hope and pray that the school forbids him from ever being on that campus again.  My friend is ok, she said she was shaken up but she did not cry.  I had to laugh I would have been in tears all over the place.  She is a very strong woman and for that I am so glad, for her and the children she was picking up.  She set a tremendous example for them and anyone else that was there watching.
I think as a society we need to stop and take a breath and think before we act.  Yes, I get put out sometimes with people but I don't think I would get out of my car and confront them is such a manner.  We need to take a step back and start respecting each other a little more and teaching that to our kids.  If we don't we will be seeing and hear a lot more of this on the news.

to close for comfort. . .

I had my wake up call this morning.  While taking the kids to school this morning we were just about hit by an SUV.  I am thankful the Lord was with us and watching out for us because the person driving the other car was not even looking.  If we had been hit it would have hit the passenger side, where the kids were.  I am so thankful my little blackberry is short.  That and the Lord above is the only reason we were not hit.   This was a two way stop right of way issue.  Anyone out there a cop or have knowledge of the traffic law, I would love to hear your thoughts. 
I am still a little shaken.  I am worried about the kids too.  I asked them if they were ok and they said they were.   I know that sometimes things like this linger with kids and then sometimes they don't think a thing about it.    I am hoping these two don't think about it again.  I hate it when things like this happen, obviously it lingers with me and I will worry about this for months.   I worry about the fact that Jack will get his permit in 2 and a half years  and his license in 3years.  This is a bad intersection right above our house that my kids will pass through  many times a day once they have their license.   I know I am a worry wart.  That's my job, I'm  a Mom!