Caving-in for peace of mind

A month or so ago, I recounted my sad, sad tale of dealing with a series of extra bills I could have planned in advance for, but didn’t.

These bills included my annual contribution towards the financial well-being of ICBC, my son’s summer camp fees, inline roller hockey fees and next season’s soccer and ice-hockey fees. Without dipping into debt or long term savings, I had 90% of the grand total paid, in part by cutting back on fun spending.

And then the unexpected happened. My car mechanic needed an extra $700 to fix my brakes. This blew my brilliantly-conceived plan to little bits. Once I realized I would not be able to handle this without using debt or dipping into long-term savings, I did what any sensible guy would do: I bought a barbecue.

I’m not saying that is the financially prudent thing to do. And if I was more disciplined I would never have bought a “wanted” as opposed to a “needed” item with outstanding bills on hand. However, my son and I had a wonderful time making our first batch of burgers. I’ll cover the bills using savings, remember that my son has opportunities as a result and that I have a safe car to get him there.

I can live with this…