We were off to such a great start, so close to paying off our first credit card in order to get that snowball rolling and the obstacles have all ready begun. It is such a discouraging and frustrating feeling, but I know the key to success is accepting how crappy things can seem sometimes while still staying positive, grateful and seeing as much silver lining as possible. So despite the following obstacles, that is what I am trying to do.
First it was a shattered window. The who, how and where are not really relevant, but one of our brand new $200 windows was shattered and needed immediate replacement.
Negative thoughts: There goes money we could have used to keep paying down debt. We'll never get anywhere. It is no wonder the world lives in the hole. Life seems to make it that way.
Silver lining: We have the cash and do not need to put it on a credit card. Granted, payments will slow for a little bit until we can rebuild our emergency cushion, but I thank God that we have that cushion. While we have to slow slightly in paying off the debt, at least we aren't accumulating more.
But even worse, one of our vehicles was totaled. Like totaled totaled. It's done, dead and gone only worth the scrap metal it has become.
Negative thoughts: You're kidding me. My husband works an hour away from home meaning two cars are an absolute necessity for us. We had actually just planned on selling it as it was a gas-guzzling SUV in order to buy a more cost-efficient car but now, we are certainly not going to be able to sell it for enough to replace it which means, unlike the $200 window, we are going to be out a couple thousand dollars. Ugh. Worst part? It was only insured for liability and towing which means, due to the cause of the accident (horrible miserable awful stupid weather conditions), we don't even get any insurance money for it. When it rains, it pours.
Silver lining: No one was hurt. Praise Jesus. It could have be much, much worse but other than my husband sustaining a sore ankle and some minor whiplash, he is unharmed. This is enough silver lining to make any financial worries disappear. Also, we didn't technically lose money on the whole deal. We were able to sell it for $275, plus claiming the tow so in the end we made $50 (if you ignore how much we could have sold it for, of course). We are also very blessed to have a functioning second vehicle so, while it will be a struggle until we can replace the second car, we are not in a dire emergency of needing to spend thousands of dollars. Much like the simple broken window, while we need to wait on paying off the credit cards, we are not going to accumulate any debt in this situation. God is so good!
They say bad things come in threes, so I am hoping there was some minor third issue that may have been overlooked and that, at least for now, we can focus on rebuilding our emergency fund as quickly as possible and get right back on the debt-free horse.
No matter how difficult things can seem, there is always so much to be grateful for and I pray that I never lose sight of that, especially in this journey to freedom.
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