Just recently I realized there are a lot of expensive items around the house that could need replacement in the next 12 months.   That’s never a good thing to realize when you don’t exactly have the cash on-hand today to purchase them.

Replacement item examples

For example, I’ve noticed the TV transitioning from color to black and white every now and then.  Given I’m no TV repair man and my JVC is a carry over from my single days (more than 7 years ago); I figure it’s coming up on its last few run of shows.

That’s both good and bad, right?  Good because we may finally look at the big flat screen as a replacement and bad because they aren’t cheap!

We also have an older washer and dryer (again from my single days) that could be in need of replacement.  The dryer requires a few cycles for drying a load of clothes sometimes which I know is probably costing us some more money on our electric bill.

And finally, the tread on the car tires is smoothing out from all my commuter miles each day to work and back home.  Car tires aren’t the price of a washer and dryer or TV, but they’re not exactly pocket change either.

Save for the future

Add these expenses up and the total is something I’d rather not think about!  Timing for one of these items going out could make matters worse.  But scripture tells us we need to think about them.  According to Proverbs 21:20 we should save for the future and not spend everything we earn.

Even though we’d rather not think about them, we don’t want them to become emergency expenses if we don’t have cash on-hand to replace them.  Is the TV really an emergency expense?  With two small children and no Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, yes, we have an emergency.

However, I don’t think they have to be emergencies if we start saving money for these future expenses and plan for them today.  In our situation, there are obvious indicators that the expenses will need to occur in the near future, so it wouldn’t be wise to ignore them.

Aren’t these areas we choose to forget about when it comes to saving?  The first reaction isn’t to save for future expenses.  It’s typically spend as we need or spend as we want.

However, without wisely thinking about such savings, we are often suprised when they do stop working and we don’t have the money to pay for them.  And without enough savings on-hand people are often put into the situation of financing them.

While some stores offer 0% financing, I’d personally not rather not be locked into a monthly payment.  I’ve been there before and the payment, even at 0%, is hanging over my head, limiting freedom and flexibility.   I think there is more freedom in making the payment to myself in savings.

Replacement savings

Therefore, my wife and I have talked about the importance of building out a seperate monthly replacement savings.  Certainly I can’t say we’ll have enough saved when these things do decide to retire, but even so, saving now would help insure we don’t have to spend as much out of our emergency savings account and hopefully help us avoid any need for financing.

Is there anything around your house in need of replacement that might turn into an emergency? Think about it and determine if you need to start saving for future expenses with a new category in your monthly spending plan.

Photo by gbaku.

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