A savings account: Because life likes to mock you

(Been a long day? Don't feel like reading? Want - the minus sign blues on the go? Click here to download and listen to an mp3 of this post, read by yours truly.)

Graphic and ominous image aside, I'd like you to take a journey with me. A tool I often like you use here on - the minus sign blues is the human imagination. It's such a powerful instrument to get ones point across if it is actively stimulated.

So, imagine something for me, will you? I can't possibly ask you to close your eyes, but you get the concept. Right?

You and your partner in debt have just put your heads together. You've finally joined forces to eliminate your money issues. You're getting tough on the issue at hand. There's budgeting in one direction, paying off credit card balances in another, and a whole mess of self satisfaction.

You think you're doing pretty good. Creditors have stopped calling for the most part, you don't worry yourself sick in the middle of the night and best of all, you feel a sense of self respect you haven't felt for a long time. You feel like you're a responsible adult now, not just like you should be one.

One frosty cold New England morning you wake up, flip the coffee machine into the "on" position and head on down to the bathroom for your shower. Groggy eyed you turn the water on to a pretty hot setting. It's very cold in the house.

You disrobe, shiver and step into the shower.

The next split second is one part sheer, eye wided shock, one part epic shrinkage and one part very loud vulgarities.

Your water heater is dead. You don't have the money for a new one.

Welcome to my world two weeks ago.

Every single financial help book details this extensively, but it bears repeating. It doesn't matter what it is, always contribute some sum to a savings account. Out of every single paycheck, whether it's $10 or $100 or $1,000.

Our problem was not one of total ignorance, but of bad timing. We've recently regained control of our finances and with it we've begun making semi-regular contributions to our savings account. The problem is, disaster stuck us when we were nearly as vulnerable as we could have been.

Consider it a kick to our gut as we were struggling to stand up.

It takes time, patience and discipline to maintain a savings account. This is especially true in the face of epic debt and some very large, angry minus signs. You're often tempted to dip into it to come to zero yourself out at the end of the work week. But if you absorb anything from this blog at all, let it be this.

But no matter how scared straight we've become with our finances, that hardly helps us now. And sure, we may have a couple hundred dollars in the account. But what does that pay for? Maybe a single rent payment, or two months groceries.

Certainly not $5,000+ for a new water heater and installation, and with our credit problems already as bad as they are, can we afford to make our big red number 40k instead of 35k? Absolutely not.

Planning for the future is an essential aspect of our survival. We would have had more in the account had we not dipped into it to meet a credit card payment or two. Suddenly a late charge doesn't seem terribly bad.

Fortunately we had relatives to come to the rescue. It's been a rough couple of weeks with frosty cold showers, but we should eventually get our new water heater.

But what if we didn't have anyone willing to foot the $5,000+ bill? What if it was something a bit more life threatening than a water heater melting down?

What if it was a car accident, or a sudden loss of employment? What about a house fire? We're going to call this a warning shot across our bow. The cold showers should serve to wake us up, both physically and metamorphically.

We were not prepared. Are you?

I hope so.