And God laughs...

OK, this week is off to a bad start in the budgeting department.

First of all, let me stress the importance of an emergency fund.  It is a REALLY good idea to keep $1000 in an easily accessible savings account.  That way when something goes wrong (the car breaks down, the water heater stops working, etc.) then you don't have to run to your credit card in order to fix it.

...I recently had such "emergencies" as Christmas shopping, paying bills after doing too much Christmas shopping, and buying the dog's 6 month supply of heartworm medicine (OK, the last one sounds slightly more justifiable than the others, but really it's not-- if you're going to own a pet you really need a "pet" section on your budget that covers food, vet visits, and medication).  Needless to say, my emergency fund kind of sucks right now.  I wasn't too worried about it.  I thought, "holidays are over, the dog is healthy, we'll be fine for a few months."  ...and then God laughed...

Back to the pet budget.  Pets are a HUGE responsibility.  I swear my dog costs as much as another child.  Between his adoption, food, and the medications he's needed to clear up parasites from being a shelter dog (shelter dogs are the best dogs, but can come with the worst problems-- PLEASE adopt from a reputable shelter if you're in the market for a pet, but also be financially prepared for fixing any issues they might have), we depleted the "pet" budget that I had saved for so long in preparation for our joyous addition.  There are always more costs with a pet, at least with a dog like mine.  He's a large breed puppy, so he goes through toys and rawhides like you wouldn't believe.  Oh!  And the food!  ...but I feel I digress...  The point is, my pet budget is not funded as well as it apparently should be.  I thought $60 a month should cover food for both pets (we also have a cat) and litter for the cat.  It does, but that's about all it covers.  It does not leave room for incidentals.  Or emergencies.  And unfortunately, today we have an emergency.

Kitty seems to be sick.  We'll be heading to the vet as soon as Hubby gets home from work tonight.  Of course I'm worried about her as a member of our family, but I also just keep seeing these dollar signs dance through my head.  And not in the good way.  Even a minor emergency is more than my wimpy budget can take right now, and I fear this might be a bit more than minor.  Of course we won't know until we get there, but I'm very nervous.

Isn't it funny how these things always seem to happen at the worst moments?  It couldn't have happened two months ago, when I would have thought nothing of putting it on the credit card, or three months ago, when I had a fully funded emergency fund.  No, it happens now.  God's laughing, you know He is. All we can do is step back and laugh with him.