Last week my AC went out. It has been on its last leg for over a year and was already over 28 years old, so it wasn’t all that surprising to me, but it was still super stressful. I tried to get it to last just a little bit longer (summer is almost over! Hold on!!) by doing some of the things Google said to do like switch out the air filters and clean the coils. When it turned back on, it worked for a few hours and went back out again. That’s when I knew it… I would need to buy a new one.
Three or four years ago this same thing happened to me. I was in a different house at the time and the HVAC unit died. But that was before I got serious about doing things differently with money and I handled it all wrong. I called one of the name brand companies in Columbia and didn’t call anyone else for another quote. I didn’t have money saved for emergencies, so I financed it through whatever financing program they offered. I honestly don’t remember how much it was or what the interest rate was because all I cared about at the time was that it was fixed and I could afford the monthly payment.
This time, I did things differently. I had money set aside in a rainy-day-in-case-of-HVAC-failure fund. And because I knew I would be paying in cash, I wanted the best possible deal. My brother told me to get two estimates, but I sprung for three. The first guy offered me six different options ranging from $15,294 (with $2500 in rebates/credits!) to $8,370. Unfortunately, the under $10,000 systems were on backorder and not available for 5 weeks. The 2nd guy offered me two options- a 14 seer for $8,195 or a 16 seer for $11,500. He explained the difference, but I still don’t understand. And finally, the 3rd guy said he would install a new Ruud 3 ton 14.3 seer 2 split AC with 80% matching gas furnace with all accessories for $7,700- and he could do it in two days! I want to say I played hard to get and told him I would think about it, but I definitely agreed on the spot. And I agreed with confidence because I knew it was the best deal.
Let me make sure I’m clear because I do not want to give you the wrong idea- writing that check hurt! But it also felt great to know that I did things right this time. I set myself up to make sure that a setback like this wasn’t even really that big of a setback. And even though I knew it would hurt, I paid cash. No financing, no payment plan, no buy now pay later, no kicking the can down the road. I handled it and it’s done. I’m not sure I can do justice to the feeling, but if I had to try to name it… I think the feelings are proud, joyful, and confident.
Add comment
Comments
I love your practical approach to saving and spending money.