Here We Go Again

Well, I was supposed to be writing about the joys and pitfalls of driving in Germany today, but the irony is just too cruel.  I cannot bring myself to talk at length about driving when I'm staring down the barrel of a potential 5000 euro car repair.  That's $6500 for those of you playing along at home.

I just can't with all of these money woes this year.  Between our medical bills (totally worth it to get our babies, but still... staggering), shelling out thousands for a busted a/c one and a half weeks after we were supposed to sell our house, the hefty costs associated with moving overseas, and now this, our once healthy nest egg is about this close to turning into a goose egg.

I know it's futile and silly, but I just keep wondering what we did to get all of this crap karma heaped on us by the shitload.  This was supposed to be such an amazing year, and while I LOVE living in Germany and am thrilled to death about our babies arriving in a few more weeks, I can't help but feel constantly stressed about money.  And these issues keep cropping up every time I feel like I can start to breathe easily again.  We're far from destitute as we have savings stashed away in various IRAs, stocks and the like, but as far as actual liquid money, if we end up having to pay for this car repair, we are going to be scary close to a big problem if another financial catastrophe arises.

Car repairs are stressful enough at home, where everyone speaks the same language, but I can't even put into words how frustrating it is to have a mechanic trying to explain an issue to you, and you can sort of, kind of, almost grasp what he's saying, but just not quiiiiiite.  From what I understand, they're having to "open up the engine" to find out if the warranty will cover the problem.  And whatever the problem does turn out to be, if it's covered by the warranty, we pay nothing.  If it's not, that's where all those Euros come in.  Do I have a clue what warranty he's even talking about?  Nope.  But I surely do hope it covers the repair.

Fortunately, we're done with traveling for quite a while, all of the big ticket baby items are taken care of, and I'd already decided that the holidays this year are going to be a very lowkey event.  But still, we're back to being a one-car family for the time being, and now I have the entire weekend to stress about things.  I mean, could this get any more Lady or the Tiger?  At least it's not up to me to choose a door, but man, things could either turn out really well in this scenario, or very, very nicht gut.

Comments

[Sara]

Oh man, not cool. I hope the warranty can cover it! I understand your pain though pertaining to money woes and especially car repairs. We were half way to our small weekend trip getaway last month and our transmission went down the tubes. My husband is a mechanic and he didn't think we'd be able to even get home! We did but it was a long day. So after plopping down $3,000 for a rebuilt transmission then we also had the exterior repairs for our house that we had to do, no more putting it off, and that was another $6,000. ::sigh::

I know it's stressful. But just think how wonderful life will be when those little girls get here soon. Yes, finances suck, but like you said you guys aren't poor or anything and that comes smart saving all these years. That padding is saving your buns now :)

[Brittany]

Aw, Angel... I'm so sorry. Y'all just can't catch a break! I'll keep my fingers crossed about that warranty.

[Solange]

Car problems are the most annoying things. You think that when you buy a car everything on should work fine for a good long while. Obviously you have to do your basic maintenance but the big things should last. Stupid cars. I really hope your warranty covers it. You have had a ton of crap karma...hopefully nothing else bad goes wrong and you can enjoy the rest of this year in peace. :)

[Elizabeth]

What a pain! Cars are inordinately stressful--I hope this mysterious warranty kicks in for you. Geez.