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Good News: We took Gary the box truck to the mechanic on February 17th.
Bad News: We finally got it back today. They had it for a month, making all kinds of excuses as to why it was taking so long.
Good News: They fixed all the belts, the exhaust manifold and a crack in the exhaust pipe to the tune of $1495.
Bad News: The truck was gone for so long that we had to pay for a septic service to come dump our waste tanks. That was to the tune of $185.
Good News: We are eligible for the Covid-19 Vaccines. We will be getting that next week.
Bad News: The refrigerator quit working. The freezer works, but not the refrigerator part. We had to order a new fridge for $250. The water heater is not igniting, is leaking and when it did work, the temperature sensor tripped the reset button because it got too hot and would shut itself off. No idea on cost for repair or replacement. I still need to call around.
Good News: We got the truck back (sans working feul gauge) so we can go get vaccinated next week.
Bad News: The feul gauge is going to cost an additional $400. We opened the back door only to discover that all the contents have been ransacked. The bungee net holding stuff in the attic was removed and everything pulled down. The wooden storage boxes had their contents removed and shrewn all over. Stuff moved from one side of the truck to another and boxes were turned upside down with stuff spilling out Our tool box, a saw and our generator was stolen.
Final Thoughts: I had the foresite to remove anything of value to me before Don dropped off the truck. That was my camera tripod and the backpack which held all of the camera accessories like extra selfie sticks, batteries, lights and GoPro attachments. I suggested that Don, at least, take out the generator, but that fell on deaf ears.
The worst of it is that the generator is gone and the extra spare parts to our scooters (which we need) were inside the tool box. The tool box and tools are easy to replace. The other stuff, not so much. The generator was donated. It's a +$600 generator.
We both got the $600 stimulus payment in January, which I held on to. Then my son gave me $ for my birthday, which I held on to. That way we could get the truck fixed. Don got his $1400 stimulus. I am still waiting. I want to have a $2,000 reserve in the bank at all times for emergencies. This way I'm not stressing and my hair falling out because I'm afraid we'll break down and not have money for a tow truck and/or repairs.
Don's $1K and my $1K of the stimulus payments will make up that reserve. That leaves $800 for us to "play with". We were looking forward to spending it on something fun and home improvments (a recliner for Don and supplies for a built in desk for me) for once, but we have to spend it on a refrigerator, a generator and a water heater.
I'm just so glad that the stimulus payments are coming at all so that we can recover most of those costs.
How's your 2021 going so far?
