Thank Goodness for Insurance...and An Emergency Fund
In case some of you have missed the news about the tough weekend us midwesterners experienced, well, it was a rough weekend. According to the National Weather Service, an estimated 100 twisters touched down this weekend from Oklahoma to Illinois, killing 10 people. I don't think I've ever been so glad for Monday's arrival.
I live in Columbia, Missouri, which is between Kansas City and St. Louis on Interstate 70. Just 15 miles north of us, a sleepy town called Renick was devastated by a tornado as my husband, daughter, mother-in-law and I huddled in the basement of her home. It was still daylight and we watched handball-sized hail slam down onto the earth, her home, and our cars parked out on the street. It was the loudest, most terrifying thing I have witnessed to date. These balls of ice were hitting the ground so hard, they bounced off roughly 8-feet into the air and back down. Only by the grace of God was our city spared. Our prayers go out to those families who lost what is irreplaceable.
We have been in touch with friends in the area and are glad to hear that they are okay. Their homes, and ours, however, didn't fair so well. We just had an adjuster at our place yesterday afternoon to survey the damage. Just as we thought, the roof will need to replaced, the vinyl siding on the entire north side of our house will need to be replaced, and two-thirds of our screened-in porch will need to be redone as well. Thank goodness for insurance.
Speaking of insurance, there is a little matter of a deductible. I have to say that it was one thing we didn't have to worry about. My husband and I had this idea in our head that our deductible was $1,000, but, after reviewing our policy information, it is only $500. Phew. We sat down last night and were watching television when I thought about how many folks, that were given the same news, or worse, about their homes, had no available cash to meet the deductible. I felt horrible for them. But, at the same time, I felt a peace, because we have the money. The first baby step in the Dave Ramsey plan is to save $1,000 in an emergency fund. I'm glad we have it. And all I can say is thank you to God and thanks to Dave Ramsey.
I live in Columbia, Missouri, which is between Kansas City and St. Louis on Interstate 70. Just 15 miles north of us, a sleepy town called Renick was devastated by a tornado as my husband, daughter, mother-in-law and I huddled in the basement of her home. It was still daylight and we watched handball-sized hail slam down onto the earth, her home, and our cars parked out on the street. It was the loudest, most terrifying thing I have witnessed to date. These balls of ice were hitting the ground so hard, they bounced off roughly 8-feet into the air and back down. Only by the grace of God was our city spared. Our prayers go out to those families who lost what is irreplaceable.
We have been in touch with friends in the area and are glad to hear that they are okay. Their homes, and ours, however, didn't fair so well. We just had an adjuster at our place yesterday afternoon to survey the damage. Just as we thought, the roof will need to replaced, the vinyl siding on the entire north side of our house will need to be replaced, and two-thirds of our screened-in porch will need to be redone as well. Thank goodness for insurance.
Speaking of insurance, there is a little matter of a deductible. I have to say that it was one thing we didn't have to worry about. My husband and I had this idea in our head that our deductible was $1,000, but, after reviewing our policy information, it is only $500. Phew. We sat down last night and were watching television when I thought about how many folks, that were given the same news, or worse, about their homes, had no available cash to meet the deductible. I felt horrible for them. But, at the same time, I felt a peace, because we have the money. The first baby step in the Dave Ramsey plan is to save $1,000 in an emergency fund. I'm glad we have it. And all I can say is thank you to God and thanks to Dave Ramsey.
posted by Emma at 12:10 AM
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