January 21, 2014 • Page 2 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Dave Says Using Their Emergency Fund If you ask Dud Campbell, it’s all right to take a break from the arts now and then. Well … since the arts are a part of a person, that’s not quite right. All right, it’s okay to switch arts now and then. Dud had pretty much beaten himself to death trying to fathom what to do in the novel about the duchess and truck driver, and it had left him gasping for ideas. So he went back heavily to his accordion. From the early lessons of squeaking and squawking and driving most of the cockroaches out of the neighborhood, Dud’s playing had progressed to the point where people actually smiled when they discussed it. When the cold weather hit, Dud would hurry home from work and pick up the squeeze box and work dili- gently on it. Polkas and waltzes, primarily. A few of the easier Cajun tunes, too. He concentrated on those left-hand exercises, of course, where hitting the exact right little black bass button every time is a challenge known by all stomach Steinway artistes. He had told the guys down at the world dilemma think tank (aka the philosophy counter at the Mule Barn truck stop) that he was ready to go out that weekend and squeeze out some money at a local night spot with his music. Monday morning, Dud pulled in to the counter and flipped his cup back to the upright and fillable position. “Well?” said Doc. “Well what?” “How did it go? The music. The accordion. Lady of Spain out on the town. You know?” Dud just shrugged and threw some sugar into the coffee. “Did you make money playing your accordion?” Steve asked. “Yes,” Dud said, glumly. “So it was a success, right?” “Well, not … entirely.” “Why not?” “Went down to the Covered Wagon Saturday night. They had a good crowd in there. Played some waltzes and a few polkas to get the crowd warmed up. You know Bill? The owner?” We nodded. “He gave me $20 to go play somewhere else.” ------How do you control your feet if you can’t even hear the beat? The hearing test is free. Beltone. 1-866-8678700. www.missourivalleyshopper.com COUNTRY FORD Service Dept. Do we cover it? Check. $ 95 39 Suggested Retail Price © BY DAVE RAMSEY Dear Dave, My wife and I are working the Baby Steps, and we have our budget in place. Sometimes the budget gets busted because of home improvements and various other things. I Dave think we should take money from our emergency fund when this happens, but she says it should come out of our restaurant and fun money. What do you think? — Joshua Dear Joshua, I hate to break this to you, but overspending is not an emergency. So, I’m siding with your wife on this one. If you budget a set amount in one category and you go over that amount, you’ve got to have something you reduce or cut out completely to stay within your budget for the month. You’d be surprised at what some people call an “emergency.” But here’s the deal: If something happens on a pretty regular basis, it’s a predictable event. That means you need to budget a larger amount for home improvements or whatever the problem area may be. Overall, on a month-to- RAMSEY month basis, if you find you have $200 budgeted for car repairs and the repair turns out to be $250, I’d rather you cut back on eating out to make up the difference. That’s the way my wife and I did it back in the day. We never touched the emergency fund for anything except big, unexpected, scary stuff. — Dave CAN’T AFFORD STUDENT LOANS Dear Dave, I have a lot of student loan debt, and I can’t afford the payments right now. Should I send them what I can, even if it’s not the minimum payment, or should I not send anything at all? — Tina Dear Tina, They’re not going to stop bothering you no matter which option you choose. The benefit of sending them $5, even if the minimum payment is $50, is that you’re forcing yourself to start living on a budget and do all you can to honor your commitment. That’s the moral, spiritual and legal thing to do in this situation. FOR SALE Synthetic Blend Oil Change • Tire Rotation & Pressure Check • Brake Inspection Fluid Top-Off • Battery Test • Filter Check • Belts & Hoses Check • Multi-Point Inspection Retail purchases only. Up to five quarts of Motorcraft® Synthetic Blend oil and Motorcraft oil filter. Taxes, diesel vehicles and disposal fees extra. Hybrid battery test excluded. See participating dealership for vehicle exclusions and details. Expires 01/31/14. 605-589-3362 Toll Free at 1-888-877-5035 Open Located 1 Mile West Monday-Friday 8-6 of Tyndall, SD on Highway 50 Saturday 8-3 YOUR HOMETOWN LOCALLY OWNED DEALERSHIP! January Lots of times when people say they can’t afford something, what they really mean is they don’t want to give up other stuff in order to honor their obligations. If that’s the case, I’m not going to be on your team. You accepted this responsibility, and if that means you don’t eat out or go on vacation until the debt is paid off, then that’s the way it is. But if you’re already living on a beans-and-rice, scorchedearth budget and $5 is all you can squeeze out, then give them $5 and let them know with a clear conscience it’s all you can afford. All you can do is all you can do. There’s a bright spot in all this though. If you’re scrimping and saving and paying all the money that you have first toward running your household, then secondly toward your creditors, you’ll start finding ways to stretch your dollars even further. Not only will that help you clean up your student loan mess, but it will enable you to have a little bit better life in the process! — Dave ——— Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. 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