Blowing the Budget! Updated!!

We live a fairly frugal life. For many years, while I was home with our large group of little people, we lived on an income and a half. The income was not large and the half was supplementary but we managed to make sure that everyone was fed, had clothes on their backs, toys and books, entertainment, transportation, and the utilities needed to live a comfortable life. No one went with out and celebrations were abundant, though we did have to save for all those extras. We managed a family vacation once a year, which for us often meant visiting our families on the west coast or turning business conferences into a family trip. We made many sacrifices so that our children had what they needed but that took hard work and they did grow up knowing that they wouldn't receive everything they asked for. 

Now we live a life that includes two full incomes and an abundant savings. Our mortgage is almost paid off, we have no other debt, we can go out and shop if we choose or go for dinner. Vacations have become more frequent and our destinations have expanded. If we want to buy something for ourselves or the house, we don't need to save as much, though we are still in the habit of planning, budgeting and waiting until we have the amount saved. I like that we have the freedom now but we are still so careful. 

With that in mind, it's almost funny this week how we have been reacting to a loss that is going to cost us money. I hate stuff like that because it does take me back to those early days of worrying about every penny. We can clearly afford to just pay this upcoming expense but oh how we have agonized over for the last 24 hours. This morning I realized how much energy has gone in to that angst.

Dh lost his keys yesterday. He has two sets. One holds his works keys and his car key. The other holds our house key and a key for my car. It's bothered me for the longest time that he carries them separately. He claims that the weight of having them altogether is too much for the ignition. I have more keys than he does - both sets of car keys, both sets of my office keys, house key, shed key, lock box keys, filing cabinet keys and a key that I have no idea what it is for but I've had for ever and it must be for something! My keys feel light and it hasn't been an issue in my ignition but he insisted so he kept his separate. When he left home, he locked the door, put those keys in his pocket and took out his other set to go to work. When he got home last night, he realized that the other set was gone. He retraced his steps, made some calls and then drove back into the city to go to the one spot he thinks he might have dropped them. No luck but a valiant effort. He was literally on his hands and knees with a flash light in the middle of a downtown parking lot! But no luck. His cell phone number and our home number have been left in case anyone finds them. We may never find them, so I've started to figure out where in our budget will the funds come from to get a new key and fob from the dealership. I was thinking it would be a couple of hundred dollars (ouch!) but our dd suggested closer to $500 would be more reasonable, a fee she and her former husband had to pay when he lost the key to their van a few years ago. Different car maker so I'm hoping it won't be as much but will call this morning to find out. We're still looking and keeping our fingers crossed that someone picked them up and turned them into the security office and magically they'll call us this morning. 

This will blow our budget this month if we have to pay for a new key and fob. I hate the feeling of an unexpected bill. I guess I should take comfort in knowing the money is there and that we have a rainy day fund for those items we didn't count on having to pay for. But it still sucks! Last night, I did come up with an idea to replace the money if we do need to let go of it. Now that our half of our kids have moved out, we have lots of leftover furniture and kids items we could sell easily, so I'll start listing on kijiji and see if we can make the difference back. In the end, we'll have a new set of keys and an empty storage room. 

Maybe not such a bad trade off in the end!!

What have you done when an unexpected expense has hit your budget? Do you put lots of energy into the process or just pay it, writing it off as a life event?

****Updated to add that our misfortune was saved by the kind, unidentified individual who turned in our keys that were found in the parking lot dh spent time looking for. What a relief! We're still going to go thru our house and start listing items to sell anyway. Maybe put that money towards our travel adventures this year. All is well.****