I know you all hate Dave Ramsey, but his tip about saving for car repairs has saved me so much stress.

I’ve been following Dave Ramsey since the spring and been trying to follow his baby steps since mid-summer. I’m still working hard on moving from baby step 1 to 2, but it’s been a big struggle.<br><br>One of the tips he gives is to save $1,300 after you pay off your car, because the average cost of auto repair is $1,300 every year. I thought it sounded ridiculous. But it really isn’t, $1,300 average repair cost is about the average cost of owning a car per one month, actually, it’s a little less! So I started saving a little bit a month in a separate savings account that I keep with my main banking institution. <br><br>I have a stupid beater car and I’ve been really lucky to not have to spend hardly anything on it. I did have to get it inspected to register it, and I ended up having to replace the air filter (literally a $2 fix) and get a new headlight bulb. <br><br>But just a week ago, I had a blowout. I’ve only gotten two flat tires in my entire life, and both of them were on the same car, and both of them happened this year. So I had to go and get a whole new tire for $200. It was a little painful, but I was able to just go online and transfer money over instantly to pay for it. It was such a relief to be able to pay for something that would have been something like an emergency two years ago. I’m still not done building my repair fund, but it was a huge relief to have already saved $600 of the $1,300 Dave recommended. So I’m almost halfway there! I will probably be finished saving for this in about three months.<br><br>And that’s the great thing about this fund- it’s not just for repairs! It’s for maintenance too. I’m trying to save a little extra money to get my oil changed at the end of the month. My repair fund is a little less than what I need for the oil change, but I’m still happy to have a little bit saved.<br><br>I know Dave Ramsey isn’t for everyone, but I feel like he has a lot of good tips. He’s been really helpful and a great place to start.