{via}
About this time last year, my condo had some electrical problems. The second floor lighting had a flickering issue so I asked Justin to change out one of the faulty breakers; I also called in an electrician to take a look. By the time the electrician got there, the flickering wasn’t happening and he told us to call him if it came back. Mysteriously, the flickering had stopped! How strange. I even blogged about it in my July 2011 budget recap last year. He told us it would cost around $800 to replace the entire box. Ouch!
A year rolled by without issue… and then the buzzing and flickering came back!
It was now time to get it fixed. I called in another electrician and within two days (and $805 later), I now have a new circuit breaker panel.
This was my first taste of home maintenance as a homeowner. $805 is a lot of money, sure, but for sound peace of mind I’m glad I did it. On the same morning that I had called the electrician, I saw a spark within the panel. Scary! It could have caught on fire. Maybe when I’m not home or if Buddy is there, or if I’m sleeping. You never know.
It’s a good thing that I have an emergency fund. In the future I plan on getting the kitchen renovated too. The cost of being a homeowner is quite high, but in the end I’m happy to pay up. I don’t plan on staying here forever.. maybe I’ll sell it or rent it out, who knows. But in the meantime, I’ll try to keep saving as much as I can so I can be prepared for similar events. 
♥ E&I
