Hey friend,

I finally got the quote back on the HVAC work we need to get done. A few thousand dollars, all in. Adulting is so hard and sometimes not fun. Nothing is broken yet. I still felt my stomach drop when the number came through.

That's the thing about summer down here. School doesn't start for three more weeks, so we still have a little room to breathe before the calendar takes over again. But if I'm honest, the second half of the year is already knocking on the door.

The quiet costs nobody budgets for

Nobody puts "flush the water heater" on a vision board. Nobody dreams about HVAC repair. But these are the bills that sneak up and wreck an otherwise good month, not because they came out of nowhere, but because we didn't want to look at them until we had no choice.

I don't want to spend that money on the HVAC. But if I keep putting it off, I'm not saving a dime. I'm just moving the bill down the road and making it bigger when it finally lands.

Proverbs 27:23-24 says it plainly (NIV):

"Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds, for riches do not endure forever."

Translation for 2026: check on your stuff before it checks on you.

Your July assignment 📅

Before school starts back up and life gets busy again, take a walk around your house. What do you already know is living on borrowed time? The driveway? The water heater? The roof? The HVAC unit humming away in the backyard?

Then take a look at your budget. Write those future expenses down and start a sinking fund for them—even if it's only $10 or $20 a week. Future you will be so relieved you did.

This is exactly the kind of planning we work through together inside my fall group coaching program, so if you already know the last few months of the year tend to catch you off guard, that's your sign.

Cheering for you,

Jenny

P.S. Know someone who needs a nudge to look ahead at their own second half of the year? Forward this their way so they can join us here: https://bit.ly/DitchFinancialStress​

P.P.S. Doors to my fall group coaching program open soon, and I'd love to have you in the room. If you want the last part of 2026 to look different than the first, get on the list here: https://bit.ly/FinancialFreshStartSept​

Let's Talk

See you next week!