On spending almost 20K

So, our furnace went out last week. We froze for a few days. Colin was mostly fine. I was cold and in double/triple layers much of the time. If this had happened in 2 months time we just would have waited 6 months and replaced it in the fall after saving up a bit more money. It was such an annoyance this whole weekend- getting bids, making decisions, spending SO much money, having people in my house for almost 24 hours, when it was all said and done.

We financed a lot of it over 3 years with no interest, which is good that we were able to. But SUCKS that we now have that expense coming out every month. I know this will not have to be done again in hopefully 10-15 years at least. And It's nice to have it all upgraded, etc. but it is stressing me out big time. We knew it all (AC, Furnace, Water heater) would eventually have to be replaced. We also unexpectedly had to replace the electrical box which was costly... and it all makes me think about what we bought this house for. I don't regret buying it and fixing it up, but not knowing how much an HVAC system would be at the time, (and now knowing how much it costs), I think the bank should have sold it for at least 20k less or we should have offered that much less. But it was a foreclosure sold as-is.  Live and Learn. We will be more savvy for the next house. Whenever that happens.

SO now looking at our expenses and earnings, this year is looking to be very tight. Colin is going to school full time pretty much and that is costing us a lot (We are trying not to take out loans while he's doing the undergraduate part). This added expense will be huge. We are in the final year of paying off Colin's car to my mom (she bought our loan so that she could earn the interest rather than the bank- win-win). We have to get new tires for his car. We need to buy life insurance, apply for his citizenship, he needs to begin taking grad exams and applying for schools... SO many expenses and none of them really very enjoyable.

I am panicking a little. I hate being so close. I like to have reserves. Part of it is- I know we/I have not been good about saving and keep spending what extra we have. Now- we will not have very much extra and I know I really need to reign myself in and be more thrifty and really look out for deals. It's a lot of work to me mindful about spending and planning for food and expenses to come. Ugh- not a lot of fun. Praying that nothing else huge happens. And trying not to stress out about not being able to save a lot of money in the next few years due to Colin's school and expected expenses. Hopefully when he completes graduate school and gets a job- we will be able to pay off the student loans, save some more, and feel more financially stable.

Ugh- MONEY!!!