Swamp Coolers and Self Reliance

A few weeks ago we had a rain storm and our neighborhood's lights were off for about 45 minutes. When they turned on again, our swamp coolers didn't. We live in the desert where "swamp coolers" are a norm. Rather than "refrigerated air" we have these things that have a thin water hose that drips water and the air is cooled down. I don't truly understand it except that when it gets to a certain percentage of humidity - usually in July and August they don't work too well. But for the most part they are great and keep the house cool!

On this particular day, after the electricity went off they weren't keeping the house cool as they weren't working. My husband checked the fuse box and then called our home warranty company to let them know they weren't working. Being a holiday week end nobody came until Tues morning. Luckily it wasn't very hot and the air was cool at night.

When the air guys came I told them what happened. They checked the swamp coolers on the roof and determined that unless it's an electrical thing, they were pretty sure it was simply the thermostats that blew out. They would then call the warranty company and see what to do next.

Two days later it WAS getting hot in our house and I finally called the home warranty company to see what was the hold up. When the company learned that the thermostats had blown out due to an electrical outage after a rain storm they informed me that "Acts of God" were NOT covered in our warranty and we had to fix it ourselves.

I called my husband and asked him to pick up a couple of thermostats at Home Depot on the way home and we would have to fix it ourselves. It turns out that those two thermostats cost less than it did for us to have the experts come out and make sure what the problem was.

As I thought about this I laughed. I have a friend, John Lavenia, who wrote a book called Intergity Is Everything. John has a premise, which I completely agree with, about becoming self reliant. As I thought about how we weren't self reliant in this case, I thought we could do next time to be more self reliant.

Then it hit me. How many of us have warranty companies, insurance companies and even health care benefits? I am not saying these are not recommended. What I'm asking is, how much money would I like to have in a home maintenance account so I don't have to depend upon a home warranty company who may or may not fix my home?And if I had that account so I don't have to worry about the cost of anything in my home breaking or needing fixing what would I worry about? What if we educated ourselves enough about home maintenance to evaluate what the cause of that was? Instead, we turned to a company trusting them to have someone "save us".

I then thought about all the money I have going to a health insurance company that pays for my health care - at least pays for the health care that the company wants to provide. I have done lots of studying about health, natural healing and alternative medicines that I feel more self reliant on my own evaluation in the area of health than I do about home maintenance. I know when I can do things at home to assist my health and when it's time to go to the experts.

And then of course my thoughts went to the fact that as an entreprenuer I am more reliant on myself for my income than I am relying on a company that may or may not decide to fire me due to whatever reason they want to give me. And as an entreprenuer, I am to stand on my own two feet, educate myself on what type of maintenance my business needs and then proceed. I'm not waiting for someone to tell me they won't pay me because of some " Act of God".

So my question to you is: How self reliant are you? What areas of your life do you want to be 100% responsible for and take to the next level?

My mission is to assist others to their highest good. If you would like my assistance and masterminding, call me at 915-252-1837 or go to my website:
www.wealthyhomeschoolmom.com

Make it a great day! I know YOU deserve it!
GBY&MKY Jane