Unexpected Windfall and the E Fund

Approximately 3 years ago I leant a friend $2,000. This was before I'd taken out any loans, lived without work for a year, and my savings accounts were flush. She was starting grad school, her mom had just moved across the country and was having a hard time fining a job. She ran into what I think of as a funding sequence issue. She needed to rent a place and get school supplies before her student loan and scholarship checks came in.

When lending money to friends my general outlook is that I'm giving the money away. If I get the money back, great. If I never see it again, that's ok too. Shortly after my friend has a bit of a breakdown and decided to withdraw, loosing all additional funding. She moved back east to refocus and after working for two years she started school again.

Last week I got an unexpected package with a card and a dvd of the work she's been doing.* Honestly the message in the card and the DVD was more than enough for me. I was happy that she's accomplishing her dream. Two days later when I went to put the DVD in, hidden under the disk, was a check for the remaining amount owed.

In light of the pending purchase contract on a home Gameboy decided to up the goal on the emergency fund and put the funds there. The inspector said the house is one of the cleanest inspections he's done in the recent years, but we want to have the padding just in case.

*She's in an MFA program.

I got a few checks along the way