Friday, December 5, 2008

Saved by Zero

I've been so busy posting about the week of giveaways this week that I haven't done much of my regular posting!

We had a big purchase last week. Upon returning from our Hawaii trip, we decided that we really should sell Husband's Yukon and get a new(er) car instead of spending the money to get it fixed. We had some money saved in our car account, but not really enough to get the car (well, truck) that we thought would be best for our family.

A generous family member helped us out a bit and we were able to purchase a two year old truck for Husband. It's a crew cab, which means that there are four doors and plenty of room in the backseat to accomodate babies. Husband did lots of research before making this purchase and we are very happy with our new vehicle. It will be nice to have a reliable car, since his previous one had been struggling the past year or so.


There are tons of deals on cars (and especially trucks and SUV's) right now as car dealerships are struggling. Some are offering 0% financing while others are offering literally thousands of dollars "cash back". While these deals can make it tempting to purchase a car over and above what your family truly needs, make sure that you "read all the fine print" before buying your car. The best thing you can do is to buy a car with cash, or at least put as much down as you possibly can. We were lucky to be able to do this with Husband's truck, though the temptation was there to just buy a new (more expensive) truck with all the incentives dealerships were offering. We were "saved by zero" in a different way: I can't tell you how wonderful it feels not to have a monthly car payment hanging over our heads.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a good deal on a "gas guzzler", right now is a pretty good time. But don't be dazzled by all those smooth sales pitches. Know what you can afford and stay within that budget! You'll be so glad you did!

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