Our car story (hopefully, the final chapter)

In December, I posted about the trials of our old minivan. The weekend before Christmas, Husband and I left the babies with my parents for a couple of hours, determined not to return without a new car. We found one we liked and we bought it, although it was a little more than we had planned on spending. (Keep in mind we had only bought Husband's new car the month before!)

(And when I say "new" car, I mean new to us. We each got used cars.)

Anyway, we ended up financing part of the new minivan purchase, something we really don't like to do. So our goal is to pay off the car loan as quickly as possible. We are paying more than the minimum payment each month in order to shrink the principal.

Shortly after we bought the car, I asked Husband what he thought we should do with the rebate checks that I get from all my great shopping deals. We threw some ideas around, like save it for vacations or something fun, like a new video camera. But then he suggested we put that extra money toward the car loan. The first month, it was only about $20, but every little bit will help so that we can once again be debt free (except for our mortgage, of course).

(By the way, the new car runs great and is perfect for out little family. I'm so grateful that it is safe, too. )

Counting my blessings

This weekend was rough. My baby girls both got pink eye...and so, of course, I did, too. Husband has been sick for about a week or so now. He is either getting worse or has caught a second cold/flu. I have a swollen and sore throat. And babies that don't want to sleep.

Yesterday it all came to a head when I headed out to pick up my mother-in-law (who was visiting)from church. Just as I was about to get on the freeway, my tire went flat. I was able to make it to safety and called Husband and a tow truck driver. My grandmother picked up my mother-in-law and all was taken care of. Husband reported that the tow truck driver said if I had been on the freeway when the tire had blown out, I would have been dead. See, the alignment on our van is so bad that it wore a hole right through the tire...and it was working on the other front tire, too. As our van sits in the shop getting an estimate for repair work (which I'm sure is going to be astronomical) I am filled with gratitude that that is the problem before me and not that Husband lost his wife two weeks before Christmas. Jeez. Sorry to be so heavy, but I realize (again) that I have so much to be grateful for.

My grandfather had a saying that "If it's a problem that can be solved with money, it's not a problem." That may sound cavalier to some of you who feel overwhelmed by debt. But if you think about it, it is very true. We can work to make more money or cut back to save what we have. But you can't buy happiness, love, or family. So as Christmas draws ever nearer (and I'm still not done with Christmas shopping), I'm taking a moment to reflect on the true meaning of this Christmas season as well as taking the time to count my blessings.

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!