It's been a while since I've done a "gettin' personal" blog about my life, so I thought I'd tell you a little how God is continuing his work in my desire to be a better steward of His money...
We have been in the market for a "new" car for my husband for about 6 months. We had saved up $2,000 toward the purchase of a car, but had no idea what we would find on the market. Our current 1991 Nissan Maxima has been slowly falling apart and the repairs needed for it to be a safe vehicle were beyond our desired financial means. We paid off both of our vehicles just over 3 years ago, at which time my husband announced that he never wanted a car payment again... At the time, I thought this to be quite a lofty idea! Who doesn't have a car payment?!
But here we are in search of a new reliable vehicle. We were both open to the possibility of purchasing a $10,000 vehicle, putting a little down on it, and trying to keep a monthly payment below $200/month, but the idea of having a car payment still didn't sit well with us. So, after much prayer and discussion and with a frugal mindset, we set out on Sunday to search for "the" car that would replace our Nissan. We looked at the tiny 34 MPG cars knowing that our gas costs would be reduced, so a $200/month payment might feel more like a $150/month payment if we were saving $50/month on gas! Seemed logical, but still, we'd have a car payment... We even found a very reasonably priced minivan, which has been my desired vehicle since child #3 came along, but even still, I knew it would require a car payment - and there was a strange smell inside... hmmm Needless to say, my heart was not in it!
But here we are in search of a new reliable vehicle. We were both open to the possibility of purchasing a $10,000 vehicle, putting a little down on it, and trying to keep a monthly payment below $200/month, but the idea of having a car payment still didn't sit well with us. So, after much prayer and discussion and with a frugal mindset, we set out on Sunday to search for "the" car that would replace our Nissan. We looked at the tiny 34 MPG cars knowing that our gas costs would be reduced, so a $200/month payment might feel more like a $150/month payment if we were saving $50/month on gas! Seemed logical, but still, we'd have a car payment... We even found a very reasonably priced minivan, which has been my desired vehicle since child #3 came along, but even still, I knew it would require a car payment - and there was a strange smell inside... hmmm Needless to say, my heart was not in it!
(This is not our actual car, but it looks much like this, without leather, without luggage rack, and not nearly as "new" looking!)
So, in the end, you may have guessed by the picture, we bought a 1985 Ford Mustang convertible. Why not?! This is our first convertible ever!! Boy, is it old, and it's certainly NOT in perfect condition. But, it's reliable, the parts are fairly cheap to replace, and did I mention, it's a convertible?!!! Living in Florida, this is nice perk. Oh, and the best part, we don't have a car payment. Thank you, Lord for providing ALL of our needs!
The next day, I placed our 1991 Nissan Maxima on Craigslist and believe it or not, it SOLD that day!!! With the sale of it, we have barely spent a dime on a "new" vehicle for my husband. Plus, he loves Mustangs, so this was quite a treat for him. :) All this happened in a matter of 2 days and hardly any money spent in the end. God is good!
The next day, I placed our 1991 Nissan Maxima on Craigslist and believe it or not, it SOLD that day!!! With the sale of it, we have barely spent a dime on a "new" vehicle for my husband. Plus, he loves Mustangs, so this was quite a treat for him. :) All this happened in a matter of 2 days and hardly any money spent in the end. God is good!
8 Comments:
Yeah! Glad to hear the great car news! I just looooove when things work out so well. Have fun!
Good for you all ! We have 2 cars...a 1994 Chevy Lumina and a 1998 Ford Explorer and we haven't had a car payment in 11 years ! We planned to drive them into the ground...they each have almost 200,000 miles on them and are still chugging along quite nicely !
From another Mustang lover: That year/model was my first car ever. You brought back some good memories!! What color is it?!?!
Lorna ~
Our car is red like the picture. It really is pretty much the same car, just with those exceptions. It'll be fun to drive around in! :)
That is so cool! Congrats on a great decision and the coolest car!
I know the smelly mini-van you're talking about! We test drove it too, and after just 5 minutes, I had a headache. We wound up buying an '04 Odyssey in Thomasville after selling my Element. Cut our car payment by $200!
Hopefully next time we'll have the cash- this time we were able to put down $8K so our payment is much more comfortable in the family budget.
Hope you love your convertible! ; )
That's awesome, Steph! You go girl! Once you go cash, you never go back!
What a fun new car! Congrats on getting another car and not having a car payment to go with it.
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