Month: November 2011

Frugal Friday – Buying a Used Car with CASH

Meet Betty, our new-to-us ride.  
Isn’t she lovely?
Here is her story.
After much discussion, Jed and I decided it was time to purchase a car.  We already have 2 cars, both completely free to us thanks to the generosity of Jesus/Young Life donors/family.  Those cars are 10 and 20 years old respectively.  We love them in their old age, and are so thankful for their faithful service. Big Red, Jed’s 20 year old GMC pick up has developed some issues that are pretty serious, so we know her days of dependability are numbered.  We thought about waiting until she died a natural death, but decided the wiser thing to do would be to start the search for our next car while we still had the flexibility of two working cars.  
My 10 yr old XTerra has almost 150,000 miles on her, so we thought it would be good to make her our secondary car before the miles get too high.  We also discussed going to one car, but our current living/working situations don’t allow for that.    
We set a budget of $10-12,000, knowing we could pay cash for that.  We are FAR from wealthy by American standards, but we have worked hard to save most of my paycheck each month for over a year.  We also have a 6 month emergency fund built up that we didn’t touch for this purchase.  
We started looking on Craigslist for lots of different models.  We both like Tahoes, Outbacks, and other small SUVs and station wagons.  We looked at mini vans, but just couldn’t do it.  Not that there is anything wrong with mini vans.  They are great, I’m sure, just not for us right now.  We test drove cars from dealers and individuals, including 2 Tahoes that I’m pretty sure were stolen or from police auctions.  SOOO SKETCHY.  
We looked at used car dealers in our area that were part of bigger dealerships with good reputations.  At one dealer we found a 2005 Honda Pilot listed at $16,915.  She was beautiful, but way out of our price range.  We wanted around 80,000 miles or less, she had 81,000.  She also came fully loaded with leather, a sunroof, DVD, 3rd row, rear air, and more cup holders than you could ever want or use.  Right off the bat the salesman told us he could mark her down to $13,900, because she was a Honda on a Chevy lot.  Still way out of our range.  We drove her, and she was such a smooth ride.  We went home, ate lunch and let Fisher take a nap.  We checked the Kelly Blue Book and her Carfax.  The Carfax came back saying that she was worth $330 more than the KBB value, which was $18,600.  Whoa.  So, she was offered to us at $5000 less than the KBB value.  She was still over our budget by almost $2000.  Not ok.  Then we pulled up the dealer website to look over the details again, and noticed that the rock bottom internet only price they had listed was $12,500.  Hmmm.  That might be doable for a car that is far beyond anything we had hoped to find.  
We went back to the dealer that afternoon and told our salesman about the internet price.  He said he would have to honor it.  We went for it, on the contingency that our trusted mechanic could take a look at it first.  He asked us about financing, and we told him we were paying cash.  That threw him off completely.  He didn’t really know what to do, and said no one had done that since he had been there.  
They wouldn’t let us use our debit card or write a check, so we had to wait until Monday morning when I could go to the bank and get a cashier’s check.  I handed the check to the dealer, they gave me the keys, and we were done.  No car payments for us!  We love our new ride and are so thankful to not have a big car payment every month. 
Why pay cash?  Interest my friends, interest.  Let’s do a little math.  If we put down $1000 and financed $11,500, we would actually end up paying over $1000 extra for our car.  Yikes.  That’s a lot of money.   
Have you ever paid cash for a big purchase? How did you make it happen?  Would you do it again?

A Nap Time Prayer

Father God,
Thank you for this sweet baby that you’ve entrusted into my care.  Help him to sleep well and wake up refreshed and rested.  Protect him as he sleeps and give me peace of mind to know he is safe.  Help me to be the mom you have designed me to be.  Give me wisdom as I raise him and help him to see you.  
In Your Son’s Name I pray, 
Amen.  

Ten Songs That Inexplicably Get Stuck in My Head

Do you ever get a random song stuck in your head? I do, all the time.  Oddly enough, I have some repeat offenders that have come around for years.  Some are songs I love, while others annoy the crap out of me.  Tell me I’m not the only one.  Here are the top ten songs that inexplicably get stuck in my head.  
1) “One” from A Chorus Line 
Obviously I sing this one to Fisher.  We dance, I dip him.  He loves it.  
2) “All Around the World” by Lisa Stansfield
Why? Who knows.  This random song appears in my head quite often and has since it came out in 1989. When I was ten.  I’m a freak, I know.  You might be more familiar with the Puff Daddy/Mase version, “Been Around the World”, but I prefer the original.    
3) “So Fresh, So Clean” by Outkast 
This one has even turned into our diaper change song.  What, you don’t have one of those?  “Ain’t no baby cute as me, I’m just so fresh, so fresh and so clean clean.  And they think I’m so cutie, I’m just so fresh…” You get the idea.  
4) “Paradise City” by Guns n Roses
Best middle school skating rink hang out song. Ever. Period. 
5) “It was a Good Day” by Ice Cube
Yes, I know all the words.  Yes, I love old school rap.  Don’t judge me.  
6) “Strawberry Wine” by Deana Carter
It came out my junior year in high school and has been making repeat appearances since then. 
7) Lodi Dodi by Snoop Dogg
Again with the old school rap.  I can’t help myself.  
8) “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin
This one and the one below always appear during road trips.  Fitting, I guess.  
9) “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson
10) “Think of Me” from Phantom of the Opera
Love this show.
For some reason I feel the need to explain myself about this list.  I grew up in dance class and loving musicals.  I’m from Arkansas, so country music is a given.  My parents raised me on classic rock.  I went to middle school and high school where I was by far in the minority so listening to rap was a way to fit in, and I came to love it.  Other than that, I have no explanations.  
What random songs get stuck in your head?     

Frugal Friday- Halloween Costumes

Halloween has come and gone, but I had to share my cute little bear with y’all.  Fisher was asleep before the first trick-or-treaters hit our house, so we had to do a little photo shoot earlier in the evening.  We set him up on a vintage quilt with pumpkins in his little bear suit.  Here are the best things about his costume, besides the obvious cute factor.  
It was free.  
My mama and her bff bought it for Fisher from the Carter’s outlet.  Thanks Mom and Tricia!  
It is a legitimate piece of clothing.  
It is a full suit with feet and a hood, made for real wear, instead of a cheap-o costume made for one time use.  It will be his winter coat until he grows out of it (which may be sooner than I’d hoped).  
It is warm and comfy.  
He loves wearing it.  
I’m hoping we can go this route in the future, wearing real clothes that can useful in daily life as a Halloween costume.  I’ve seen so many DIY costumes that use this kind of practicality across the internet and I think it is genius.  With a few handmade accessories, you can turn an outfit into a costume for a day, then wear it for the rest of the season.  I’ve also heard about great finds at consignment stores and garage sales, since most costumes are worn only once.  
How do you save money on costumes?  

Ten Things I Don’t Do

I’ve seen a lot of life lists in various forms around the blog world, and decided to make one of my own.  I’m going in a slightly different direction.  Here for your reading enjoyment is a list of ten things I don’t do.  Were I a famous actress these would all be clauses in my contracts.  
I don’t…
1. keep plants alive
2. iron clothes
3. eat meat that looks like the original animal
4. shower daily
5. text while driving
6. ride ferris wheels
7. watch scary movies
8. enjoy clowns or mascots or costumed theme park characters
9. keep up with the Kardashians
10. wear shorts 
What are a few things you don’t do?