Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts

Paid For

My walk is a little lighter today. After five years and fifty thousand miles, I just made my last car payment. Woohoo. I am now the owner of a 2014 Ford Escape.


I remember as a teenager, my daddy would help me find a car I wanted. I really didn't care what kind of car it was as long as the radio worked.  He would buy it and I would make monthly payments to him until it was paid for. I can't remember ever paying one off. He would find me one for around 3000 dollars or less and I would pay a little each month... FOR EVER!.

My first car was a 1976 Honda Civic. It was about the size of a roller skate and hard as steel. I ended up to totaling it before I could pay for it. Among several other cars, I had a 1977 MG-B. That was my favorite car but gave me the worst trouble. I finally got tired of putting more into it than I was giving daddy to get it paid off. I traded it for a new Pontiac Fiero. Daddy knew it was more than I could handle but he trusted me anyway and co-signed on a deal. Payments were over my head and he finally took it away from me when I ran off and got married without his approval. Yea I was a little stinker.

A few years later I matured and married the right man who help me pay off all my debts and taught me to never buy things unless I could afford them. Since then, I have paid off four new cars. I will be ready to trade the one I have now in a couple years before the value wears off. I like to keep a new car for the warranty. Mine still has an extended warranty that is still good for a while.

People ask me how I do it? How can how we can pay 1200 a month for health insurance, pay bills and make a car payment on a tiny paycheck? I say "we do without a lot of things". We pinch our pennies. We also make sure we each pay our tithes.

We do not have fancy things or go many places, but we are happy just being around each. I get ten days vacation a year so we head to the beach were we stay in our camper for half the price of a hotel and eat a lot of sandwiches. It's not enough vacation time but it will have to do and we make the best of it. Though we do not have a lot of things we want, we have all the things we need.

We do not have credit card debt. We have our own checking accounts and we do not buy anything we can not pay for unless it's something big like a car or home, then payments are made and credit is built. For now, what I used to pay for a car payment, I will put into my savings to add to the next car I choose in a couple years.

Life is great when life is simple.




Car Thinking

I have read two blog post recently about “cars”. One was on Shipslog and the other at Life101.  Both bloggers love old cars. Jack at Shipslog will usually post a vintage car at the end of his posts. This made me think about cars. It’s about time for me to get a new one.

I grew up in a family where the boys were all about cars. I remember my brother had a 1970 Ford Torino GT. 


He sold it and bought it back a couple times. I’m not sure why whe would do this, but after a few years he would go on a mission to find his old Ford. Sure enough, he would find it and buy it back. My dad was always a Dodge man and My brothers are more into Fords. 

My husband is a Ford man too, so all the cars I have ever owned since we been married have been Fords. I am on my 5th one. I currently have a Ford Escape. This is my second one of those. I truely love it and it will be paid off in July. I am already thinking about my next car. I like to keep a new vehicle for warranty and trade value purposes. I do not mind making a small car payment, it beats having to put a few hundred dollars a month into a worn out car just to keep it running. have had my share of those. I once had a MG-B when I was young and it left me stranded many times. It kept my pockets empty. Now days, safety is a big concern so I need something dependable.

There is a car I want. It’s not a Ford. It’s a Fiat. 


Yes, an Italian made car. The price tags start at 16k. I do not know what it is about them, but I think they are so cute and it would be fun to drive one. The only one I like is the Fiat 500c. They are almost a convertible. Nick says no. He has a truck, but when we go out or takes trips, we take my car and he drives. He said he is not driving a Fiat. He made that clear to me. Yes ladies, I listen to my husband. He knows more about cars than I do and I trust his intentions. 


After the first of the year, I will start looking at my options for another small SUV. It would be really nice if I could afford an everyday car and also a little Fiat. Maybe I will hit the lottery. 


Something I learned today: There was a Fiat 500c in the 50’s! 
Here it is. 
 The 1959 Fiat 500c.
I’d rather have one of these.