The Luxury of Frugal

Before trying to get out of debt, I'd find great pleasure in driving a brand-new mini-van. When our cars--all given to us--died, I was itching to go get the Odyssey. "It'll be the best purchase ever. Reliable and it'll last 10 years. Just imagine it!" I dreamily told my husband.
So, we went to buy a new mini-van. Even though both of our cars were given to us free, and in work placed into it money wise would be like buying the car. We didn't think about that. By the way, I have seen the Cadillac still driving around town. It makes me feel stupid.


But being stupid is being normal. Think about it: Are you out of debt? Do you know anyone not in debt? I seriously do know several. But most of my friends whip out their credit cards, charge it, without blinking an eye. Several people I know went bankrupt "because they had no choice" and then went on major vacation soon after. So, debt is normal. Bankruptcy is normal. The people I know who went bankrupt didn't cancel cable, didn't eliminate their cell phone or phone line, trim down eating at restaurants, purchases. No, they just stopped being able to pay the debt their accumulated out of their normal paycheck, felt anxious about the collectors calling and went to the lawyer. As soon as they went bankrupt, they got a new credit card.


Credit card companies aren't stupid. The bankrupted person is actually less risky than someone trying to get out of debt--they can't go bankrupt again.


So when the 2004 Odyssey died, I had to retrain my thoughts to focus on what would be the best way to go. The van was sitting on a lot, broken. According to the dealership, it would cost $5000 to fix. We live in a rural area and a van is needed to go to our activities and work. So, we needed to have something mobile. I found a nice ford explorer for sale on my road to picking up my husband at work. It caught my eye because it had a $700 price tag.


As Dave Ramsey supporters, we knew there was a chance to negotiate if we went and got cash. C went to look over the explorer--it was an eye sore inside, sounded awful, but doable. We checked the vin, other explorers in the price range, and went and purchased the vehicle for $500 cash. The extra $200 will go to repair the truck.


But will the truck last?


We have bought ourselves time. If the truck works for 10 days, we will make the money back by not renting out a vehicle. We will be using this vehicle until we can save the cash to repair the odyssey. The funny thing is that the dealership wanted to buy the car back and put us back into debt. No way. The mini-van is worth $10,000. As Chris says, we'd pay $5000 for a mini-van, used. Why not invest in a new transmission that will last 6 more years?


For now, we have a truck we aren't sure will last 10 days, but will save us money. Of course, the rental could fit all of us in the van. The truck requires strapping a husband to the roof.