I won’t lie. The idea of buying a new car has been very tempting lately. Especially with some of the low interest financing offers floating around out there.
So far, I’ve resisted.
Currently, I have two vehicles: a 2001 Hyundai Elantra and a 2007 Honda Odyssey.
The Elantra has been paid off since 2003. I’m still paying for the Odyssey (as you can see in the little chart below).
Do I have a reason to buy a new car? Not really. The Elantra is running fine even though it’s nearly 8 years old. It’s just that “urge to splurge” that’s been getting to me lately.
Which is why I’m thankful I’m accountable to you, dear reader.
Without you, I may have screwed up again a long time ago. I just can’t bear to report to you that my debt has increased — so long as an increase is unavoidable.
So I keep fighting the good fight and paying off debt. :-)
And that brings me to my total outstanding debt for December 2008.
As you can see, I paid off $1,444.10 in the last 30 days. Not bad!
I’m finally below the $40K mark again, and that feels really good. Won’t be long (maybe 6 months or so) and my total debt will fall below $30K.
So progress is good and steady for now.
One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is my expected tax bill come January. It’s a big one. But I’ll save that for another post.
Take care.
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Wow… your cars seem pretty young to me. My husband drives a 1997 Geo Prism, and I drive a 2000 4Runner. We’ll be replacing my husband’s car with a 2006 truck for $11,000.
With the 4Runner not even having 60,000 miles yet, it’s gonna be a LONG time before I think about replacing it. I only put 6,000-7,000 miles a year on it. I’m not sure what kind of mileage to expect from my husband with his truck, as his car does have over 100,000 miles, but he only puts on about 1,000/year these days.
I’d say you have absolutely no reason to buy a new car at this time in your life, and if you can’t overcome the urge… Go buy a hot wheels version of the car you want, hang it on the wall with a note that says “I’m not gonna get into more debt for you.” ;)
@Leah – Thanks for your comment. You made me laugh. :-)
Certainly, we’ll hold onto the Odyssey for a long time yet. It’s practically brand new.
The Elantra is a bit older. I’ve thought about selling it now because there’s usually a “sweet spot” around the 7-year mark for getting a decent price for your vehicle. After that, it usually takes a big drop in price.
On the flip side, the car only has 81,000 miles on it, so it’s got a lot of life left in it.
I’m driving a rusty 1989 Toyota! I’m definitely
thinking it’s time to replace it!
Keep up the good work! Resist those temptations. I remember when Julie and I went through that. It was painful at times as you’re resisting the urge to splurge on something. We just found lower cost ways to splurge and celebrate.
But it actually feels so good when you make a breakthrough and buy stuff with cash you used to have to use credit for. For us, one of the first items like that was a new couch we bought. It felt different than when you bought it with credit.
@Amy – Hmmm… a rusty car from 1989. Yeah, I think it may be time to replace it. ;-)
@Terry – Thanks for the encouragement, brother! I really appreciate it.
For us, we’ve been taking care of three young kids 24/7 for the last year… and we’re really looking forward to getting our first night away by ourselves since May 2007.
I suspect the urge to splurge is sometimes a way to create perceived excitement in our life when we’re feeling trapped or burnt out. At least for Steph and me.
As you pointed out though, it just feels different when you buy something outright. We did that this past summer when we bought a new bed. We were sleeping on a bed from 1982 that we’d gotten free from our neighbors. So it was time. And it felt great to purchase it with cash.
Thanks for the reminder.
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