Just bought a car

So I don’t talk about money to people. I don’t know why really, it’s just always been one of those subjects I don’t feel comfortable talking about. Possibly because I’ve been in debt for most of my life and I never liked it.

Unfortunately that leaves me in the position of having no one (other than my husband) to celebrate with. We’ve been working really hard for the last 2 years to pay off all of our debt without making radical changes to our lifestyle. As of last week we were down to our line of credit outstanding and were on track to pay that off in October leaving us with just the mortgage on the house.

Then my husband changed jobs. And the new one requires a LOT of driving. Not only does that mean a minivan paid off or not is not the best vehicle, it means that I would frequently be left with no personal transportation. It was time to go back to being a two car family. I fully admit to pouting, I wanted to be out of debt for at least a week or so before we took on a new one. It was really hard to see the finish line so close and then have it moved away.

After I finished pouting I got creative and started looking at all my options. Today I picked up a certified cheque for the full cost our new (dealer demo) Smart Fortwo. While technically it’s a loan from my tax account, I just paid cash for a car for the first time ever.

End result is that the last pay from my husbands old job and the reimbursement of all the money in his company stock plan will pay back the tax account and we’ll finish paying off the line of credit one month later, and have this parked in the driveway (Black/black).

I am ridiculously proud of us for getting to this point even though we’re old enough that we should have been here a decade or so ago.

Congrats! Some folks down the street have one of them. I’m getting another car this friday.

Adorable, grats :smiley:

It’s a cute little car and attractive for short trips. The ad talks about being comfortable for long drives. I’m not so sure. I know I’d hate to be in an expressway accident in one. What bothers me about tiny discount vehicles is the possibility of a short life span and high repair costs. The Smart only has a two year 24 month warranty so I’d be a little concerned with that aspect.

Congrats and good luck

My 97 Acura died two weekends ago. Because I am uncomfortable about my current finances, I bought a 2009 Hyundai Accent.

But unlike my last two cars, I will replace this one in a year or two.