I want to be encouraging in the frugal lifestyle that she and her husband have chosen. She talks about the many ways she is being frugal or has been frugal. It has allowed her to be able to work part-time, along with the peace of mind that comes by not looking around and seeing what you are still paying for.
You are looking at one of the major ways that we have chosen to be frugal. I am thankful that the two cars we now have are still running after all these years. I drive this 1994 Nissan Quest, that's right, 1994! and my husband drives a 1993 Ford Explorer. I have never had a desire to spend so much on a new car. Call me cheap! These cars have served us well. I know eventually we will have to update. This choice has helped with me being able to stay at home with my children when they were little, and now only work part-time(or less) substitute teaching. I am able to go when my kids need me to be there.
I asked a friend of ours who has done all of the work on our vehicles, "When is it time to say you have put enough money into older cars and get rid of them?" and his reply was as long as it is cheaper to repair than to buy new, it is worth it to stick with what you've got. We just replaced the radiator on my husbands car at the cost of about $200(he changed it himself) and that is much cheaper than one car payment.
Purchasing a newer car, not only means a possible car payment, but higher insurance premiums and higher cost of tags and taxes. The most we have had to spend in a year was about $1200 for a new transmission for my husbands Explorer, which was still cheaper than buying something newer. So you tell me. What do you think? How have you chosen to go against the flow and be frugal? Have a great weekend! Jackie
9 comments:
I so wish we didn't have two car payments, combined we pay as much as our mortgage... YIKES... Good for you!
Oh yea! I hear ya on the car payments. Our other car (the one poor James drives daily) is a 90 Honda Civic. It's not in great shape, but he only works about a mile away and that darn thing starts every time! Thanks for the sweet words.
My husband and I have always done the same! We have a '94 Ranger, '97 Civic and my new to us '04 van that was paid for in a year. It's so nice not to have a car pymt!!!!
I also love the freedom to stay home most of the time with Amelia! I wouldn't trade that time for a new mercedes!
I was thinking about your daughter and wondered if you had ever heard of the book "The Maker's diet". I don't know that it would help but it might be worth you googling it. The author is Jordan Rubin.
Have a wonderful weekend!
My husband is so against car payments that we pay them off ASAP and thankfully have both paid off. It is a great feeling!
We also have been without car payments for quite awhile. We have a 2000 Dodge van and a 1996 Ford Ranger. While it is so tempting to upgrade, being content with what we have has a wonderful upside. We are about to have to pour some money into our van and that is probably going to bring on the newer used car blues (we have pretty much vowed never to buy new again). While I doubt we will upgrade we are very happy that we have driven our cars for a long time and Lord willing they will give us more years to come.
Great post about being frugal with vehicle purchases and driving cars for many years. Thank you!
Hi Jackie! Cars are just a major issue and investment, aren't they? We have two teenagers driving now. SO, hubby and I are sharing. There's no need for us to have 4 cars. It just requires a little coordination sometimes. We haven't had a car payment in many years. We have paid cash for the last two and hope to do so always in the future.
I completely agree with you about car payments. I also preach that fixing your paid-off car is ALWAYS cheaper than making car payments! I drove my Honda Accord for 17 yrs. before we sold it! My 2003 Mazda MP3 is now paid off-yay! I will probably drive this forever too!
I love your post! We live in a small town and just got rid of our new vehicles. We used to need them at our old house, but now we can ride bikes, walk, and skateboard {not me} to anything we want. The truck is there to pull the boat!
Thanks for stopping by earlier...good luck!
~Kim
I wish we had never bought a new car... especially with the economy and loss of value!
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