New Car

My husband and I have decided that very soon we will be getting a brand new car. Very soon. The time has come, the 4 door sedan will no longer suffice for long trips with two growing kids and a very big dog. The last trip we made would have been comedic if not for the fact that everybody, kids, dog, me and my husband weren't all so very uncomfortable. But we made quite the sight at the service centres, like a clown car almost. My hubby has gotten very good at packing our car, it's akin to a jigsaw puzzle, but this last trip, with feet that had fallen asleep, everybody absolutely covered in dog hair, short tempers and even shorter patience... we decided that maybe we need to get that new car sooner than later, or stop taking long trips. Since we intend to go to New Brunswick for Easter, stopping the trips is not an option for us.

It may seem strange for a person who is contemplating buying a brand new $20,000 car to be writing about saving money. But it's even more important now. We have chosen a life of one income, and need to make it work. The only way to do that without falling massively in debt, is to budget and plan and show a little discipline. We haven't been too bad really... but we need to reign it all in, and overhaul it all. We want to live comfortably (who doesn't?) but if you really really look at the spending, there are a great deal of things that we all spend money on that in 6 months from now we will have forgotten about. Take food for instance, groceries are definitely an essential - but the take out gotten because we forget to pack a lunch for after swimming class, while essential at the time (those of you who have ever dealt with a tired and hungry child understand!) is not an essential, it is just poor planning.

One of the things I struggle with is assumptions. People either assume we are poor, or rich. Poor because I constantly say "we can't afford that" "it's not worth the money", or "no thanks". They assume we are rich because my husband has a great job, and I don't make any money at my jobs. The truth is that we have just enough money to live a dream. I get to be a stay at home mother, which is a real dream come true. I have a modest but nice home, two decent cars (but small) food on the table, give to charity, and enough left over to live well. But I don't have money to spend continuously, buy all the newest toys (for all ages), or vacation anyplace other than with family. The purpose of the blog is not to garner sympathy as I live the life I love, and have chosen. It's only to help me focus (and you too if you're trying) on what is important, what is worth spending on, and what kinds of things we hope to achieve by not spending. For instance for me, a new car is very important, and a $20,000 car is worth it, a $30,000 is not. By not spending the extra $10,000 we put an extra $150 or so in our pocket each month. That helps create a bigger cushion for extras (oh to finish our bedroom/kitchen/insert any other room in my house here)

So in conclusion today, this is about striking balance, keeping this life affordable and within reach. Not sending us into massive debt, or me into a panic about finding a job right away. My husband once said to me "think about what you want to be working for when you return to work, is it for vacations, retirement, 'extras', or is it to be paying off debt we acquired from the dollar store and Walmart?" Hmm.