Wordless Wednesday: Frugal New Wheels

Now here's a phrase I never thought I would be typing:

Volvo Stationwagon

That's right folks, I got me some old new wheels yesterday. This was purely a financial decision.

To make a long story short, we decided to sell the car I have been driving my entire married life-- a Mazda Tribute. Great little car, by the way... it served us well. However we made the huge mistake of financing the car just before our wedding in 2004, when it was brand new.

I am not a financial expert by any means, but let me tell you, we paid dearly for that mistake. To the tune of thousands of dollars in interest charges and instant depreciation. Never again will we finance a brand new car.

We had been researching used mini-vans recently (also something I never thought I would type) and decided that they were beyond our price range at this time.

Hubby suggested a station wagon. Hey, why not? We can still throw the dogs in back for a ride and it even has a rare third row seat.

A day later, we were driving home in our 1999 Volvo V70 with 84,000 miles on it. Fully loaded! Dave Ramsey would be proud.

I wish I could say that we paid cash for it. We actually sold the Mazda private party for what we owed on it and paid it right off. We then acquired a very respectable loan from my credit union.

Let me just say, working with a credit union for a car loan is just a pleasure. Walking into a dealer with a pre-approved loan gives you instant bargaining power. We ended up paying $1000 less than the asking price.

So, the results? We have $2000 less debt overall, and our monthly car payment has been cut in half.

I am now a Stationwagon rockin' momma. Who knew it would feel so good?