Growing Up Is Hard to Do

I made the difficult, if responsible, decision to NOT purchase a new car this spring.

Why?  After I put you all through the mind-numbing car research posts?  The wishing and hoping?  The bitching about my current car?  As much as I would like a new car, the security of having no consumer debt and a cushion of savings seems WAY sweeter than being able to hook my mp3 player up directly to my car's sound system and have 10 cup holders.

I looked at my credit card balance the other day and noted that with my current payment schedule I would be payed off in one or two months- right on time with the "car" schedule.  This frees up $300 or more a month to throw at other debts, savings, or once-a-year expenses (June is registration and inspection month...)

So, as much as I want a new car, none of the vehicles I looked at excited me more than seeing the end of my consumer debt.  I'm even excited to amp up my savings!  This is such an old-fogey decision, I know, but I'm coming to peace with it.

Of course, now I have to actually SAVE and not spend this money on things like shoes, new clothes, and top-shelf gin.  Maybe I'm not growing up as fast as I think.....

A Neeewww CAAARRRR!!!

In a previous post I detailed my new budget plan with the end-game of purchasing a new car.  In the next few posts I'll be going through some of the cars I'm looking at with stats, options, prices, and relevant reviews.  I'd love any input you have.

Background: I currently drive a 2002 VW Cabrio convertible.  It's effing ADORABLE.  It's great to paralell park, and nothing is greater than taking that top down on a warm sunny day and going ... anywhere.  The most mundane errands are fun when buzzing around in this cute little car.  And it IS little.  I can find a parking spot just about anywhere, which was a huge boon when I was still living in the middle of the city.  I bought it from a co-worker on the SUPER cheap, with low mileage and a pristine body (the car, not the co-worker).  I blame credit the Cabrio with getting My Runner and me together- if it wasn't for a dead battery the day of playoffs (and the subsequent week), who knows what wouldn't have happened?

 Hallo, Auto!

Everyone loves topless driving

So why the heck do I want to sell?  Well, it's a Volkswagon, so there's essentially zero cup holders.  I know that's a bit trite, but I'm really looking forward to driving without coffee nestled in my crotch.  It's an automatic transmission, and even though it has 1st-3rd as options, I miss having a manual transmission in the winter.  It doesn't get the awesome gas mileage you would think for a small car with a small engine.  It's SMALL.  I barely consider it a 4 person car and I feel like I could be accused of entrapment whenever I have to transport someone in the back seat (insert obligatory Mall Rats joke here).  The trunk space is nearly as sparse.  When My Runner and I took the Cabrio to VT for a long weekend our luggage took up pretty much ALL the extra space in the car.

What doesn't work with the Cabrio informed what I'm looking for.  I'd like a small hatchback with a manual transmission that gets good gas mileage and has a good sized interior.  And lots of cup holders, (though it seems that every non-German car realizes this need as new cars have an average of 27 cup holders per passenger.)  My budget informs my price range.  I'll be selling the Cabrio in the spring/summer (best time to sell a convertible) and using the cash from the sale and my savings as a down payment.  Using calculators from my credit union and on cnn.com I was able to determine that I can afford a 4-year loan in the $15-$17K range.

I have a relatively broad list of cars to research.  I'd love any insight or suggestions you have!
Potential Cars:

• Honda FIT (I *love* this car... the list is so long because I don't want to be too partial)
• Kia Rio5
• Toyota Yaris (& Matrix- concerned the Yaris will be too small and the Matrix too big)
• Hundai Accent (& Elantra Touring- same concerns as the Toyotas, but these cars are CHEAP)
• Ford Fiesta
• Nissan Versa (& Cube- not sure I love the Cube's weirdness, but it's like an Element thats $8K cheaper)
• Mazda MAZDA A2 (& A3 5-door- I see a LOT of A3's on the road)

Shape Up Or....

While I wasn't paying attention, my life kinda fell apart.

I haven't been running.  Here and there a few miles, but maybe once a week.

I haven't been saving.  Well, I have money going to a savings account, but I'm also spending and using credit, so it amounts to the same thing.

I haven't been eating well.  I've been eating WELL- but not healthily.

On my day off this week I did some deep cleaning in my apartment.  I purged old and ill-fitting clothes (including going through the sock and underwear drawer), organized both closets, scrubbed the bathrooms, scoured and vacuumed the floors.  It was a good day- cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of junk I don't need made me very up-beat and happy.  It's obvious to me now that I felt my life lacking in structure, but wasn't sure how to articulate it.

Just one day later I was feeling so unsettled that I had an emotional breakdown in traffic.  Sure, no one likes traffic.  Usually I'm able to hold a certain amount of zen about it.  Yesterday, no zen, only Zuul.  I was so frustrated that once I was finally OUT of traffic I started crying.  That's not the sign of a well-balanced emotional state.

Last night I ran with My Runner and a group of others.  I wanted to run hard.  I wanted to push my lazy body and make it pay for it's inactivity.  But this was also a social outing.  Internally I fought between staying with my friends and running for me.

This morning on the way to work My Runner kept asking me if/why I was upset.  Wha?  I didn't feel upset.  I was fine.  Just fine.  I got the "... okayyyy...." and rightly so.  Of course I wasn't fine, but I wasn't even admitting to myself I wasn't fine.  How could I admit it to anyone else?

I'm not fine.  There are very basic aspects of my life that have no organization.  Chaos reigns.  I'm on the verge of tears for the smallest things.  And no, I'm not PMS-ing.  It's time to organize, purge, and regroup.

Back to running at least three times a week.  Every other Wednesday is a group run at this point, plus at least once a month I'm either doing a 5K or a longer group run, but that's not enough.  I want to be strong enough to snowshoe this winter and not hurt myself.  We're planning a trip to Mt. Katahdin in ME which is a rigorous hike.  Running is the cheapest and easiest way for me to stay in shape to do the things I want to do.  Now that I have a headlamp, running in the evening is a bit safer.  Time to break out that mace for my solo runs and see if anyone's got a spare reflective vest kicking around.  (Anyone got a spare reflective vest kicking around?)

My spending moratorium is back.  Again.  Expenses shall be limited to groceries (not "food"- lunch out is not a qualified expense), gas, and bills.  I do, of course, have a few exceptions (like baby-soul eye-cream), but this is THE plan.  I will keep my goal firmly in front of me, and since it's concrete I will share: a new car.  By May I'd like my credit card paid off, and about $4000 in cash (savings combined with the sale of my car), so I can put money down on a new Honda Fit (or something similar).  Currently I pay between $200-$250 to my credit card, but since I keep using it a bit it's not going down as fast as I'd like it.  I can get a car payment under $300, so I'd simply be replacing my credit card payment with a car payment.  Considering how often my Cabrio has had issues, I think this is a solid investment.  This means putting off purchases I had planned on, like a new laptop, a hair cut, and some new dish towels, but eh.  I'll live.

I'll be eating right.  And by that I mean eating poor.  I have PLENTY of food in my house.  The only groceries I should need are fruits and vegetables- I have enough protein and grains to get me through at least mid-December.  I'll give making bread another try- it was never AWESOME but it was generally edible.  Leftovers are not just a staple, but THE staple.  Creatively using ingredients is something the best home cooks do, and I have enough of the basics down to spread my wings.  Hell, I might even find a new awesome dish (amongst the awful failures and mediocre offerings).

The final aspect- accountability.  If I make my choices public then I must be accountable for my actions.  Looking back to when I was training for a half-marathon, I posted my runs all the time.  I won't do that, but I will start publishing my miles (look to the sidebar).  I will post about my kitchen experiments.  Maybe make a game show out of it!  What would YOU do with a can of black beans, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, and rotini?  You have almost every condiment imaginable, especially spicy ones.  Go.  And when I get to reward my good spending habits with test drives, I'll let you know what I think.