Cash is King

Today we did something we've talked about for quite some time.

We bought a car with cash.

Real cash.

It's not new. Or ultra fancy.

But it's kind of fancy.

And it's ours with no car payment.

We were nervous about this you know. Paying with cash-real cash. Who really walks around with an envelope full of one-hundred dollar bills?

But Dave Ramsey promised that it would get us a better deal on a car.

When the bank teller counted the money back to us I had to hold back laughter. It just seemed so crazy. We were entirely terrible at acting like nothing was up upon exiting the bank- suddenly very suspicious of our surroundings. Dashing Boy really wanted to come home and throw the money up in the air like in the movies. But I said no. What if we lost one? That would not be good.

Let me just tell you that car dealerships are practically begging people to come buy new cars right now. $99 down payment!!! $159 monthly payments!!! Think you can't afford the car you dream of? THINK AGAIN!!!

It was slightly tempting but ever so out of reach to get the new Honda Fit that we both love.

But it was more tempting to put our budgeting skills (and hard earned savings) to use and buy a car that we can afford.

We did tons of research and actually ended up going for a car that was listed out of our price range-oh yes it's true. But don't be alarmed, because we purchased it in our price range.

First, we got the Kelly Blue Book quote for the car we were interested in as well as an appraisal from Edmunds for a second opinion. The price we got back on both searches was under the asking price. So we called the seller and asked them if there was any reason the car was listed above blue book. "My wife actually said she listed it high," he said. This was our first clue that these people might be willing to work with us.

Second, we checked out the car and took it on a test drive. We also looked at quite a few other cars similar to this one (my oh my, there are some bad and smelly cars out there!) So we knew what a good car would look like.

Third, Dashing Boy and I are lacking in the car mechanic knowledge area. So we arranged to take the car to a mechanic for a pre-purchase evaluation. We also reviewed the Consumer Reports guides: Inspecting a Used Car and How to Spot a Lemon. These were very helpful (and well worth the $25 yearly membership fee for Consumer Reports). In addition we got a carfax report on the car to make sure the history was clean.

Fourth, we sat in the car shop and read exciting magazines while we waited for the verdict. (see above picture.)

Fifth, We got a positive verdict from the mechanic, so we decided what price we thought the car was worth and put the appropriate amount of cash (minus a bit for bargaining room) in an envelope.

Finally, it was deal time. We were nervous. We sat down with the sellers and gave our first offer.

And you know what?

They took it! "That sounds very fair," they said. And it was.

Would we have payed less if we started lower? perhaps. But it was a deal I felt good about.

Unfortunately, It was such a smooth transaction that the cash didn't even come into play. But it was still kinda fun to have it- and it definitely made us stick within our price-range.

We filled out the papers and then I counted the cash out bill by bill.

"Did you want to throw the money up in the air when you got it from the bank?" the wife asked.

"Yes. Yes we did."

I hope they do. Someone should. It's pretty dang exciting.

And so is buying a car for cash. Full down payment!!! No monthly payments!!! Think you can't afford to buy a good used car for cash? THINK AGAIN!!!

Woo Hoooooooooo!

That's right. $1.94 for a gallon of gas! Of course now we're driving way less than we were when gas was $4.30. But it is nice to see one part of our budget stretching a little further.

$23.47 per week, per person

You know it's bad when your watching a report on CBS Evening News about the food stamp program and how it is becoming nearly impossible for people to get by with the allotted amount of money they receive-- and the amount pretty much matches your own grocery budget.

Thankfully, for us, this is by choice so we can save for other things. But I did feel a little dramatic about it as I was watching CBS' report and learned this fact.

Pocket Money

A little over a year ago Dashing Boy and I took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class with some friends of ours. We were a little skeptical at first, as in this weird way it almost felt like we were going to some network marketing event. But seriously, it was such a great class and I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it to anyone. It provided the groundwork for us to really come together on money matters and it was informative, fun, and kicked us into gear to become debt free! But enough about that.

Part of Dave's advice on budgeting is to give yourself some "blow money" every month that you can spend on whatever you want. The idea is to put the desired blow money amount in your budget so that it is accounted for. This way, you can still have the success of staying on budget and being responsible with your money but you can also have a break and the thrill of being able to spend the money on whatever you want- be it ice cream or chocolate or clothes or whatever (you know where my mind is :)

We have loved this facet of our budget. But, there is one problem with it-- the term. We both have agreed this past year that we sound like idiots whenever we're saying it in conversation.
"Dashing Boy, do you have any blow money?" "I think I'll just spend my blow money on that." "How much blow money do we want this month?" This has been quite the dilemma as we have had a difficult time coming up with a different word that fits.

But alas, just a few weeks ago it happened. We were driving in the car and it hit me.
"What about pocket money?" I said to Dashing Boy.
"Why didn't we think of that before!?" he exclaimed.

So there you have it. Pocket money it is. There is just something about the term that is endearing. It's so old-fashioned. For some reason though I have the hardest time saying it without a cheesy English accent. "Do you have any pocket money." You try saying it. "I think I'll just spend my pocket money on that." "How much pocket money do we want this month."

Definitely the new way is so much better.

$42 of goodness

This past year Dashing Boy and I have kicked ourselves into financial shape. When we first graduated from college we went out and "bought" a fabulous new couch and a lovely chair and a half-- on credit of course with 0% interest for the first year.. blah blah blah. I guess the milestone of graduation somehow justified getting rid of some DI stuff and making a major furniture purchase.

Luckily, our credit spending stopped there and it only took us a couple of months to realize we didn't really want to play that game! So for the past year we've taken on more active financial roles- relating with money, paying off debt, establishing an emergency fund, saving saving saving, and yes, doing the dreaded budget. It has actually been a lot of fun and a huge relief to take control of our money- together- and to define for ourselves a golden standard of living that doesn't include keeping up with the Jones'! It's like the new, cool, young thing to do to be financially responsible! Ok, so probably-hopefully not new, but for us yes.

So now, Dashing Boy and I have a fun time pointing things out to each other that illustrate the terrible messages that we are being bombarded with about money and spending. We point out the occasional positive messages too, but usually whatever it is gives us a good laugh and sometimes, if it is good enough, we take a picture of it. This sign, outside a favorite eating establishment in Salt Lake was just too good to pass up. Please note the asterisk in the bottom right corner and look at the words carefully.

And now, after saying all of this I have a confession to make. I don't know how it happened. Actually, that is wrong to say- I do know how it happened, but I never thought it would come this far. Ok, here I go.. I spent $42.00 this month on girl scout cookies. Ah! I couldn't help it! I've been dreaming about them since last October and you can only get them once a year you know. So, I was a total sucker and we now have 6 boxes of Samoas, 4 Tagalongs, and 2 Thin Mints. In my defense, it is for a good cause and we actually put it in the budget and we're still saving our same target figure. So, instead of doing a variety of other things that we usually do with the misc. budgeted money, we will eat girl scout cookies- all 12 boxes.