Lately on personal finance sites, I've seen a lot of advice recommending that people reduce their expenses by getting rid of their car. What should you consider before you get rid of your car? Where do you live? First and foremost, where do you live? I personally can't imagine giving up my car while living in my hometown. Rural midwestern community, zero public transportation, a single Uber driver (at last check), and very little in terms of … [Read more...]
What happens when you pay off your car loan?
After taking a hard look at my finances at the end of 2018, I decided that I would take money out of my savings account to finally pay off my car loan. If I continued with my accelerated payment schedule, I would have paid it off over the summer, but I decided I just wanted to be done with it. So I made the final payment the first week of January. I made the payment online, and confirmed over the next few days that my loan balance was now … [Read more...]
Buying a New Car
After just under 11 years with my faithful vehicle, I bit the bullet and bought a new car this weekend.Why did I buy a new car?A few reasons. I knew that my car was going to need some serious maintenance in the next few thousand miles. There's the standard maintenance and replacement that comes when your car hits certain odometer milestones. One of the window motors was also going, which is an expensive fix. Finally, the bumper and … [Read more...]
This Year’s Project
Every year, I take on a big project for my house. By big, I tend to mean an outlay of money. Whenever possible, I like these to be home improvement projects, because they only improve the value of my home. In the past, I've done things like having the fence replaced, the landscaping reworked, and the driveway and sidewalk installed. So now I'm wondering what I should do this year. I've saved up a chunk of money, and there are a lot of … [Read more...]
Car Ownership – When to Upgrade?
The other day, I posted a photo on Facebook. I had been cleaning out my car for the first time in forever and found my parking pass for the garage by my law school. This was for the 2006-2007 school year. Yes, I'd say I need to clean out my car more often. In my defense, it was buried in the glove compartment, not just laying on the floor or thrown onto the dashboard.So I posted a photo of it and joked that I should clean my car out more … [Read more...]