I have spent the last year really cutting back and re-structuring my budget. I think I've done a good job and I'm almost out of debt. You all know about my car problems. This month they are going to have to be dealt with as it is time for inspection and registration and I can't have a vehicle in my parking lot that is not registered. So I have a little more than a month to figure out what to do with my broken down car.
Today I drove down the street to a local mechanic and he was so nice. He looked at my car, did a read out of the check engine light codes and test drove it to try and discover what was wrong with it and whether it was worth fixing. He didn't charge me a penny either. I was so grateful! We talked for about an hour about the car, and all of my options. It basically came down to 1. This car is on it's way out, would cost over $1000 dollars just to fix 3/4's of the problems. 2. I drive a lot so buying a beat up used car would probably just get me right back to where I am now in about a year. He said I could probably sell it to some mechanic that could fix it on his own for $1500.
He suggested that I invest my money into something decent that is going to last me awhile (read new or almost new). So I am seriously considering buying a new car. I already filled out the loan application at my credit union. We'll see what they say. And why do I want to buy new? I am so tired of buying used and having this same thing happen to me year after year. Maybe I'm just buying bad used cars, but I want something that I can take care of myself right from the beginning and something that I have confidence in.
What I need you guys to do is look at my current budget and tell me if I can afford a new car. I think I can because I know that on paper, I should have a lot of money left over at the end of each month. SO here goes:
Monthly Expenses:
Mortgage: $1240
Condo fee: $225 (going up in December to $250)
Condo Insurance: $21.58
Utilities: $190
Groceries and household items: $650
Life Insurance: $22
EZ Pass - $50
Gas: $216
Auto Service: $62.50 (last years average)
Auto Registration: $30
Auto Insurance: $57.41 (2 cars with liability only)
Cable/Internet/phone: $120
Cell Phones: $80
Facial care - acne treatments: $66 (I suffer from adult acne and have a special product that works for me)
Health Club: $20
Viola - $32
Condo Assoc. payment plan: $150 for 6 months
Entertainment: $138 (this is from quicken over the last year)
Dining: $377 (we have done much better on this recently, but this is just our last years average)
Clothing: $141 (last years average)
Christmas: $42
Birthdays: $30
Timeshare Taxes: $35
Total Expenses: 3995.49
Remaining Debt that will be gone this month so it doesn't count towards my monthly expenses:
Gap Card: 51.03
Dartmouth Hitchcock (doctor): 34.76
Macy's Card (balance paid in full when used): 67
Dentist: 20
Total Income:
Husband: Approx $3380 per month net (give or take $100)
Me: $1205.80 per month Approx (I calculated for missed lessons)
Husband's part time jobs: $125
Total per month: $4710.80
So, as you can see, I should have around $715 dollars left over each month and I tried to think of every expense although I see that I forgot our yearly vacation, but that's only about $500 dollars per year. I'm almost out of debt. In 6 months I'll free up another $150. My auto insurance and registration will go up with a new car, but my auto service will go down. I spent close to $1000 dollars last year fixing my car. I can also work on bringing other expenses wayyyyy down like dining. We have done really well the last few months on not eating out hardly at all. The beginning of the year ruined my average. I can also cut down on my clothing purchases. I spent a lot of money on myself this year because I really had no clothes to wear after having a baby and gaining weight.
I'm looking at financing about 10K and having a $200 dollar car payment. Possibly buying a toyota yaris or similar. I'm also looking at paying it off as quickly as possible. Don't forget that my business is run out of my car, so I can claim my miles. Maybe there's something else I can claim since I drive for a good part of my piano business.
I'm just looking for some reinforcement that I can afford a car. I need it badly and I've thought long and hard over months and months about this decision. Dh and I are starting to have issues with our jobs. He can't get to his part time job because I have lessons and vice a versa. I have about $500 in savings but that will be brought back up to $100 with my husbands part time Christmas job in the next month. I'm planning on not putting anything down with the Credit Union loan.
OK - give it to me!
