The New Car Conundrum

Back in July, I had a little windfall. Not much of one, really, considering that, combined with my salary, I cleared just a tad over what I'd made at my previous job.

One of the things I seriously considered (on the urging of my then-bf who has purchased more new vehicles than I can count) is purchasing a new car. After all, my car -- which I bought for less than $10K and was already a year old with 36K miles -- is 10 years old, has been paid off for five years, and is closing in on 160K miles. My car is the epitome of no-frills. No cruise control, no tilt-wheel, no sun roof...it doesn't even have a rear-window defroster, an intermittent wiper setting, floor mats, or hub caps. The fanciest accoutrements (sp?) it has are an automatic transmission and dual airbags. It wheezes up mountains, has the pep of a tortoise, and the engine noise is so loud you almost need earplugs.

"You know, I worked really hard for that windfall. Really hard," I told myself. "How many chances will I have to purchase a car, brand-new, outright. No interest. No car payments." In my ex's eyes, it was a no-brainer. And for many others, it would be as well.

But I wasn't ready. So I socked the cash into my savings, where it earned .0000000001% interest. I felt better having it there while I pondered the possibilities of what I was going to do with my cash.

Blow it on an exotic adventure for my 40th birthday, like a trip to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics? Prague? Amsterdam? Maybe. My close friend is traveling to Marrakesh during my birthday to stay with her friend whose son set her up with a free place to stay for a month. I'm hard at work figuring out how to gracefully invite myself to join them (I'd get my own lodging) without looking like a vacation-poacher...keep your fingers crossed! After all, I have become extremely resistant to traveling alone anymore, because of the state of the world these days, not to mention the fact that traveling solo doesn't hold the "I'm so cool and independent that I don't mind traveling alone" romance it once did.

Invest in home improvement? You know, this is a great idea. Statistics show that the best investment you can make in your home is to spiff up your kitchen and bathrooms. And mine desperately need it: new cabinets, new appliances, new sinks. But I don't want to spend a fortune on improvements that may not pay off once I sell. Besides, I have no intention of selling any time soon. I love where I live. But, it seems to me that this is the perfect reason to upgrade. Why spend my hard-earned money upgrading just so someone else can enjoy it? Shouldn't I be the one enjoying it? So, I'm going to look into inexpensive ways to upgrade that will increase the value of my home without eating up my money. Hmmm....

Sock away money in my IRA? I went back and forth on this one for a loooong time, but I finally decided it was in my best interest to put the max into my IRA. I still have plenty left over, thank goodness. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't do it. So I did.

Give some money to charity? I did that, to. Gave a pretty fat check to my church, which just celebrated its 2-year anniversary and had to be self-sufficient at the 2-year mark. I felt good about that.

For the time being, rather than buying the Yaris I want, I have decided to keep my car after reading this article on MSN Money. I have used every weapon in my arsenal to feel good about the decision. I bought a set of Michelins for less than $300 at Costco (the old girl's earned herself a nice pair of shoes), steam-cleaned the upholstry and carpet, and keep up on oil changes. I'll be getting her a new timing belt soon and maybe a new paint job. I figure I'll save gobs on money in insurance (I only carry liability and pay maybe $500/year) and property taxes (I pay less than $70/year). It's a no-brainer. She works great. My mechanic says I can get her up to 500K miles if I continue babying her the way I have. And well, that's pretty cool to tell folks I'm in a car with a half-million miles on it, right?

My dad's mentioned buying the car from me for more than I'd get on trade-in. It's tempting. Between that and what's left over from my windfall, I could very well be able to afford to buy a car outright. But we'll see.

In the meantime, I'm still in the Tabbymobile everyone knows me by. But who knows. Come New Year's, I might be in a new Yaris!