I bought my first ever new car today. With gas prices as high as they are, my truck was costing me a fortune to keep on the road, so I decided to look for something more fuel efficient. I found a car that, when you combine the car payment and fuel costs to drive the same amount I do now, will cost me a grand total of $3 more than it costs me to drive my truck. So, for a whopping $3 per month extra, I have a brand new car with a 5 year 120k bumper to bumper warranty. For 120,000km I will have no repair costs whatsoever. It will save me a ot of money, considering my truck likely will need work at some point in the future.
We now own a very pretty new Pontiac G5 SE coupe. It isn’t fancy and doesn’t have every feature in the book, but it has air, cruise and a nice stereo (and it is black!). It is also rated for 48MPG on the freeway. It is a very sexy little car. Of course, it is not a truck, so I can’t tow or go off roading with it, but for now I still have my truck so I can take advantage of it while it is still here. I have advertised it for sale, so we shall see what happens.
In other news- I finished paying off BOTH of my student loans this month! I am really excited about that. It has been 10 years since I started paying them off and they were always a drag on my finances. Now all we have left are Katt’s loans. I am hoping we can take care of one of them by the end of summer. The other one will take a few years still, but having 3 of 4 student loans paid off will be HUGE.
Debt sucks!
We have decided to stay in our current home.
We flirted with moving to Vancouver Island but a number of factors encouraged the decision to stay here. The main reason we decided to stay was because I love my job. I love the environment, the pay is great, there are health benefits, and there are oppotunities for education and advancement that are not available elsewhere.
We really felt that job stability was really important right now for us, especially considering the economic outlook for Canada in the next few years, both in terms of lack of employment and increased food and fuel prices.
I spent the last 6 weeks painting the house in preparation to sell, and even had Katt’s folks come over this week to help me do a few home projects. Now that we are not selling, the priorities for renos have shifted. I am glad I have done so much on the house though, even if it is just for ourselves. Beautifying our environment is always a good thing.
There will be some things we will have to figure out now that we are staying. My job(s) require me to commute an awful lot and I pay a ridiculous amount for fuel every month. Driving an SUV, even a small one, is not cheap. I have to decide whether or not to get a new/newer vehicle to try to reduce our fuel costs, or stick with the current beast. I want to sit down and actually figure out the costs of financing or leasing a new vehicle as opposed to keeping my current vehicle. That way I will know what the benefits/drawbacks are. My initial thought is that purchasing a new vehicle with a 5 year warranty would mean no maintenance costs for 5 years, plus good gas mileage. Keeping my current vehicle means high gas costs and potentially high upcoming maintenance costs. What the numbers work out to, I ust figure out. I have never been a fan of leasing, but it might be a good option.
We also need to figure out of a hot tub is affordable. Katt could really use one to assist with her fibromyalgia symptoms. There is also the option of getting a jetted bath tub. We will have to see what is affordable.
I am relieved in many ways that we are staying where we are and nervous in other ways. I am relieved because I get to stay in a job I love, I don’t have to move, and I get to keep my very cool home. I am nervous because by staying put we won’t be able to pay off student loans and thus our expenses will remain higher than if we were to move.
Lots of planning to do.
But… yay!
There really hasn’t been enough going on to write about, at least that is worth talking about. As with recent entries, I’ve been focused on finishing the home renovations I started when we moved into our house in 2006.
So far I have:
- painted the ‘den’
- painted the kitchen (including stripping hinges of 50 years of caked on paint andre painting them, and putting on new door handles, as well as put new trim on wall cubby)
- painted the bathroom
- deconstruced ensuite bathroom in preparation of turning it into a closet
- ‘patched’ hole in 2nd bedoom wall (which I am unsure will look good and won’t know for sure until I paint over the patch)
- sold and removed most of the items from the basement
Still to do:
- paint 2nd bedroom
- paint master bedroom
- renovate ensuite into closet (includes capping sewage pipes)
- organize garage
- pack non essentials
- paint floor and one wall in basement
- paint foundation of house
- touch up exterior window trim and scrape paint off exterior windows
- paint front door and sliding door trim
- landscape front yard
- fireplace mantlepiece
- garage sale
I have help coming in for the ensuite and mantle piece. I could do it on my lonesome, but the help will make it go so much quicker.
I am hoping to have everything complete by May 22. Cross my fingers!
