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"The nice break that I had from paying a car payment is now officially over. My big plans for being car-payment-free and driving my old car for 300,000 miles into the sunset was interrupted by real life and the reality that it would could cost over $4,000 to keep it running. With the combination of old age and the wear and tear of a 152-mile per day commute, my poor little car just couldn&amp;#039;t deliver what I was asking of it. It&amp;#039;s okay though; it was a great and reliable car and kept me safe even during even the worst days of the brutal New England winter weather. While I was frustrated at the thought of having to take on another car payment, I knew that I now had the good financial sense to make a smart decision this time around and do it in the most sensible way that I could. I am proud of the results and I can tell you how good it feels to not (for the very first time) lay awake at night, knowing that I made a dumb financial mistake and bought a car that I couldn&amp;#039;t afford. This time, I believe I got it right; after learning so many difficult lessons and gaining the knowledge from writing this blog and sharing my mistakes with you. For one, I bought used for the first time since I was a teenager and I will tell you this: I will never, ever buy new again. This car is only one year-old and it shaved about $8,000 off of the price because of it. It only had 13,000 miles and is in mint condition, with a sparkling interior and exterior and four brand-new tires. Everyone who has seen it thinks it&amp;#039;s brand new, and I can&amp;#039;t help but smile because of it. Next, it is a four-cylinder instead of six, like my old car. This has shaved about $25 off of my weekly gas expenses for a savings of $100 every month and I swear to you, I can&amp;#039;t tell the difference between the two types of cars. Finally, because it&amp;#039;s used, I save about another $100 off of my annual insurance costs. Because of my perfect driving record, the fact that I&amp;#039;m forty and I&amp;#039;m a woman, my insurance costs are already reasonable, but I&amp;#039;ll take that extra $100 thank-you-very much. Oh, and because the cost was so much less, my car payment is about $200 less than my last one. Not bad at all, right? It pays to be smart and to refrain from &amp;quot;needing&amp;quot; the latest and the greatest. Have you saved significant money buying used rather than new? Share your story with me! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a42398/mom-vs-car-payments-12416/>