Last week we bought my uncle's 2003 Chevy Cavalier to replace the 1997 Dodge Neon. The Neon was still running great, but the opportunity presented itself for the Cavalier and we jumped on it. We sold the Neon cheap because I didn't want a red lawn decoration.
Two days ago we traded in the van for a pick up truck. The truck is better able to tow the camper than the van, seats six, and has really low miles. We were able to keep to our decision to not take on new debt and were able to pay cash for it.
So now there are two new vehicles in our driveway and not one of them can carry all seven of us.
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Monday, September 14, 2009
Ledyard Fair
Despite the rather stormy, rainy, and chilly start, the weekend ended with sunshine and warmth! We had a great time at the Ledyard fair this weekend, showing our goats and chickens. All the girls did really well!
It was fun to have such a relaxing fair weekend, hanging out in the barn and visiting with friends. Ralph and Joyce came and had lunch with us one day. Grandma Smith and Aunt Rosann came to watch the girls show their goats. We have several new potential 4-H'ers that we were able to suck into the vortex too!
The only downside to the week was the news that Sam's car, also known as "Goldilocks", is dead. We are so thankful though that it died in the arms of our good friend (a mechanic) and NOT while Sam was on his way to Waterbury! We know she was in good hands and he did everything he could to save her. We definitely got our money's worth out of that car since we bought it in 2004, paid only $2000, drove it for over 100,000 miles, and it had no repairs above the normal oil change and brake pads!
Sam and I spent last night (after unpacking children, goats, and chickens!) on the internet, looking at used pickup trucks, rebuilt engines for Ford escorts, and used small cars. We decided after an hour or so that we will look for a cheap used engine from a junkyard to put into "Goldi" and hope we can get another 6-9 months (13 months would be a real bonus!) out of her. If we can't find such a thing, we will just have to make do with what we have for another thirteen months, when we can afford to take on a car payment.
It was fun to have such a relaxing fair weekend, hanging out in the barn and visiting with friends. Ralph and Joyce came and had lunch with us one day. Grandma Smith and Aunt Rosann came to watch the girls show their goats. We have several new potential 4-H'ers that we were able to suck into the vortex too!
The only downside to the week was the news that Sam's car, also known as "Goldilocks", is dead. We are so thankful though that it died in the arms of our good friend (a mechanic) and NOT while Sam was on his way to Waterbury! We know she was in good hands and he did everything he could to save her. We definitely got our money's worth out of that car since we bought it in 2004, paid only $2000, drove it for over 100,000 miles, and it had no repairs above the normal oil change and brake pads!
Sam and I spent last night (after unpacking children, goats, and chickens!) on the internet, looking at used pickup trucks, rebuilt engines for Ford escorts, and used small cars. We decided after an hour or so that we will look for a cheap used engine from a junkyard to put into "Goldi" and hope we can get another 6-9 months (13 months would be a real bonus!) out of her. If we can't find such a thing, we will just have to make do with what we have for another thirteen months, when we can afford to take on a car payment.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Promotion
I was offered a promotion at my job two days ago and yesterday I accepted the position. I am now the Assistant Director at the day care. While it does come with a pay raise and an increase in responsibilities, my hours will remain the same.
With this increase and the increase in hours at Tractor Supply (Spring rush) for Sam, we will begin to make an even bigger dent in our bills. It is feeling so good to actually sock a little money away each month in our savings account again.
The hope is to pay off our two big debts as quickly as possible while still putting some money aside to replace Sam's car. His car is a '97 and is still running quite well, but with it approaching 200,000 miles we suspect the end is near and that it will probably be in some spectacular fashion!
With this increase and the increase in hours at Tractor Supply (Spring rush) for Sam, we will begin to make an even bigger dent in our bills. It is feeling so good to actually sock a little money away each month in our savings account again.
The hope is to pay off our two big debts as quickly as possible while still putting some money aside to replace Sam's car. His car is a '97 and is still running quite well, but with it approaching 200,000 miles we suspect the end is near and that it will probably be in some spectacular fashion!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Made It Home
Home, sweet home!
Thankfully our trip to Kentucky and back was uneventful. We arrived in Louisville on Friday night at about 11:30PM. We slept for 6 hours and checked out. Our hotel room was very nice. A king sized bed, a "kitchen" area with sink, fridge and coffee pot, a huge flat screen TV, a walk-in closet, a good sized bathroom, a "lounge" area with two fold out sofa beds. The room was huge and we wondered why we can't get rooms like that when we travel with the kids? When we traveled with the girls we always ended up in teeny tiny rooms with 2 full sized beds and just enough room to squeeze around them.
After checking out, we went to the Kentucky Exposition center to meet up with our new kidd: Kroquet (we'll call her Kay). We finally found her and she is beautiful! She placed 14th in her class of over 20 at the National competition. Her owner explained that she didn't show her herself as she was showing another goat, but she could see that the handler was having a hard time getting Kay to set up. So she probably would have placed higher had she been behaving in the ring.
We then were "on the road again" at 7:30 AM. Because of the goat, we had to stop more frequently and for longer periods. We pulled into our drive-way at 11:30 PM last night. We saw cars from nearly every state excpet Alaska and Hawaii and have decided that New York and New Jersey drivers are the rudest and most aggressive drivers out there.
Thankfully our trip to Kentucky and back was uneventful. We arrived in Louisville on Friday night at about 11:30PM. We slept for 6 hours and checked out. Our hotel room was very nice. A king sized bed, a "kitchen" area with sink, fridge and coffee pot, a huge flat screen TV, a walk-in closet, a good sized bathroom, a "lounge" area with two fold out sofa beds. The room was huge and we wondered why we can't get rooms like that when we travel with the kids? When we traveled with the girls we always ended up in teeny tiny rooms with 2 full sized beds and just enough room to squeeze around them.
After checking out, we went to the Kentucky Exposition center to meet up with our new kidd: Kroquet (we'll call her Kay). We finally found her and she is beautiful! She placed 14th in her class of over 20 at the National competition. Her owner explained that she didn't show her herself as she was showing another goat, but she could see that the handler was having a hard time getting Kay to set up. So she probably would have placed higher had she been behaving in the ring.
We then were "on the road again" at 7:30 AM. Because of the goat, we had to stop more frequently and for longer periods. We pulled into our drive-way at 11:30 PM last night. We saw cars from nearly every state excpet Alaska and Hawaii and have decided that New York and New Jersey drivers are the rudest and most aggressive drivers out there.
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