Silly Mom Thoughts

Remember my terrible, awful day and that whole “we have to buy a new car” thing? Well, we bought one. I researched used cars in our area, narrowed it down after comparing reviews, prices, mileage, NADA prices, etc. and Clint and I went out at 7:00 last night to look at the three we had narrowed it down to.

We had one in particular that we were jonesin’ for, a 2007 Chrysler Sebring in purdy blue. This car is sex-ay. It’s sleek. It’s grown up! We’re grown ups! Yippeeee!

(Do grown ups say “Yippeee!”?)

Anyhooo, they had a higher price marked on the car than the price listed online. We told them so, they dropped it (by about $2000), Clint drove it, loved it, we bought it. We actually bought it for less than Edmunds, Blue Book, and NADA list it should be sold for, so we’re pretty proud of that fact. In fact, since we were saving so much money and could afford a little higher payment than we had to pay, we splurged on the full warranty.

Well… that’s a bit of a lie. This was actually how it went down:

Paperwork Lady tells us we’ll regret it if we don’t get the warranty.

Clint turns to me and asks, “What do you think?”

I turn so only he can see me, stare him down with evil eyes and say “Don’t even think about it!” in my head.

(When you’re married, you can read each other’s thoughts. It’s in the marriage contract somewhere.)

Clint asks again, “Hmm, well do you think we should?”

I realize my evil glare and telepathy aren’t working, and decide to shake my head “No” emphatically.

Paperwork Lady can totally sense this obvious divide and starts listing all the reasons why we could end up needing the warranty and “Oh, by the way, you get $300 off if you’re Costco members.”

Clint to me again, “Well? Yeah? Should we?”

I give up.

“Whatever you think,” I sigh, slouching down in the chair.

Turns out, it was a really good thing that we did, because the “check engine” light came on today. Good thing we got bumper to bumper coverage, I guess. Clint wins this one.

So, after signing ridiculous amounts of paperwork (why do I feel like I’m signing my soul to the devil every time we sign paperwork?), we are the proud new owners of a grown up car and a second car loan.

Maybe not so excited about the car loan.

This is where it’s a win-win. You see, I’ve been bugging Clint to give me 4-5 hours on both Saturday and Sunday uninterrupted where I can write. Whether it be to content sites, contests, my book, it doesn’t matter, but I really need time to write during the weekend.

Since neither of us are too keen on me taking on a “real” job, and I can make some decent money writing if I devote the time, I told him that I can almost definitely supplement our new car payment with money I make writing each month, assuming he gives me that time on the weekends.

We don’t need me to work, but the extra money would be nice. Plus, it keeps me in the loop of the writing world for when the kids are in school. My goal is to be able to work from home writing instead of going back to work. This will most definitely help with that.

I knew that idea would get his attention, so I brought it up to him after we signed the paperwork. He jumped on the idea. “Extra money each month to help with the car payment? Good idea. Plus, it’ll give me some Daddy time with the kids!”

Good man!

I get to write! I get to help add to our income, I get to continue making a name for myself as a writer, I get to add to my resume… I. Am. So. Excited!!