A Life Achievement and Financial Decision

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After a lot of hard work, the Mobey-Ludick family has a new car!

This was not a decision that we took lightly, but @clairemobey and I worked really hard and we needed to take this step. Claire's Chevrolet Spark was not getting any younger and we had the choice between using it as a trade-in or to keep throwing indeterminate amounts of money at the car.

When an older car goes for a service, we don't know how long they will have the car for, we do not know how much someone is going to charge for the service or breakdown etc. You need to scrutinize and find yourself a good mechanic at a decent rate and you hope you are not being overcharged for something. Mostly, it seems to be the industry norm to win somewhere if you lose somewhere else.

If @clairemobey does not have a good working car, she cannot get to work and back, she cannot fetch the kids from school. The tradeoff between paying for a car and paying for school shuttles means a lot of money would be flushed down the toilet should something happen to Claire's Spark.

With the new vehicle, at least we have a Warranty on a much newer vehicle. We got the Ford EcoSport Ecoboost, 1L engine.

The exciting thing about this car is all the Economic stats! If it was not apparent in the car's name, this car is Economical.

This vehicle is technically a small SUV and the reason we went for this size is because our kids are getting bigger. Family outing trips or transportation for any amount of time has become an uncomfortable thing with kids squeezed together. What if we transport their friends? Not a chance!

For all the additional size of this vehicle, it is more fuel economical!

From a 4-cylinder 1.4-liter engine to a 3-cylinder 1.0-liter engine, this car has more horsepower at lower RPM on the motor. On the specs online this car should be about 25% more efficient with fuel and thus cost us 25% less in petrol. Though we never worked THAT into the budget. We have worked the budget that we will pay MORE for the bigger car, but here is to holding thumbs and seeing what happens!

We got the car yesterday and took the kids for a drive. They could not believe it! I want my kids to be proud of their home and their family. To learn to look after the vehicle and all the things we have.

As for my love, @clairemobey, this is a massive move for the two of us and we will be paying this off together for the next 5 years but I would not be able to choose a better partner to do this with! Look how far we have come in 2.5 years! I cannot wait to see what happens in 5 years from now, but at the same time, I want to savor every minute of the journey with you! I love you.

Thank you for joining me and checking out my new car! I hope everyone reaches their financial goals as well!

hive-167922 palnet neoxian stemgeeks ecency innerblocks car ford family
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53 comments
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Congratulations to you and your wife. It's a thing of joy to achieve one's goals and you just achieved yours, that's really something to be happy and appreciative about.

More wins to you and your family 👨‍👩‍👦🎉.

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Enjoy the new car. You need some reliable transport to get around. 👍

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I am super proud of us my love!! <3

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Good job Mama! Sounds like this car is going to make your life easier and I am so happy for you because of that :)

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What a good financial path to take securing reliable transportation. Congrats to you and @clairemobey. I love to see couples working together to achieve a common goal for themselves and their families. This also teaches the children to ensure they always have reliable transportation, else they'll be paying needlessly for repairs at a certain age/condition of the vehicles.

Good luck to you both on your online and offline journeys.

Take care.

Read from LN

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It is 50% of the decision to do this was to make our children proud!

This is a whole post topic on its own but Claire and I have been working hard to break generational trauma in our own family and giving the kids better than what we had!

I am very proud of us!

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And that is as it should be...to pay it forward for the next generation. You both are a good example for them because it teaches them that it's not how you begin, it's where you're headed and hope to end up.

Appreciate the engagement. Have a good start to your weekend.

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Yes! Kids should feel good about themselves.

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We came out of some tough times. My partner and I are both divorced and both have custody of our kids.

Together, we are a better functioning family.

We have gone a long way in 2.5 years together to undo 10+ years of damage.

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I love reading stories like these.

Divorce is brutal, but sometimes, it has to happen to make room for what comes next.

Congratulations on being able to blend your family and give all the children the best future possible.

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Thanks. its hard work every day but I am really proud of where we are and what we have achieved and given to our kids.

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Congratulations! Car debt is hard to deal with, but not as hard to deal with as a car that is not reliable. You are absolutely right, having a car that is not 100 percent reliable when you have children, especially school aged children is just a huge no-no.

It is an investment of sorts.

Best of luck paying it off.

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72 months of payments on the wall, 72 months of payments, take one down and pay it done, 71 months of payments on the wall!

We start paying end of August... it's going to be a long song. Lol

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ahaha. It will be over before you know it.

Then it will be time to buy a new one!

I keep wanting to have the discipline to make "car payments" to my HBD account, so that when my car goes, I can pay for the new car with the interest, but... well I haven't.

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Hahahahaha! I have started accumulating HBD several times and then it goes out. I would love to get a good couple thousand HBD in savings! But its hard. Real life always comes with ups and downs and when you HAVE that extra money available then you end us using it!

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I have been considering taking out my 800 HBD because it would make this particular month sooooo much easier.

But... I have been slowly watching it grow so that I can pay for my childrens college textbooks. The oldest will be in college in three years and books as of now cost about $600 per semester.

I am gauging what will be more useful, money now on a tight month, or the satisfaction to pay for a semester's full of books (with a 20% cumulative interest rate).

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800 HBD! Awesome!

I have a lot of spreadsheets...

If you could save 100 HBD per month in savings, you get to a point at around 6000 in savings where the interest is $100 and more per month.

A year after that and the interest just rolls in!

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I have been accumulating for quite some time. That 20% interest rate sure does help it grow.

Thanks for that comment. I am thinking less about cashing out now.

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For your interest @metzli
Here is a chart that adds a hypothetical 100 HBD from posting plus interest over 12 months time from YOUR position:

Continue down that path and at month 43, you reach $100 interest a month.
Month 67 interest is $200 a month.
Month 85 interest is $300 a month.

Etc etc. As you can see, the interval gets less and less and less. Month 146 the interest per month is over $1000 a month. This would be October 2034. Seems like a lot, but by January 2038 the interest is $2000 a month.

At that point it just runs away with you haha. Not to mention the sheer amount of Capitol sitting there in HBD.

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(Edited)

Wow, that is awesome. Congratulations to you both. Cheers to you and 5 years sound like a long-time but it will be swift :) Enjoy your new ride!

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Congrats on this new purchase. Although we have lived years without a car, I would not want to wait any longer than a few months this time (after emigration) to buy another one. Ours will not be new, but it's a must-have and brings so much more quality of life, especially now we live uphill and that's a true pain with groceries :)

In September school life will start as well and I don't want to be doing that all by foot honestly. It saves so much time having one and I congratulate you on this choice, I'd done the same even if it meant paying it off for a few years.

Enjoy!

!CTP

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Well... it's a 2014 model. Not new but in good condition. Low mileage.

Thanks!
!PIZZA

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Oh totally missed that sorry :) haha

I don't care that a car is old myself, I mean, nothing loses value as quickly as a car I believe, I have never owned a brand-new one neither do I feel I should invest my money in that anytime soon. Maybe one day in the future when I'm loaded (lol) I would decide otherwise, but a good second (or third) hand car would be my choice as well..

Enjoy the new edition to the family :)

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Yeah new car lose their value fastest. Then the depreciation plateus a bit.

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That looks like you made a wise decision. Buying a new car is always a big decision, but mom has to work and take care of the kids and she needs a dependable car. I think you made the right choice. Not to mention, you want her and the kids to be in a dependable vehicle.
Enjoy the new car.

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great decision, I remember you had a lot of troubles with the old car. So Claire can drive safe, thats cool and will for sure pay off the next years :-) have fun!
haha, sorry seems it needs the listnerds to bring me to your post ;-)

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Hahahaha. No worries! Thank you very much!

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Very nice! Congratulations on purchasing your new car! Like the color!
!ALIVE
!CTP

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Thank you very much!

!PIZZA

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You're welcome and thanks for the !PIZZA. Enjoy your day! 😀

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!LUV the new car, Congratulations all round. I remember that new car smell, always makes me feel good.

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Thanks man! It's an awesome smell and feeling.

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