13 August 2008

Goodbye, car loan!

It gripes me to no end sometimes that I actually had to take out a loan on the car when I bought it - I decided I'd rather have the cash than just buy the car outright. Mistake #1. What I wasn't factoring in was the cost of all the extra insurance (comprehensive) added to the interest which cost me more in the long run than just doing without that cash on hand in the short term.

Duh.

The sweetest part was realizing once I did the math last night that after downsizing my insurance coverage and paying off the car - even with the price of gas in my guzzler - it's still cheaper for me to keep the rig at the moment than to make a down payment on a gas sipper and start the whole cycle again.

Plus I'm still seriously considering selling the beast before I leave for traveling and transitioning to a car-less existence on my return, which would be ultimately better for my budget and the environment than even a Geo Teetotaler (or whatever they're calling the Metro these days)

I live in a big enough city, with reasonable enough public transportation that getting where I need to go shouldn't be a huge issue without my own set of four wheels. Better then that when I come back I'm planning on actually moving INTO the city, rather than staying out in the 'Burbs.

The California girl giving up her car still sounds a bit sacrilegious to me, but times they are a changing and I'm learning to appreciate the new opportunities change brings. Still hanging onto my keys though, at least for the near future.