Today

My friend Kate and I drove to Raleigh to test drive a mini-van. We called before we left and it was there. When we got there (an hour and 20 mins later) it had been sold. Talk about sadness when we saw it and realized just how nice it was! If only I hadn't been a hungry preggo and stopped for breakfast! Oh, well.

We went by two other car places to check out other vans listed for sale and were just NOT impressed. People tear up their cars, y'all. These things were beat up. And the dealers were asking premium pricing for them, too. I'm talking a 2000 Honda Odyssey that has serious interior and exterior cosmetic issues (155k miles, cracked paint, a cut seat, cigarette burns, a door that won't close evenly with the rest of the car) for $8,000. That is INSANE.

So, my husband got to Raleigh (we both drove an hour and a half from opposite directions, he was at work and I had been at home) and we decided to go back to the first place that had a few mini-vans to see if they had anything other than the grey Honda that would work for us.

There was a gold Honda that had caught my eye but was $700 more than we'd planned to spend (then throw on taxes, tags, etc. and it really adds up) so I'd really not given it much thought. And yes, when you're on a budget and have a set amount of cash you're willing to pay for a vehicle, an extra thousand dollars makes it not worth looking at. Tim and my friend both walked me straight over to it, we all looked it over inside and out, top to bottom and ya know what? It was perfectly wonderful inside and out. Almost no cosmetic issues considering it's age, engine sounded great, drove really nicely (just like a car!) and had the few "luxury" things I was hoping for- automatic sliding doors, electric seat adjustment, rear heat and air for the kids. I know that sounds kind of silly to some of you, but I'm a simple girl and my car didn't have those things. I drive a 12 year old Passat and adore it. It doesn't even have a cd player in the front! Only a cassette player :) and I'm at peace with the lack of Jones-appeal my car has. It is safe, reliable, and darn good on gas. It just has to function like we need it to, nothing fancy needed, really.

We knew that the Honda was more than we'd planned to spend, but Tim said that if I liked it, we'd get it. After seeing today what was out there, I decided (yes, my finance-conscious brain rationalized this) that it would be smart of us to buy this van. I then realized it has less miles than any other car we'd tested or seen and was two years newer. Nifty! Just an added bonus.

So, Tim talked him down a bit and we got out of there for only about $500 more than we'd have spent on the other car and this one was very different, but just as good.

We got home and went out to dinner to celebrate. Tim had to go back to work, so Kate and I went, getting the kids on the way. Overall, it was an exhausting day. I drove for many hours, we dropped a huge (to us) amount of money, and we had a delicious dinner! Pretty good day, all things considered!

My next goal is to spend my free time detailing my car. What free time, right? I'm going to have to spend lots of time outside, so the kids can play. I'll just be cleaning my car to get it ready to sell. I'm crossing my fingers that we will have my car sold within the week. There are lots of things to do here at home that are going to require some funds (like paying the midwife!) and recouping that money is going to be important. I'm 13 weeks already and this pregnancy is flying by! Gotta get a move on!

Okay, rambling over. Van purchased. Car to be sold. Gotta make that happen :)