This month represents a milestone of sorts. In the nearly two years since we moved here, this will be our first month with a TRUE surplus. Technically, we had a surplus last month, but $1000 worth of "off budget" expenses turned that into a deficit, one that the bulk of this month's surplus is being applied to. In addition, I make the last payment on our main car Monday, and we actually may have the second car up and running by midweek, giving us two FUNCTIONING cars, a first for us in almost FOUR years. While these aren't exactly "days of wine and roses", they do represent a welcome breath of fresh air, especially with high yield months ahead (Christmas is the best time of year for tips, and taxes follow only two months after).

The thing is, we really need a van, but have been so far unable to acquire one. With the final car payment coming up Monday, I've started dreaming, and even looking. There's actually a full sized van that looks like a decent buy that we could probably juggle our budgets to purchase.

But that's where things get difficult. I'm TIRED of "juggling things", tired of the uncertainty and the alluminum can scrounging that so often goes on to get gas money in the waning days of the month. We have a surplus, and as long as I don't definitely NEED a ride, I'm going to hold off a bit on getting one. Sure, I could take on car payments again, but it makes much more sense to try to put that money back for a couple months at least and stretch a few thousand more miles out of what we've got.

As I play with the math in my head, I realize I could probably sell one of the two cars for the purchase price of the van, and even come out ahead. But I can't buy the van anticipating the sale; I have an 86 Chrysler 5th avenue rotting under my carport as testament to the fact that no matter how low you price a car, sometimes it just doesn't sell (sidenote: anyone in the market for a pimpmobile? I'll make you a killer deal). And I really don't want to "trade the known for the unknown"; for all the faults our two operating cars have, we know their mechanical quirks. And the Ford's practically been rebuilt, and stands as a monument to frustration because of the numerous attempts to make it a "good" car. We've got too much money into it to sell it for scrap.

While I wouldn't know from personal experience (LOL), as I get older and, hopefully, a bit wiser, I am beginning to believe that this type of foresight is what often separates the successful from the unsuccessful. The Buick has a reasonably high trade in value, and it would be tempting to take on another car payment using the Buick as a trade. But that would mean more money going to interest, going to lining the pockets of someone else, that I could instead attempt to save to build up mmy own nest egg. A prospect that is much more appealing to me.

Keep in mind that going without a car is simply not an option. Even if I were to quit my job as a "media distribution specialist" and take on another job (not an option, either, actually, for the next couple months, at least), I would still need transportation to and from town, and a bicycle simply isn't going to do it. So I have to have a car. And I believe that the idea of making "car payments in advance", so to speak, has much more merit than rushing out to incur another debt at this time. And I believe that if I work on applying that concept consistently, I will appreciate the long term results.