Belinda's Dream Rose

I love this rose. I planted it the same year I moved into the house. Now it is a monster! It supplies me, my coworkers and my mom all the roses that a person can reasonbly expect over the summer. And the smell? Hmmmm. Definitely one of the best purchases I've ever made.

How I Spent My Tax Rebate

It hit my bank account this morning and I divided it up just quickly. Here's how everything went down:

$60 – Church
$60 – Me Money. It actually went toward a pretty sundress.
$480 – Car loan

Normally, I would have put 90% towards the car loan, but I am realizing that I need to start spending money on myself or else there is no way I'll stick to being financially responsible.

Unexpected Negative Events

Just some thoughts here. It's not the day-to-day that gets up in trouble. Not really. It's the unexpected negative events that hit. The housing crisis. The car dying. The loss of a job. These are the things that hit us and disrupt our plans and our budgets.

We are living paycheck to paycheck, but it really doesn't seem that way until something bad happens. Then we look head on at that cliff we've been skirting, but averting.

The way to stop the madness is just to save. But when you're doing all right, it's hard to tighten the budget because there is not an immediate need to make any changes. So, I guess in the end, it is the day-to-day that does really matter. That is where the changes must be made – a little bit at time.

Your Car's Trunk

So, I'm cleaning out my car in preparation of its donation. This got me thinking about what's good to have in the trunk of a car. So here's my list of three:

1. Jumper Cables
These were a gift from my dad. His point being that most people would give you a jump, if you have your cables. So, they ride around in the trunk with me.

2. Oil
Old habits die hard. Although I have a new car, it can't hurt to have a quart of oil always available.

3. Bungee Cords
You never know when your car is going to be pressed into service. It is good to be prepared.

So, there you have it. I'll be writing a post soon on my car donation experience.

Older Cars, Younger Women

OK. Took me a while to get my mojo back. Y'all it has been such a crazy week. I don't do well with surprises. And let me tell you, going to get my car serviced because an engine light came on and coming out needing a new car was a surprise. Warning – this is one long post.

I'll give y'all the Cliff Notes version.

I'd suspected trouble Tuesday evening. It started doing that wanna-have-a-heart-attack thing when I stopped. So, I decided to take it in to the dealer Wednesday morning. Now, the car had just had an oil change on Saturday and nothing was mentioned. I figured that they would hook my car up the computer, tell me what was wrong, I'd pay the $500 and be on my way.

An hour later, I find out that Turtle the Car's engine is toast. Extra crispy. Hold the special sauce. The options were to replace the engine at $3,600 or buy a new car.

The only explanation the dealership gave me for my car dying at 171,000 miles and nine years was that it was normal wear and tear. Uh, in my family, cars are expected to last at least 200,000 miles. My dad's car has 192,000 miles on it and my older sister's car has 212,000 miles on it.

Because this was not how I had planned my Wednesday, I did what any strong, single, independent Black woman would do in the situation – I called my dad. Now, my dad is cheap. Cheap. Cheap. Cheap. I asked him was it worth it to put a new engine in the car. I can write a check for the engine. I can not write a check for a new car. He said to get a new car. His equally cheap walking buddy (Dad is retired) also agreed.

Left to my own devices, I probably would have replaced the engine or bought a used car. I'm too much of a Dave Ramsey fan to do otherwise. I, however, was double-teamed.

My parents picked me up at the car dealership to go car shopping. Mom went off a little on the dealership because she knew that I had had that car regularly serviced (later I apologized to the folks when I had Turtle the Car towed the next day.) We headed to my credit union to see what I would qualify for. They were nice enough to give me a sheet of paper of the loan they could give me along with my credit score.

Because of my mom's accident, my parents had already been car shopping and doing research on line. In fact, I suspect that the reason why it took my parents so long to pick me up was that they were doing some checking on the Internet. Mom wanted me to get a nice, reliable Toyota Corolla. Whatever Mom wants, Dad gets for her.

So, basically in my vulnerable state at the end of the day I'm the owner of a 2009 Toyota Corolla. My parents knew they had the advantage and pushed it. The car salesman must have also known that if I had left that day there was no way I would buy a brand-spanking new car. I had a moment there in the midst of it at the frustration at making headway on my goals just to have a set back. I am just now returning to normal.

The car's name is Ethel.

So, here is what I have learned:

1. Triple A rocks.
Seriously, if you are a single lady, you need this membership. They towed my broke-down car to my house and they asked me if I needed a rental car. When you live by yourself and your car is out of commission, you want things to be as easy as possible. Your emotionally state is revved up. When the operator asked me that, I realized that I could have gotten through this even if my parents had not lived in the metro area. That's a comfort because my parents like to go on trips.

2. Be Ready to Replace a Car at 150,000 miles
It's popular to say to drive a car until the wheels fall off, but you never know where you are going to be when that happens. It can be very stressful especially, again, if you're single.

Baby, if you're single, you can't follow the married peoples plan. Someone will come and pick them up and they'll handle things together. When you're single, it is just you. Have your cash ready at 150,000 miles. This is a safety issue. I can not imagine what would have happened if my car conked out on I-75 during rush hour.

3. You Can Do Everything Right and Your Car will Still Die at 171,000 miles.
I had my car regularly serviced. All the service people knew me. When it was Turtle's time to go, though, she went.

4. Peace of Mind is Worth It.
Without my parents I would have gotten a cheaper car or just replaced the engine. I did not understand that peace of mind is a beautiful thing. I can go out at night now without worrying about the car. I don't stress out about stop and go traffic anymore. It's freedom. And I have to say that this is one large purchase that I am not feeling buyer's remorse. As the days go on, I feel better about the purchase.

5. Establish a Car Set-aside
I will always be paying for a car or saving up for the next car. The best plan in the first five years of ownership is to pay off the car loan and stash away some serious cash to pay for the next car and upcoming car repairs.

That's it y'all. It's a long post, but I figure that's to make up for me being missing for the past couple of days. Comments?

Atlanta Tornado

Did y'all hear about our tornado? Is that crazy or what? I can't remember the last time a tornado hit downtown and it was right downtown, too. At least on the southside we have warning sirens. I don't think that anything like that is installed in the city because, well, nothing ever hits there. Until now.

Turtle the Car Is Dead

I'll write more about this later, but I really am too tired to go into everything right now.