Discipline is a challenge

For over a year I've been stashing money away for the purchase of a new car.  I decided on what I wanted last August, but was nowhere near the down payment I wanted.  I had even considered purchasing the car late last fall, to take advantage of the sales tax savings, but decided that a larger (30%) down payment outweighed the good interest rate, & tax savings.  It was then that I decided to buy a 2010 model toward the late spring of 2010. 

A couple weeks go the 2011 models were announced.  I reviewed the specs & looked at the pictures, but decided that I didn't really like the styling changes, and was glad that I had decided on the 2010 model.

So, it was yesterday that I had contacted the dealer to see what's available and place my order if need be.  Come to find out, the last date to place an order for the 2010 model was a month ago (March 19th), and there's no cars on the lot in all of Michigan, Indiana, & Ohio.  I'm screwed.

People keep trying to talk me out of the new car purchase.  I completely understand the difference in value new vs. used.  I am conscious of the whole “the car goes down in value by X% as soon as you drive it off the lot” argument.  I have 2 rebuttals: 1) I'm not going to sell my car as soon as I drive it off the lot; I plan to keep it for 10+ years,  and 2) This car is absent in the used market; people buy these cars and keep them.  Buying used isn't really a viable option. 

So now that I have to wait an additional 3-4 months, I must stay diligent with my saving.  It's very difficult to see a woot-off and not press the I Want One button.  I see the deals at Newegg on a weekly basis, & have to close the site as soon as I open it, because I know that I'll be tempted.  There's a video game that I want to get next month, and it pains me to know that I can't.  Keeping my 'eye on the prize' takes more willpower than I had originally thought.  I just hope I can make it.  :)

Photo courtesy of Autoblog

Soon to be debt free(ish)!

Come this December 2nd, the Nielsens will be debt-free!  Well, for the credit card anyway.  We've been credit card debt-free before, but I actually think it'll stick this time.  We've made some mindset changes that has enabled both Laura & I to stop using the credit card, but use the bank card instead.  We still have a little more to go (some weeks we run out of money - oops!), but for the most part it's working out.  The next step is budgeting.  I have a feeling that is going on the New Year's resolution blog entry; stay tuned.

Buying American ignorance

(4/1/09)

I saw a bumper sticker on a car on the way home from work today. It said, “Please don't put my flag on your foreign car.” Living in the Detroit area I see this one all the time, “Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign!” I am SO SICK of all those stupid, ignorant stickers, and therefore, viewpoints. Have these people thought of where all their other crap comes from? Where are your clothes made? Where is your new Playstation3 made? What about your FLAG STICKER? I suppose there are a few things still made in the States, but when it really boils down to it, no one cares until it affects their selfish asses. No one seemed to give a shit where their textiles were made, and the Carolinas had a tough time when all the textiles moved out of the US.

I grew up with a father working for GM for over 25 years. He made a moderate income and had the luxury of borrowing cars from GM on occasion. I was brainwashed as a child to think GM made the best cars in the world... and when it came time for me to buy my first new car, I didn't hesitate. I went on over to the Pontiac dealer and bought a Grand Am. I really wanted a stick-shift, but it wasn't offered. I needed a car, as I had recently totaled mine. I reluctantly bought the car, even though I KNEW I was just 'settling'. When it came time to purchase my next new vehicle, a van, I was already aware of the quality problems the big 3 had with their minivans, and drove right past. I bought a Honda. My dad was “disappointed” to say the least. It was then and there that I decided I am a “consumer”. I am not forced to buy a particular brand.

I'm nearly ready to buy my next new car. This one to replace my Grand Am. The big 3 don't make a car that I like. Why should I settle all over again? I refuse.

I am a person that likes to drive. I love the feeling of a stick shift in my hand. It's like the car & I are one. (It's a little cheesy, but that's ok) I guess this is where I differ from the average American. I guess you could call me an enthusiast; I have certain expectations that I guess many other people don't.

The lines of “American made” are becoming more blurry. Many “foreign” cars are either assembled here, or have a large American content. And conversely, many “American” cars are made of a large number of foreign parts. What about the foreign car companies that are owned by American car companies; are those foreign, or domestic? These are all things that people don't consider when making ignorant accusations.

(4/7/09)

I saw a lawn sign today that read “OUTSOURCING: Just say NO” on it. (It actually referred to a school district, but this is often a hot-button topic for manufacturers as well.) I laughed a little. Not all outsourcing is bad. If there were no outsourcing, I'd be out of a job. We don't design any of the parts we make. We build to our customers' designs. Our customers want to be able to take the part out of the package and place it in the assembly. Frankly, in many cases, we make a better-quality part than what they can make themselves. In addition, large companies don't have the time or resources to manage a considerable amount of small parts. It's sure easier (read: cheaper) to track/control a part number than it is to control the design and manufacture of that item.

I'm just tired of listening to all the whining about job losses due to a many-year history of falling quality, and design. The Big 3 have dug their own hole. Why should I jump in it? I expect to buy another new car in about 5-10 years. Perhaps by then the American car companies will earn the respect they desire, and I will buy one of their cars.

Technorati Tags: auto industry, cars, mony, rant

This is a good one...

9 Methods for Mastering Your Money in 2009 ∞ Get Rich Slowly

Starting tonight I'm going to put forth intentional effort to my our finances.  I'm going to start with a priority list (needs vs. wants), then move on to the debt-reduction plan.  I didn't make this a "resolution" but I don't need to; it's on my mind a lot.  I plan on using the tips from GRS in the link above.  I expect to be in good financial position by April.  Oh yeah, that reminds me.  I need to adjust my federal exemption again!

Technorati Tags: budget, money, spending plan, GRS

Halt the endless wanting!

Today I read this fantastic blog-post on GetRichSlowly called You Can't Always Get What You Want.  He made the distinction between wanting by itself, and satisfying those wants.  This is my exact problem.  I want to satisfy every want I have, regardless of financial consequences.  It's good to want, but not necessarily to satisfy every want you have.  This might be one of my New Year's resolutions.  "...to differentiate the wants I can/should satisfy, and those I can't/shouldn't.  Every person in the U.S. needs to read this article. 

Technorati Tags: money, blog,

Baby steps...

I have recently re-evaluated my federal tax exemption. When I claimed “6”, I would get a fairly large return in April. I have since changed that for the rest of the year. Did you know you can claim “19”? That’s the max. On the IRS.gov website, there’s an withholding calculator. It’s actually quite interesting.

My plan involves paying down debt for the remainder of the year, and stashing as much as I can get away with. I’m going to then re-evaluate my withholding exemption in January, and again in June. I hadn’t thought of optimizing my exemption until recently.

See more progress on: Save money

Annoyed...LBP, where are you?

LittleBigPlanet - The Human Body Level

When I placed my pre-order for LPB a month ago, I used trusty Amazon.com. (Even though they had recently eliminated their 30 day price protection policy, I figured that game wouldn't drop in price for quite a while.) I haven't pre-ordered anything for probably 5 years, so I wasn't sure I would get it on the day of release. At the time, I didn't care. "What's a few days?" I thought. "I am saving $4 in sales tax." Little did I know...

During the last month, I have been amazed at all the things surrounding this game; from the plethora of pre-order goodies, to the reviews from all those using the beta. Screenshots, in-game videos, costumes, user-created levels, all get my hands twitching with excitement.

LittleBigPlanet TGS 2007 Trailer

Today I receive an email stating if I want to receive the game on the release day, I have to pay $5.98. Screw that! Even with the pre-order incentives, I'm way too cheap to pay $6 to ship something I can go up to the store, cheaper. But at the same time, I can't wait 5-9 days for shipping! I've decided to go up to GameCrazy and place my pre-order there. That way, I can pick up the game on the way home from work. (Not to mention, they have a cool carrying case.) I'll pay the $4 tax to have it on that day.

Now, I'm sure that all 2 of you who read my blog wonder why I would make such a big deal about having this game at launch. Just search LBP on google or youtube, and you'll see; or go to the LBP website. This game is going to be awesome for the whole family...

...and look at this cute costume for those who get the game at launch:

Technorati Tags: LittleBigPlanet, Amazon, video games,

Economist: Why Bankruptcy is Better than Wall Street Bailout

This is an excellent explanation of the bailout

.Congress has balked at the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. Under this plan, the Treasury would have bought the "troubled assets" of financial institutions in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown. This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.

read more | digg story

Transferred balance to 0% int. card

I recently transferred my huge credit card balance to a 0% interest credit card. I think I get like 9mos to pay it off. In theory, this shouldn’t be a problem. The problem is, my car(s) have a bunch of servicing that needs to be done.

At least it’s a step in the right direction!

See more progress on: pay off my credit card

I can see the light...

I reviewed my account(s) today, and I estimate that I’ll be able to pay off my student loans by this time next year! The problem is, I want to start graduate school, & I’m not sure that I can afford it semester after semester.

See more progress on: pay off my student loans

My window works!

Yes! No more duct tape. :) I dropped the $420 to get my window fixed, and boy do I feel refreshed. I can finally wash my car.

See more progress on: get my car fixed

Beloved car moves quickly down hill...

My ‘99 Grand Am is not doing well these days. There’s a laundry list of things I need to go to it, but finances prevent me from getting it all done at once.
The current problem is the window mechanism is all messed up and I had to duct tape my window in the up position last night. Luckily I had red tape to match the red car, but it’s still ghetto. I’m nervous that one big bump, and the window is going to come crashing down.
Hopefully I’ll get that done at a reasonable price so I can get all the other stuff in a timely manner. I am not looking forward to shelling out a shit-ton of moolah just to get my stupid window fixed. Ugh.

See more progress on: get my car fixed

This money-management thing is hard work!

I recently clicked on an RSS feed I hadn't read in a while. I was astounded at the amount of good articles there were. I picked up a few & posted them to my Shared Stuff page, but I wanted to mention a few here.

This time of year is always pretty tough for me. With the incessantly evil North American International Autoshow that arrives in a little while, I always get the "New Car Buying Urge." This is a result of a combination of things; the first of which is, it's in my blood.
My dad has been known for buying and selling cars like they're going out of style. He almost never is satisfied. But he uses action, where I just do a lot of complaining. He loves cars; as do I.
The weather. S.E. Michigan has the stupidest weather. It's only predictability is that it's going to change. I guess the other mainstay is that winter sucks. It's cold, and ugly with a slushy/mud mix on the ground. Oh, and don't forget the excessive use of salt that eats the cars & the roads alike. And remember, we all can't wait for the spring months when the road crews have to fill all the potholes caused by the salt & shitty weather of months prior.
My 9+ y.o. car. The last week in January marks the anniversary of the week with which I bought my car: a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am. It's a decent car, but is starting to fall apart; and it's getting worse. Here's a quick list:

1. Breaks are having trouble stopping, I'm going to need new ones.
2. Driver's door window mechanism is all screwed up. I'm not going to attempt to fix it. Window falls right down into the door.
3. Power steering pump making a bunch of racket. Going to have to replace it; maybe this fall
4. Have to replace the fuel filter. "every 30k miles." I'm at 82k... that's going to be a messy job.
5. Transmission has trouble shifting on moderate-hard accelerations. It probably only needs a tune-up, but I still have to take the time to take it in to a trans shop. ugh.

And there's more, but I'm not going to list them...

My point? I found this article about "shaking the new car itch" It probably won't work on me once I get out of debt, but he makes some good points. I promised my wife that I wouldn't buy a car until he van was paid off in September. I intend to keep that promise. Plus, after some discussion (and some other articles) I am determined to kill off the 'ol credit card & start an emergency fund. That'll push off the new car until at least 2009. By then who knows, they might discontinue the model I want. 2009 is going to be a tough year for me, I can tell.

The first order of business though, is for me to start & keep a budget, get the car in working order, and pay off the f*cking credit card. I really have my work cut out for me. Oh, I forgot to mention: all the while keeping a happy household (wife and kids), staying true to God's plan for me (whatever that may be), teaching my children the values & eduction they need to be productive in society, keeping food on the table & gas in the tank; no pressure.