MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!! (grrrrr)

Back in August, as soon as Rob and I saw the 2 pink lines on the test, we have been very money conscience. We have always been pretty good and never lived outside of our means, but we aren't the best with saving money. With the exception of Aruba this summer, which was actually a Christmas gift from his family, we never go on vacations, we don't buy huge electronic items, overall we try and keep it simple. I think it really helped that we met each other in college and were very use to the 'pizza for dinner date nights' lifestyle. However, there are definitely areas where I know we can improve on. We have cut back on eating out A LOT in comparison to our college days, but I know I'm guilty of going out to lunch with co-workers here or there, Rob visits Dunkin Doughnuts/Rutters every day, we don't clip coupons, we don't save as much money as we should each month, etc. etc. So there are definitely some areas that we could do better in.

Back in October 2009, I finally paid off my car, thank the lord! It has been great being able to save an extra $200 each month and put it towards other bills. Rob also doesn't have a car payment and is currently driving my Grandmother's car. Have we been driving the most glamorous cars over the past few years, absolutely not. However, we both don't have car payments and the cars are fine for our current lifestyle. Real recently, we "started" to casually think about possibly getting a new car-something "family friendly" and could accommodate our growing family, but thought we could wait until spring to buckle down and look.

Lets back track to last week. Once or twice when I drove to work, my car would 'jump' a tiny bit when I accelerated. When it comes to cars or other unfamiliar territory for me, I take the position, I'm not going to worry about it until I actually have a problem. Sure I see lights go on in my car here and I have no clue what they mean, but until I have a major problem- I usually just tell Rob about it and he takes care of it. This past weekend when we were taking my car out, he asked me about the "jumping problem." "Oh yeah." I said, "I did notice that 1-2 times or so." He goes, well it could be due to the cold weather, but please keep your eye on it. Sure thing, hubby- I will!

Tuesday night, I was on my way home from work when several cars stopped in the road, because a car was turning left. Once the car turned, the line started moving again. I pushed on the gas and nothing....The next few seconds were a blur, I just remember thinking, "Oh sh*t, I can't move. Please God, help me move at least over to the side of the road." After a lot of beeping from behind me, the hand of God came down, and I somehow had enough 'juice' to steer my car out of traffic. The next hour and a half consisted of, 10+ calls to the husband (he wasn't answering at first), a call to AAA, a call to Mom and Dad (who live hour + away, but you always need your Mommy and Daddy in that situation) and a call to my neighbor to try and track down Rob. Rob finally got my message and met me where I was stranded. Once again, he gets the husband of the year award. He was actually getting ready to go to his part time job when he got my message. He called out that night, met me out on the side of the road, pushed my car further away from all of the traffic and waited with me until the tow truck arrived. I swear in terrible situations, Rob always seems to find the positive in everything and make friends with everyone he meets. It was dark and cold out and he told me to wait in my car while he spoke with the tow truck man. All of a sudden I see them laughing and Rob comes back and goes, "Oh Kristin, he is so nice. His name is Andy, he is our age, blah blah blah...." LOL "That's great Rob, but how will that fix my car?!?"

To make a looonnnng story short. My nice little Honda needed a new transmission, $3000! Soooo it was pretty obvious that it was time to look for that new car! Merry Christmas to me! YAY/Bah humbug! (grrrr not exactly the most perfect timing!) Most people would be excited to get a new car. However, we weren't 100% ready, I knew I would get next to nothing for my Honda and the holidays were quickly approaching.

Car Shopping 101 with Kristin and Rob

Today, Rob and I agreed we need to start the process to look for a new car. I knew it was a blessing in disguise of our timing and I could technically go for at least one week without a car if I had to. With the college closed for a few days, I knew we could make do. So Rob and I went out to "just to look." Rob was very persistent (while driving to dealership #1), "We are just looking, I don't feel comfortable buying today." I agreed and since this was our 2nd huge joint purchase together (house was #1)- I knew that was probably the smart thing to do. So we started off by looking at the Kia dealership. My parents just bought a Kia in October and raved about it- so we decided it would be a great place to look. The salesman showed us some options close to our price range and asked if we wanted to test drive a silver Kia Sportage. Rob quickly said, "Yes" and off we went. After two minutes of Rob driving, he told me that this car was perfect and we should get it. My mouth dropped open- he is never a spontaneous buyer with huge purchases like this. We get back to the dealership and Rob was ready to start talking "numbers." Rob and I secretly chatted about our strategy while test driving, he would ask the "car questions" and I would be the negotiator. Again, I'm the bargin shopper at yard sales and craigslist- how difficult could a car be?!?

So I tested the waters a bit when they presented us with numbers..."I think you can do better." (Go Kristin! I felt so proud of myself). Well between negotiating back and forth and constantly calling my dad for advice/texting during the middle of all of this, there definitely comes a point when you become a bit greedy and I think I may have crossed that line a few times. When I finally was happy with the price and payment, I told him that if we threw in a second key beeper (don't know the proper name), we would sign today and it was a go. He goes, "I have to be honest, if you ask for another thing, I think may boss may say 'no' and walk away. You have already gotten us down as much as we can go with the price and interest rate. We're done." Well that shut me up pretty quick and I said, "Just another basic key is fine, we're good!"

Do I think we got a great car at a great price, I do think so. I always get so nervous making large purchases and just wanted to make sure we weren't being taken advantage of. I even pulled out the "I'm pregnant" card to see if we could soften them up a bit. The most important thing is that we now have a nice, safe car for Baby Schab. My boss was too funny when I told him I needed to use a personal day on Thursday to shop for cars. "Oh the little princess wants a new car and she isn't even here yet." LOL So true, she did move a lot when I was stranded on the side of the road and when we signed the paperwork. Hope she likes her new car!

I will post photos soon of our new Kia! Also, if anyone is in the market for a used car, I have a Honda that I can offer you for a GREAT price! (j/k) Unfortunately, Kia did not want used car that didn't have a working transmission, call me crazy but they are really missing out :-)