One of the drawbacks of my wife getting laid off is that she no longer has a company car. Initially, we thought we could get away with one vehicle until my wife finds another job. It’s turning out that that is not the case, and there’s no guarantee that when she finds a job it will include a company car. So, we decided that we’re going to buy a cheap used truck. You might be thinking the same thing as me, didn’t we just sell a truck?
We can get a small truck with just under 100K miles for ~$3,000-$4,000. At that price, we can pay cash for it and avoid car payments. We decided on a truck rather than a car because we wanted something a bit more functional. If my wife gets another job with a company car, our plan would be to keep the truck as a back-up vehicle in case, A) We’re put into the same position again down the road. B) Our main vehicle has to go in the shop for some reason. C) We have to move anything/carry a large load.
I hate to see our savings drop $3K-$4K, but am glad we have the cash to make this happen. We’ll probably start looking at trucks next week.
that’s exciting though! i don’t know about you, but i LOVE looking around at cars…esp w/ no car payments 😉
That’s great that you’re in a position to pay cash for the truck, even with your wife having been laid off. And, you still come out ahead because you don’t have car payments. The only thing I’d be concerned with is the maintenance of the truck. At a little less than 100k, the truck has probably been through a lot. Hopefully the previous owners took good care of it or it could end up being a money pit. Good luck with your search, though!
J. Money and Kristy – We have been slow in getting started with our truck search. We’ve done some looking online, but haven’t visited any dealerships yet. I hope we can find a solid truck within our budget.
-1MansMoney