Budget Frustrations

I'm so happy I have my new car, especially since my other one was totaled out. That Mercedes drives better than I could have ever imagined. I love my new luxury, but it has put a huge dent in my budget. I keep scanning it over and over to see where I can cut out something. I based it on my salary from my first year teaching, so my income will be slightly higher than listed.

Because I do not like having a car payment, my goal is to pay off my car completely by July 2011. I will have to be very aggressive, but I believe I can do it! How do I plan to accomplish this?
-All bonuses will be applied to my car loan. ($3000 in September)
-Student loan and grant money will be applied to the car loan. (I would rather pay the interest rate on my student loan than my car. This will be up to $12,000 this semester and $5,000 in the spring)
-I will work each summer and take on extra paid professional development opportunities to increase income (that can add as much as $9000!)
-I will work part time during the next two summers (up to $6000 total!)

By doing all of this, I can see my car being paid for in two years easily. I don't feel as bad about using my student loans to help pay for it because the interest is a lot lower and because I'm a teacher, I will be able to have a huge portion of my student loans forgiven. After my car is paid for, I plan on using the same strategy to pay my remaining student loan debt.

Debt free by the time I'm 30. That's a nice dream. I think 35 is more realistic for me. Or 33 even. Debt free by 33. House by 35.

4.0 GPA may be saved

I have really been going through some things this month and as a result missed one of my class assignments. I really was not motivated to do it because I really hate the class and it is mad boring. The last day of the class was last Saturday and I was prepared to do without my perfect 4.0.

Today I was checking my online class info for my final exam grade and saw an email from the professor asking if I realized I missed the assignment. I asked if it was too late, not really stressing about it, and then she told me I could complete the assignment and turn it in tonight. So I just emailed it to her and I hope my 4.0 is still intact. I think that even with me missing the assignment, I would still have an A. She is really fast at grading so I should know something by tonight or in the morning.

Car Fund Partially funded!

I know a while back I said that I would just save money and not categorize my savings, but purchasing this car has changed my mind. When I purchased my car insurance, I opted for a $500 deductible so my monthly payment would be lower. I don't want to be in a position where something else happens and I can't pay the deductible, so with the extra funds from this paycheck I created my car fund with ING direct. It was very easy to create a second savings account and took less than 3 minutes. Overall, I would like my car fund to have a total of $1500 to allow for unexpected maintenance, but that may have to wait. I feel a lot more secure knowing that I have funds set aside for my car.

So what about this car?

So that is pretty much what my car looks like. It is a 2005 Mercedes-Benz E500. It only had 27,000 miles on it when I purchased it. The dealer was asking for $24,999 and I paid $22, 995. Over all I spent a little over $25,000 with taxes, title, and registration included.

So how and WHY did this happen?

First you have to keep in mind that I have wanted a car for the longest time anyway. Before I purchased a car though, I wanted to save money each month in the amount of a car payment so I could be sure I could afford it. Well that definitely did not happen!

My bf had an accident in my car Fourth of July weekend, and it was then that I decided to go ahead and get a new car. I started looking online and saw a 2008 Pontiac G6 convertible with 48,000 miles for $20,995. I went to the dealer and test drove it and realized how compact the covertible was on the inside. I did not like it at all! I told my bf that I wanted something to show out in (bad I know!) and he told the dealer. I was so embarrassed! But the dealer then said that he had just received my E500 yesterday and showed it to me. I instantly fell in love. I couldn't drive it that day because they hadn't serviced it yet.

The next day, the dealer called and told me they had fixed it all up and I could test drive it. The drive was so smooth and I just had to have it. Against the advice of my bf (he told me to leave the dealer and come home) I purchased the car with a blank check from Capital One.

...

In a way, I'm glad I have a car that I'm proud to have instead of something I really didn't want. I test drove plenty of cars during the few days I was car shopping and I'm pretty satisfied with my choice. There are some things I wish I would have done differently, but as a first time car shopper, you live and learn.

• I should have let the bf take over negotiating and purchasing the car. I'm sure the dealer knew how excited I was and threw anything at me.
• I should have waited instead of buying the car the very next day.
• I should have had a stronger idea of what I wanted going into negotiations and held firm.
• I should have had anything I had an issue with be taken care of (battery light) and had all dealer promises in writing before purchasing.

With this car I have no choice but to cut back on spending. I do plan on putting every extra money towards my car payment. I want to be done paying this within three years time. I know I'll be receiving extra money this year, and next summer, I'll work at the school and part-time to pay it off as soon a possible. Pray for me please!

New Car - a Mercedes Benz E500

I know I just made the biggest mistake ever. My car note could have easily been my savings. What is up with me and spending lately. I need to do a spreadsheet tonight for my paycheck next week. More on my car purchase later, once I get over the shock.