Paid Off The Car

We paid off the car last night. Eeeek! Last time we paid off a vehicle it got completely totaled in an accident that scared the breezes out of me. It really wasn't that bad of an accident. I was driving down the road and was seen out the passenger window a large work truck hitting my side view mirror. I reacted in a way to reduce injury to myself. I had been in intensive physical therapy and was just starting to make noticeable progress.
I slammed down the gas pedal and swerved. I am not sure just what happened after that, but I can tell you what the jeep looked like. The side view mirror was flipped inward. The third window back was gone, the gate or hatch was bent and the back window was gone. The passenger side rear lights were busted out. There was a huge gash through part of the last panel on the passenger side. It was a total mess.
We had been working toward getting a second car to go along with our jeep. It was a good vechile, a Jeep Cherokee sport. We had the racks and the dog cage in the back. We had traveled from Mississippi to Oregon and back and then back to the West to Washington in it. We love that thing. Once we got trapped in our third "business loop" (tourist trap) in Texas. We pulled into a church parking lot. It was empty and we made an illegal move and drove aross the grass (we didn't leave a muddy trail or anything). Then we get to the other side and the parking lot is full, the building is full of people and there were what felt like millions of windows and everyone staring out them at us. That was so embaressing.
So, we ended up getting another car and having to pay most of the cost of it. The Jeep payoff gave us enough to pay a down payment plus all the freaking registration fees. If we were in the enconomy that we are in now we would have needed some debt relief before we got another car. So as you can imagine we are walking (driving) on eggshells right now. I feel sorry for people who get behind the hubby on his way to work.
The only way we have survived in this economy is by budgeting and being very creative. From streching a pot of chilli by added cheap zuccihini to Hubby becomeing the Janitorial crew at his job as a second job we have just barely made ends meet. I know for many, they are not sure their job will be there tommorow. You can prepare for the worst to happen. I like the attitude of the people who write bill.com. They say you should think of budgeting as a battle plan. That almost makes it sound like a fun game. If you are in need of debt relief or want to prevent yourself from getting their you might want to check them out.