I just finished finalizing a deal for a newer minivan.  As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the transmission in my current minivan is dying - and I’ve been looking for a good deal on a newer (slightly used) model that I can afford to pay cash for - and I found one.  After searching through online auctions, automobile websites, and local dealerships, I finally found the van that I wanted at a price I was willing to pay.  Here’s a quick overview of “what I did”.

1. I sat down with my wife and we discussed what we wanted in the new van - and what we could live without - and then decided that we wanted to buy a newer model van - but neither one of us cared for many of bells and whistles.  (In other words - we want a vehicle, not an entertainment center.)
2. I began to do some research at various sites online, and I narrowed our search to those vans that were within our price range.  I used sites like Edmunds and KBB.
3. I decided on a “must get” price for our old van - the lowest amount that I would accept on trade or for sale.
4. A couple of days I ago, I narrowed my search down to three possible vans - a gold one and two red ones - both near our price target and both available from reputable dealerships.  (One hopes!)
5. I emailed the dealerships and asked for price quotes - I found the advice from my buddies Nickel (who has an awesome form letter that he uses when emailing car dealerships) and FMF (who has a step by step guide to buying a car) to be invaluable.
6. After receiving the initial quotes, we soon settled on one of the red vans.  It fit our price range, so I called the Internet sales rep.  I asked him how much he would give me for my Chrysler.
7. After a few minutes, he called me back and gave me a quote.  I was satisfied for the amount he offered, so I asked him to “bottom line” it - I wanted to know how much the entire deal was going to cost me, after fees and taxes, “out the door” so to speak.
8. He called back and gave me the news - a few hundred dollars below our “this is what we want to pay” amount.
9. I faxed a copy of my license to the dealership and the car will be delivered in the morning.  The dealer will pick up my old van and drive it away - as soon as I sign some paperwork and give them the title.  I initiated a transfer from my ING Direct account to my regular checking.  The dealer is going to hold the check for 5 days while the funds move from ING to my checking account.
10. I called my insurance company and they said to call back as soon as the deal is done.  I’ll do that in the morning.

Possible issues - I am buying the car “sight unseen”  - but I can change my mind after it gets here in the morning.  The van is a “program car” and is certified used from Chrysler.

The coolest part of this entire thing is that I’m paying for the newer car with cash.  For the first time in my life, I’ll be driving an automobile that I didn’t have to finance.  It’s strange - I’ll be paying less for this automobile than I did for some of the other automobiles I’ve purchased in the past - but it “feels” like I’m paying more.  Why?  Because, I’m spending real money - not borrowed money - but real money - and it hurts!  But, it’s awesome to know that my wife will be safe, that we’ll have plenty of room for the kids - and no car payments!

I’m sure that there are savvier shoppers out there.  I would never, ever purport to be an expert when it comes to buying or selling automobiles - but I think I did a pretty good job of finding a nice automobile at a decent price - so I’m happy.

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I have contacted an independent insurance agent for Term Life and Longterm Disability Insurance Quotes.  I already have a term life policy (and so does my wife) but I want to up our coverage amounts.   We both make about the same amount of income, so I requested 6 quotes - 20 and 30 year policies at 3 different amounts - 3 quotes for her, 3 quotes for me.  The smaller amounts are equal to 10 times our current salaries - and the next two amounts are equal to 12 times and 15 times, respectively.  As for longterm disability quotes - we both have policies from our workplaces, but we are looking for some additional / replacement coverage.

(Quick side note - I may have found a newer min-van!  I’ll have more on that later…)

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My wife and I have two children and another baby on the way.  We both have wills - but we are taking our wills to our lawyer Wednesday so that he can look them over and make any changes or improvements that might be necessary.  We will also be discussing other “end-of-life” documents that we might need.  After our meeting on Wednesday, I’ll fill you all in on what he thinks we need to do.

I have also begun to shop for more term life insurance.  With the new baby on the way, our baby-related expenses will be going up by 50%!  I want to be sure that my wife and kids will be taken care of - just in case something were to happen to me.

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I cannot believe that it is the middle of October - and the weather is absolutely perfect.  It’s about seventy degrees, sunny, and awesome.  If the weather is nice where you are - go outside and enjoy it!  (But, before you go, bookmark this post and read these posts later!)  If the weather is not so nice, go ahead and enjoy a ’stroll through my blogroll’:

From the Money Blog Network:

Sasha from Consumerism Commentary has paid off more than $52,000 in student loan debt!  Yes!

AllFinancialMatters reminds us of a dark day in the market’s history.

Blueprint suggest that you spend a few minutes - each day - reading about current events.

Nickel signed up for Amazon Prime - and wants door-to-door delivery of a nine volt battery.

FMF points out, that contrary to what most folks think, Dave Ramsey’s website WILL accept a credit card!

Get Rich Slowly is thinking about XM Radio and recurring monthly expenses.

Mighty Bargain Hunter lists 28 financial and money-related forums.

From my blogroll:

The Digerati Life is celebrating a one year blogging anniversary - with giveaways!

Lazy Man isn’t working - and his wife is cool with that.

Money Smart Life reminds us that now might be a good time to buy a car - year end discounts abound.

Generation X asks, what financial goal are you focused on, right now?

4M lists a couple of budget-busting times - those times when we forget about our budgets and spend, spend, spend.

The Sun’s Financial Diary writes about Lifecycle ETFs.

Clever Dude donates some clothing to charity - and has information about taxes and charitable clothing donations.

My Two Dollars has written a post “after my own heart” - How much does @20 a week amount to over time?

Frugal For Life has several ideas about pumpkins.

From this week’s carnivals:

Mighty Bargain Hunter hosted the 122nd Carnival of Personal Finance.

Debt Free Revolution hosted the 109th Carnival of Debt Reduction.

From my other sites:

I recently visited a local Georgia state park, recorded and released another episode of my debt reduction podcast, and updated dozens of network related personal finance charts!

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I recently received the following email (used by permission) from a reader -

Could you explain “how” you live without using credit cards - not the philosophy but the actual “process”? Do you use an envelope system, debit cards, or checks? I am just getting started and I was wondering if you could do a basic “how to” post (and I would like to know which types of accounts you use). Thanks so much, Chad

Chad, I’ll do my best to go through how I manage my money. If I leave something out of if something is unclear, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email, and I’ll try my best to clarify.

Creating My Budget

Every month, I sit down and I create a budget. My budgeting process is rather “simple”. My wife and I both receive our paychecks at the beginning of each month - mines arrives one week after hers. I divide my salary into three major categories - Give, Save, Spend - and then I break those categories into smaller sub-categories. For example: Give - Tithes, Offering, Charity. I then allocate, on paper, all of the funds that I receive for the month into those sub-categories. I spend every dollar, every month, on paper, before the month begins. I use YNAB Personal Budget (affiliate link) system - It’s simple to use and works with my spreadsheet program. I deposit our paychecks into my local bank - and I can move money between my local bank and my online accounts, as needed.

Making Payments And Spending Money

For any scheduled or reoccurring payments (electric bills, phone bills, automobile insurance) - I use online bill-pay from ING Direct’s Electric Orange Checking Account (affiliate link). The Electric Orange account is simple to use and I can use it to send a check to a company or an individual.

For any daily spending (groceries, gas, food) - I use cash. I use the Envelope System to manage my cash. Click here to view a video I made describing the Envelope System that I use. From time to time, I also use my debit card for these types of purchases - but I still find that I make wiser choices when I use real, old fashioned money. If you are just staring out, using the Envelope System is a great way to break yourself of the card-swiping habit.

For online purchases or for reserving a hotel - I use my debit card. Click here to read my post about using a debit card to reserve a hotel or to rent a car. (My debit card has built-in fraud protection. Ask your bank about their fraud protection policies.)

For any non-scheduled payments for which I might later need proof of payment(medical co-pays, school pictures) - I use paper checks. I write very, very few checks - maybe one or two per month.

Transferring Funds And Investing

Once a month, I transfer the amount allocated for savings from my checking account to my ING DIRECT -High Yield Savings. (affiliate link) If I need to make a contribution to a Roth IRA (or similar after-tax investment account), I simply login in to my brokerage account and initiate a transfer.

Chad, I hope this article helps to answer a few of your questions. Good luck with your debt reduction - and I hope you’ll check back in with me often and let me know how things are going.

Leave a comment if you have a suggestion for Chad - or a question for me!

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