You Wouldn't Even Believe It If I Told You..

...that we went from having only one car, to two, back to one again, in less than four hours' time.

Yes, I am serious.

For almost three years, Benny and I have been sharing one car. Thanks to a great financial guiding light, Dave Ramsey (click Here), we learned to spend only what we have, cash only, since we got married. It has been difficult at times, since we live in a culture that screams, "I want it, I want it now." We have tried so hard to live under his principle. We cut up and cancelled all our credit cards, paid them all off within the first two years, and we have been living off our ATM cards since. We don't have a car payment; we saved and saved and saved. The truth is, while some of our friends are struggling with car payments and credit card deadlines, we have been completely at peace with our financial situation. We aren't rich, but we are at peace.

That said, we also have been living off one car for the past two and half years. It has been challenging at times, especially when Benny is off to work. There is only so much a mother with two kids can do in a small little condo. But somehow, we were able to manage this situation. I keep reminding myself that there are people out there with far worse situations than I.

Fast forward to yesterday. Benny has been faithfully, and diligently looking for a second car since a few months ago. He's searched all the classified ads on the newspapers and looked up all the second hand car listings on the Internet. We wanted to be smart about our decision; since we didn't have a large budget. Finally, after hundreds of no-good ads, we found one that fits perfectly to our criteria--low milage, low cost, original owner, and it was a Toyota!!

So the four of us drove 45 minutes away to pick up this perfect car. I couldn't believe that after almost three years, we are finally having 2 cars again. It was more than excitement for me; it was a granted freedom after losing it for two and a half years. I began to plan on all the possible destinations I can drive to with a car--it was limitless! I could go grocery shopping in the afternoon, I could take the kids visiting my Dad more often, I could even go to the mall--things that I took for granted before we were in this situation. All of a sudden, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, this ecstacy did not last very long. After Benny's loving goodbye kiss yesterday before he left to work, just when I was about to sit down and write out a check, I heard a crash. Since we live on a busy street, this crash could be from anyone, of any car. But I recognized it right away. My instinct told me it was our newly-owned car. As I stepped out of our balcony to find out what the matter was, there it was, our newly-owned car, pulling to the side, with the front completely ruined (dangling, to be exact). Crying, I ran downstairs with Abby in my arms (and locked Caleb in the house, since he was still sleeping), making sure Benny was ok. It was heartbreaking to see all of our simple dreams and hopes in our near future had been shattered. The car was totaled. We are back to one car for now.

No matter how many times we played the scenario in our heads over and over again, it was hard to digest, that all had happened was due to Benny's carelessness. The only bright side we have to force ourselves to look at was that we have insured the car as soon as we picked it up, and that no one was hurt. It could have been so much worse; I have to count my blessings.