buying a car on your birthday, just to say you bought a car in your birthday and the unexpected costs associated with buying a car on your birthday
3.24.2025 | 11:15am | Monday | buying a car on your birthday, just to say you bought a car on your birthday and the unexpected costs associated with buying a car on your birthday
weird flex, but ok
Long story short [or not] My last car was a 2015 Honda Civic that I purchased in 2018 after my 05’ Civic got in a fender bender. Then after 6 years of rideshare driving … reaching 460,000 Miles on a vehicle that I drove off the lot with a humble 13,000 Miles. Getting T-boned was not on my bingo card for a vehicle I loved and was aspiring to reach half a million miles. It was accrued with a lot of aimless driving, rideshare trips, food delivery along with a fair share road trips across the United States, but it happened. On my way to get my snow tires put on in mid-December on a random day of light snowfall. Sliding thru a red light, into the intersection and my car was instantly totally. All parties involved are okay and all the dust has settled. I am thankful that overall everything ended up fine, all things considered.
carless
Much of my life is filled with rideshare driving. I love to drive, I think I’ve spent over 50% of my life in my vehicle [probably more] The older I get the more miles I put on, the more I’m amazed that it’s never gotten old for me. I’m sure there’s plenty dynamics associated with it that make driving beneficial for my mind body and soul. My dad let me use his car in the meantime as I put together a plan going forward. It was honestly rough without having that outlet and stream of income. I had two weeks until my birthday and I was highly motivated to have a car by then, but I also wanted to take my time and make a smart decision and not just settle for an impulse buy in a time of need. I think he had an 07’ Kia Sportage or something. It was a reality check. I did a couple uber eats orders in it, but I didn’t feel right and I was eager to pick up passengers again.
time your time yn
36 and I still call myself a young adult [maybe it’s just based on my behavior] I’m grown mentally and I have come along way in terms of maturity but I’m still a child at heart, and I feel I always will be. Aside from graduating from OG to Unc as far as social media is concerned. Either way, all I know for a fact is I am not a YN anymore. Spending a week bouncing ideas, crunching numbers and trying to debate pro and cons of buying and leasing, hybrid, full electric and gas engines.
A dear friend had also mentioned the new presidents tariffs may affect prices in the future. There was a lot on my plate. Before needing a new car, my mind had a few things conjured up. Some of the newer Honda Accords have a stylish exterior and provide a luxurious experience for rideshare passengers.
Reaching half a million miles in the last civic had my mind and my heart set on Honda as I knew I was going to continue driving. I spend a solid amount of time mulling over ideas, test driving cars and making mental decisions. After getting pre-approved for an auto loan at the credit union. I felt like I was playing “hardball” by not making an instant decision every time I left a dealership without new keys. Silly me
it’s my birthday & I’ll buy a car if I want to
My mind was committed to making this happen long before it happened, even if I miscalculated everything, didn’t actually take the time to crunch numbers or mull it over. I don’t know what I was actually doing before this. I knew how much my paychecks were and how much I spent on bills and how much I spend on “Bullshit” and in my mind, if I continue working the same way I do now and just cut out what I spend on “bullshit” i should be able to manage a car payment and new insurance rate without any real issues. So I was content, I had money for a down payment, decent credit and pre-approval for a dollar amount I was content with. So I head to the dealership, in my dad’s Kia with a big smile on my face and the best playlist playing on a beats pill cause that truck don’t have Bluetooth…..
12.21.24
I had cash, I had card, I had an appointment with the bank and an appointment for a test drive for a 2022 Honda Civic, it was like gunmetal gray and sexy af. Leather interior, heated / power seats. Bose sound system blah blah blah. I’m not even the type to get caught up in the bullshit. I just know my last car was a base model and this time I wanted to elevate and live a little more comfortably. On the road, getting familiar with a car I was calling mine before buying. I had my iPhone synced and making plans in my head for the future. I don’t know why my brain bothered to ask to see the carfax, but I did and honestly, it wasn’t bad but I didn’t like what I saw. One minor accident. “Cosmetic damage only” which who is to truly say when they are out for a profit. It was a dampener on my special day. I left the dealership in the sale car I arrived in. Slightly disappointed and weighing out my options.
what would you do?
I could’ve bought the car and probably negotiate a better price after finding out it was previously in an accident, I could buy a brand new one for a higher price point, but offered a hybrid option which would save money long term, they also presented me with a lease to own option. Which sounded like it made sense. I asked some questions, got the information I was looking for, I crunched numbers quickly, but I knew in my mind I wanted to leave in a new car.
I pressed the button
Soon as I agreed to the terms, everything moved fast as they were getting ready to close for the night. Running through document after document. He offered to initial some portions of the paperwork for me to save time, I was so excited, I was eager to rush and just get the keys are start my new life in a 2025 Honda Civic Sport Touring Hybrid [which is a ridiculously long title for no reason, like the blog title ;)]
Signed, Sealed, Delivered. I’m Yours
Now the fun part. Actually crunching the real numbers. Not just a fairytale quote on paper that they put in your face to make you feel comfortable about your decision before realizing the tax you have to pay, the fees associated and the final cost of the car itself and the terms you agreed to for this brand new leased car. I’m not sure that I got a deal as much as I willingly put myself on the chopping block for them to dissect as I’m sure they’ve done hundreds of times before. Especially knowing was an early adapter eager to get behind a new car. There’s no need to get into specifics and honestly, I think it’s a relatively fair deal, BUT I think I would’ve benefitted more from making a purchase with a loan from the credit union rather than accepting the terms of the 3-Year/30,000 Mile lease, but I do have every intention of buying this car in 2027, unless sometime else comes out that catches my eye, but next time I buy anything I’ll do my research and study the game before I get fucked again.
Salty
I had buyers remorse more like a month, not knowing how I would wiggle my way out of this. I have zero regrets and I may have initially panicked for no reason other than over thinking, but I am a frugal person in most instances. I don’t mind spurging on the things that have a good ROI in my mind. I just needed to get creative with saving money. Cut corners, stop careless spending and tighten up where I can. It wasn’t easy, but after monitoring my monthly expenses, I realized I could make easy changes.
Savings
-I paid off one credit card and merged the other two [now I only have one credit card bill instead of three for the same amount of debt at a lower interest rate through my credit union.]
-I switched from Verizon wireless to Spectrum mobile [I was paying 220 for 2 phones, now I pay $70 for both lines, this also cut my internet bill down to $40 from $80/month. With a total of $180 savings A MONTH]
-other small changes made a big impact, instead of buying drinks from the gas station. I enrolled in paneras “unlimited sip club” which easily saves me $20-$50/week [if you like soda it’s a must]
-Wisconsin Electric offers budget billing which gives you an average cost per month instead of charging for actual usage and giving credits and the end of the term if you are continuously under using.
-I’ve also began to monitor my spending on a molecular level. This opened my eyes to all the nonsense spending I would do just by casually spending $3.57 here and $2.38 there which turns out adds up quickly.
-this also lead me to better planing and usage of auto-pay and utilizing multiple bank accounts to manage casual spending, monthly bills and bigger bills like rent and auto.
If you stumbled upon this blog, I hope you were somewhat amused and entertained as well as informed. This whole inflation situation doesn’t have to ruin your life, just take some times to look at how you spend and how you can save.
If you want more information on saving money and living a more frugal lifestyle fell free to reach out ..
IG: @Dear.Next.Passenger
Txt: 262.777.0283
Peace & Love
p.s. it ain’t no p.s. get to it 🫡