Debt-Free!

Hooray! Finally our minivan is completely paid off! Just in time for us to get a new vehicle to fit Baby J and the rest of our family, ha! We made the last payment yesterday after getting our income tax refund deposited. We paid the van off about 8 months ahead of schedule...wish we had thought to make more principle-only payments earlier in the game. Oh, well, lesson learned--next time we purchase a vehicle, it is cash only for us!

Now we're praying that God will provide a bigger vehicle and give us wisdom and discretion throughout the whole process. Should we keep the minivan as our second car (Ted's little Saturn is nearly run into the ground) or trade it in and hope Ted's car can make it through our next assignment? That's one part of the decision-making process that we face. We have 2 CDs in which funds will be ready to access in late April, plus some money we've set aside from our tax refund. Additionally, the fact that Baby J is due during the Stampin' Up! trip to Hawaii that I earned means that instead of lazing on a Hawaiian beach next month, we'll receive a cash deposit for the value of one person to take the trip. That money will also be available for our vehicle purchase. Now...prayerfully...our little stockpile will be enough to pay for a vehicle with no loan involved, so that we can instead use the money we were making on car payments to pay ourselves and begin another nest egg for future needs!

We've gotten some great advice and input from larger families concerning what our next vehicle choice should be. Now we need to sort through the options and really begin researching!