My amazing friend Elle is guest posting today to share her family’s incredible story of how they got rid of their car loan! Her new book, Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money just came out so make sure you check it out!
One of the best moves we made as a couple was getting rid of the car loan. We originally were trying to improve our cash flow and dump some debt. We discovered, though, that having no car loans has give us more options with our time and lives.
Burden of Debt
When we were first married, we had plenty of love, but also debt. Long story short, I took the idea of getting a reliable car and signed up for a car loan. Looking at my income, it was a huge weight on my tiny budget.
Even when we combined our money, it became obvious that the best option for us was to get rid of car loan. We knew that finances can be a huge stress on marriage. We believed having more wiggle room in our budget would reduce that weight on us.
Funny thing – as motivated as we were to get out of debt, neither one of us was looking to live like a pauper. To meet both of our goals, we made a few key choices that not only helped us pay off our car loan much faster, but gave us a path towards financial freedom.
Kept All Essentials to One Income
At that time my husband had his first full-time job while I was a full-time student with a part-time internship. While good pay, I had no idea how long it would last. We decided the best course would be to keep our essentials (such as rent, food, transportation, and utilities) under his take home pay. That meant when we were hunting for an apartment we skipped most of the newer places with bells and whistles and went with a small one bedroom place in a small building owned by an older couple. It wasn’t fancy, but it was across the street from the Chesapeake Bay. Scenic and we could hang out by the beach for some cheap fun.
Used the Second Income to Build Wealth
Found Cheaper Alternatives
How We Buy Cars Now
Elle Martinez is the founder and host of Couple Money. Her new book, Jumpstart Your Marriage and Your Money, is designed as a four-week guide to help couples build their wealth together!
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Adriana @MoneyJourney says
We’ve actually bought our car with cash, wanted to avoid loans at all costs! It did take us a while to save up though, and fit wasn’t easy (except for the occasional windfalls we put to good use 😀 ). It was totally worth it though and I sincerely recommend it to anyone not looking to buy a new car (ours is used).
Elle says
Yes Adriana! We’ve been buying our cars upfront and it has been so freeing!
Sometimes, I think the idea of used car = lemon keeps people from exploring their options. There are some fantastic used cars that don’t need a ton of money for upkeep.
It’s a bit of work to reach the right car for you, but it pays off so much.
Kim~madeinaday says
One thing my husband and I did when we were first starting out was, if you have to get a car loan go to your bank or better a credit union and get the loan first. Some have special car loan deals. We would walk into a dealership with the check in our pocket and they gave us much better deals and didn’t haggle!! Plus we felt in control and the experience wasn’t horrible as it can be sometimes when you are forced into bad deals with huge loans. Sharing on FB. Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
Kim