finances

New Car

Today was an interesting day, to say the least, one that ended with driving a new car home.

On Saturday, I had an issue come up at work, that required me to set up my work laptop from home so I could take care of it. As soon as that was done, I left the house and headed to an extended family member’s 100th birthday party. Later that evening and the following day required me to do some follow-up related to the issue from work, so at the end of the evening last night, I packed my computer up to bring back to the office today.

Today, I got into the office and started hooking my computer up, only to realize I left my mouse at home. So, I worked for most of my day in the office, then at lunch, I went back home and finished off the day from home. As a result, I was off work and already home at 4pm. I decided to do some research on hybrid vehicles before dinner. I certainly wasn’t planning on buying a car yet, it was just some initial legwork for something that may be considered around September, when the new models come out.

My previous car was a 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring. It was a great car, and I had no problems with it at all. Where I lived before, I was working from home, and most of the driving that was done after hours was highway driving. As a result, I averaged around 27mpg, which wasn’t too bad. For extended trips, I even got up to about 30mpg or slightly higher. Now, though, I work 8 miles from home, and it is all street driving, with a lot more traffic to deal with. That had dropped me down to about 20mpg. As a result, I was looking into the possibility of going with a hybrid later this year.

As I was researching, I looked at the local Hyundai dealership to get more info about their Ioniq. While I was there, I noticed a listing for a preowned 2016 Sonata Hybrid. It had less than 100 miles on it, almost fully equipped, for less than the price of a base model Sonata Hybrid and less than the base model of the Ioniq. It was too good to pass up.

So, instead of dinner, I drove out to the dealership and found out that they had just listed the car, so my timing was perfect. I took it for a test drive, and thought I was give it a try. I have a lot of unpaid medical bills, so I didn’t know if I’d be able to qualify to buy it, but I figured I’d try and see. Well, turned out I did qualify, but my interest rate is quite a bit higher than I would like. So, my goal is to pay the higher interest for the next few months as I start to get rid of some of the lower medical bills from my credit report. Somewhere after the first of the year refinance and try to get a lower rate.

As they were finalizing the papers, I was watching the time. I had to deal with work at 8pm this evening, and it was closing in on 7pm. I told them about my rush for work, so they were able to get things finished, and I was able to drive off the lot at 7:30 in time for me to get home and get to work. I’ll be going back on Friday to pay the last of my downpayment as well as get the complete walkthrough of my car, since we didn’t have much time to go over things.

So, with this new bill, my entertainment/dining out budget is a bit slashed. I’ll be juggling some things over the next few days, recalculating my budget. I’m not too worried about it overall, as after Sunday, the last my moving expenses will be fully paid off. Now it is just a matter of getting old medical bills paid and fitting the car payments into the mix.

LPC Part 2 and Cell Phone Bills

First, Lunar Penal Colony Part 2 is written and posted at Trasee’s Wonderland. Not on the moon yet, but certainly has been fun to write so far.

Second, I have had Verizon Wireless for my cellular service for a very long time. With the exception of a couple years when I tried AT&T, I’ve been with Verizon since before they were known as Verizon. I had a couple phone lines with them as well as a couple additional services, and I was paying around $350 per month. It was ridiculous.
Today, I went to a local T-Mobile store and talked to them. I wasn’t sure if I was going to switch, but after speaking with the sales rep there, I decided to make the switch. Still have two phone lines, but have also added a tablet to the service. One phone is new, the other, my Pixel XL, was brought over to them. There were so many promotions that were attached to my deal. Discount to the monthly bill due to bringing over the Pixel. A tablet that wound up being free. I forget what other discounts were applied, but it was pretty impressive. When all was said and done, it brought my bill down to under $200 per month, of that just under $50 per month is related to new equipment, and the taxes and fees are all included. So, $150 per month in savings. That’s not bad at all.
Comparison:
Verizon: Two phones. 1400 minutes shared. Unlimited data (grandfathered pricing). Mobile hotspot on one phone (Additional fee). Unlimited text. Hum service (similar to OnStar) and phone insurance. All that totaled about $350 per month.
T-Mobile: Two phones. Unlimited talk, text, and data. Mobile hotspot on both phones. SyncUp (comparable to Hum), phone insurance, and a new tablet with internet came to $150 per month, with $50 extra for the equipment. Oh, and there’s no interest on the equipment either.
Now, I’m probably still going to pay around $1000 to Verizon as I was still paying them for my Pixel, the cancellation of the Hum Service, and whatever my final bill is with them. Still, when you’re considering the savings, that will be recovered very quickly. Overall, I would say this has been a good day.