Learning to be Frugal

Joe and I decided at the beginning of this year that we would spend 2009 doing our darnedest to get debt free. It's now the end of July and we have come to the realization that to live with in our means means we have to give up a few luxuries. Joe's car came 1st, and today we bought a 2001 Chevy Suburban (what?!) for $6500 and we are going to sell our beloved Pilot. We love our Pilot but it is a tight squeeze with the 3 boys in car seats and the 3rd row is obnoxious, I can only put 1 kid back there if I want to fit groceries and a stroller, and neither Miles nor Eli wants to sit all alone back there (and we can still sell it for a pretty good price). So, I had relented myself to getting a mini van, yuck, but I was willing...then we started looking at used minivans, not very many good deals out there, everything that fit our criteria was around 17K and that is no different than what we have. Then we started thinking about full size SUV's, since I just need it for around town gas mileage isn't that big of an issue. Joe can use it too in the winter when we are having a large storm because it has 4 wheel drive and the minivans don't...So a suburban it is, it barely fits in our garage and is a tank to be sure, but we now have space galore and a cheap car that should go forever with proper maintenance. And that is the story, in a nut shell, of how we are once again switching cars, but this time it is to help get us debt free (other than our house) by the end of 2009. Joe was so proud of me for being willing to get an older car, he says I have matured (for those that know me I *LOVE* cars, new cars and classics that is, not the in- between ones). Maybe I have, maybe I haven't, but it feels really good to do something myself to help our debt, especially since I don't bring home a check...It's my job to spend the money Joe makes wisely!