Time for Car Shopping!

The car saga continues.

What started at the end of May as a month without a car stretched into Mike being on orders through July.

Now we've learned he'll be out there until September.

Yeppers.

Just last weekend, I went and got a rental car.  I'm now back into my summer teaching schedule and not only can I not bike home to arrive to class on time, but I also have one class an hour away.  

We knew by July 4th we were going to have to figure out the car situation.  We didn't know that because orders keep getting extended, that our plans to actually purchase a second car were going to be greatly accelerated.

Yes, that's right, we're now in the market for a car.

I had so been hoping to make one car work, but as long as the two of us are in different cities, it's just undoable. 

I had also been planning to not buy a second car until we could do so in full, no loans, all in one chunk.  Or at least had a really awesome downpayment. 

<shakes head>  Busted.

So we're off to do the next best thing: buy a used car.  No lemons please, but a real previously owned vehicle.

(source)

Here's the budget lowdown:
Price range - $4-8,000
Year - circa '05/06
Brand - Honda, Volkswagen, maybe Chevy
Type - compact, 4 doors, mpg in the high 20s, air conditioning
Downpayment - $0 (I know, I know, not ideal in the least...)

I don't want another patch car.  I want to be smart with our money and get something that isn't going to nickel and dime us to death with repairs and that will last for a good number of years.

Since Mike has the truck, this will be "my" car.  The one I take to work when I can't bike, the one we use to go grocery and Walmart shopping, the one we take to go on trips. 

It will also be the first time I've actually bought a car from a dealer. 

Yep, that's right, 27 and never really bought a car.  I had a family one during high school (a station wagon, no less, which I loved), nothing for the first 3 years of college, and then Mike's car when he was overseas.  After that was a Cadillac we purchased together through a family friend that had repair after repair.  The only vehicle I technically bought was this yellow 83 Silverado that we named Gertie for $600.

Gertie and I epically did not get along.  She was the bane of my existence but was all smooth sailing for Mike.  She had her loyalties, harumf.  Should have named her Christine (that's a Stephen King reference, if you missed it).  As an older vehicle though, she had mounting problems and wasn't good for highway travel.

At any rate, we have a proven track record with older used cars eating more money than they're worth within the first year.  Hence I find it reasonable to want to get more bang for my buck.

Yesterday, I stopped by our credit union (Veridian) and talked with a loan officer about what we could do with them.  A combination of varying credit scores and Mike's unusual salary led us to a preapproved loan for the top of our price range, 8K:

Period: 5 years
Interest: 6.49% (includes payment protection, which is optional)
Car year: 2005-2006
Monthly payment: $180

I think that's a decent starting point.  $8,000 is the absolutely max and I certainly don't want to go that high if we can find other options.  The monthly payment is of more concern to me than the interest rate and $180 was also the top of what I would want to pay.

Our next step is to start researching dealers in the area and know what's on the lot.  I have no idea what Cedar Rapids has to offer for used cars so I've got a little work ahead of me.

Mike will be coming home in a week or so for a short break before heading up to the flood front.  At that time, we'll return the rental car and add a permanent second!

What's your advice for car shopping? 

7 Questions About Being Carless

Week 4 of the "Jennie-only-has-a-bike-while-Mike-is-in-another-part-of-the-state" saga has closed.

(source)

Instead of having only a week left (as originally planned), we just learned that Mike is being held in Des Moines into the month of July.  All signs indicate he will be there for another 3-6 weeks.

To give you a proper update, I'm going to answer some questions I've received through Facebook and from friends and coworkers: 

What's your biking routine?
Because I'm terribly out of shape, biking has been more challenging than I expected.  In 3 weeks, I have biked to work 12 times.

I ride on a bike trail that follows the Cedar River, which keeps me out of traffic and goes right behind my office.  On average, it takes me 30-35 minutes to get to work and 40-50 minutes to get home.

The trail is very hilly. I'm sure it's not challenging for hardcore bikers, but I am a sweaty mess at the end of each ride.

What has been the hardest thing?
For the first two weeks, I experienced daily headaches and shoulder pain.  I was also extremely tired, all leading to a great amount of frustration.

I learned 3 things about my body during this time:

• My shoulder pain was caused from wearing a backpack.  Since college, I've had mild shoulder problems (I suspect years of marching band might be a factor ...), but even a light weight resting on them can inflame a nerve.  Now I strap my backpack to my handlebars.
• To ease tiredness, I have to be in bed around 9pm and get around 9+ hours of sleep. 
• My headaches were from dehydration.  On normal days, I drink over 100 oz of water.  When I bike, I have to push that to 250 oz, including a liter (4 cups) before I head out in the morning.  I just have to honor what my body needs, even though that's a ridiculous amount of water.

I drink 4 times this a day  (source)

What has been your greatest success?
Biking has one goal - get to Point A.  It's easy to feel successful at the end of each and every ride.  You can always say, "Yay!  I made it!"

My biggest success is that I rode into work all 5 days for the first time last week.  It was 6.5 hours, or 400 minutes.  I had been working my way up to this goal for several weeks and now I know I can do it.

I also have been shaving time off of my ride to work.  When we first got our bikes, it took around 40 minutes to ride in.  Now, I can get there in 30-33 minutes.    

Do you feel healthier?
This is a hard one.  Weight-wise, the scale indicates I've lost 3 pounds.  I look in the mirror and see a little slimming, but not enough for anyone else to notice.

Clearly I've been getting faster, so that means I'm building muscle and getting more efficient.

However, I'm still dead tired at the end of each day.  That rush of endorphins you're supposed to get after exercising?  I've yet to experience that. 

I do know, as I've been tracking calories in a food diary, that I need to eat much much healthier to sustain this level of activity. 
 
Have you thought about buying a car or getting a rental?
Mike and I are really proud that we've made our one-car situation work since last October.  However, him being on orders has thrown a wrench into everything.

We cannot afford a second car at this time.  Sure, we could get a loan, but that would be completely irresponsible because of our current debt load.  We simply cannot add another monthly payment to our long list.  Hence why we got the bikes, so it would be a little easier to share one car.

We're also resistant to the idea of buying a clunker.  There's nothing worse than unexpected and frequent car repairs.  We don't want to put ourselves in a situation where we've willingly taken on a budget drain.

No more lemons!

Rental cars are expensive.  I got one last weekend to attend a friend's bachelorette party.  So as not to concern her, I won't disclose how much it was, but it was waaay more than necessary.  Of course, it was worth every penny to have two days of independence and freedom.

To our best knowledge, a rental car (in our area) will cost about $900 a month - that's $700 for the actual car and $200 in fees and taxes.  Cute.

In two weeks though, I will have to get a rental.  After July 4th, I start teaching again - one night in Waterloo, the next in Cedar Rapids.  I must have a set of wheels to not only travel an hour, but get back home in time to show up for class not looking like a mess.  I'm also in a wedding and would have to spend 3 days biking there, lol.

Renting a car isn't ideal, but we're down to limited options. No one said being fiscally responsible is easy. 

Is it hard being away from each other?
Not entirely.

We're a very independent and self-sufficient couple.  Out of the 10 years we've been together, 5 have been long distance.  It's not exactly routine, but it's also not a shock either when orders/deployments happen.

And unlike a deployment, Mike is stateside, has access to the internet, is not in a war zone, and can text/call.  It's more like he's on an extended business trip than anything.

Not us, but they're adorable! (source)

That doesn't mean that we don't miss each other and such, but separation is just an accepted part of our relationship.  Our life is set up so it can easily switch gears when Mike needs to do his thing.

How has the situation affected your finances?
In short, it's thrown everything out of wack.

It's very difficult to determine how much money we're saving.  Though I'm not using a car, Mike is driving through several quadrants of Des Moines for work.  He is also paying $18 a day for lodging.  Then there are his food needs, and he only has a microwave.

I have to make a huge effort to get anywhere to spend money, so in many ways that's good.  Eating out has virtually been banished, though Casey's pizza is hard to resist some nights.  On the other hand, I try to stock up for several weeks of groceries at a time, making some trips larger than others.

Now, Mike is getting paid for being on orders.  And while there's info out there on how much that should be, it's the military.  His pay has been delay, part of it has been shorted, and some expenses (like lodging) will be reimbursed after his orders are through.

So we're using any and all income with extreme hesitation.  I just killed off the leftover loan we took out for rent back in February ($500) and paid off a credit card ($400).  The rest is going directly into savings.  

Loading up savings will be important as Mike will not be taking classes the next school term.  Oddly enough, it's the same term I'll start teaching and my pay from that will make up for his GI Bill being on hold.

However, it looks like there will be a gap in our incomes in August between when his orders pay stops and his GI Bill payments start back up.  So the more we squirrel away to savings, the better we'll be able to handle that.

And that's where we're sitting!  We've appreciated all of the support.  Let me know if you have other questions!

We Have Bikes!

It's official - we have bikes!

We spent months researching and gathering advice from friends on the best way to purchase bikes.  We had tons of great suggestions and now feel really good about what we selected.

We felt the most comfortable buying brand new bikes at a local shop.  Though it was tempting to buy department store bikes and upgrade the parts, I realized I would always question their quality or wonder if we had gotten the right models. Because the bikes are in place of a second car, it was apparent that we needed a long-term solution.  No cheap bikes need apply.    

We visited several shops, but settled on Northtowne Cycling & Fitness.  The service was so informative and it was clear they wanted to make sure we had the right bikes for our needs.  We really appreciated that.

JENNIE: I got a Specialized Crossroads.  My one requirement was COMFORT!  Nice wide seat, step through, and upright seating position (which my back is very thankful for!).  It's a very proper bike but not aerodynamic at all, haha.

I am using my bike for commuting.  We live right off the Cedar Valley Trail, which runs downtown behind my office.  I am impossibly slow, so a one-way trip is about 40 minutes.  

Due to crazy weather and being out of shape, I've only biked to work 5 times so far.  But climbing gas prices and a wedding in July are supplying me with a ton of motivation. 

His radical dudeness prepares for the casting call of Pacific Blue: Iowa.
(note GI Joe shirt, agents love that 'down to earth' stuff...)

MIKE: My black, 24 speed, police-tacular looking piece of bicycle awesomeness is a 2011 Giant Escape2.  I was originally looking at a Specialized Sirrus, but the extra $150 was not worth getting an aluminum fork over the Giants' CroMoly steel piece of colossal black magnificence. 

As you may note it is mostly black in color, has two bicycle tire rolling things, and a seat that you place your manly (or womanly) rump roast on. You can also see that I am wearing my helmet sexy-man-backward-style.  Don't do that, it only works for me. And even then it doesn't actually work for me.  

I am planning on eventually replacing the stock plastic pedals with clips and getting some of these tires: http://www.ubcbike.com/store/product/148072/Specialized-All-Condition-Sport-Tire-%28700-X-32---Black%29/  The set it has now are all condition trail tires from Giant, but when you're trying to maintain a 25MPH clip for 10-15 miles every little bit helps. 

I would go down to 28 width tires, but at the moment I do kind of like having a butt that isn't sore and a complete set of permanent teeth at the end of a ride. I also REALLY need to get a light set to avoid getting mowed down by other bikers during low viz and to let the morons who take up both lanes of the trail know that I'm coming to get all up in their shiz-ma-tizz. 

Did I mention it looks like a police bike?
 

So far, the only drawback has been storage.  We don't have a garage ($50 extra a month!) so the bikes currently reside in the living.  It's a little awkward, but hasn't been too inconvenient.  I'm not sure what we're going to do come this winter.  

So the embarrassing thing about the bikes is that we could not purchase them out of pocket.  Because of dental bills and taxes, we just haven't been able to save for them.  

I was sooo reluctant to put them on the credit card.  I mean, here we are trying to reduce our debt and we're adding to it!  But at the rate we could save for them, it would have been Christmas before we could do it in cash.

Total Cost:
Jennie's bike     $419.99
Mike's bike        $399.99
Two helmets      $89.98
Tax                    $63.70
Total                 $973.66

The way Mike reasoned the expenditure was that it's a good investment.  First, gas prices here are $3.89 and climbing.  With a truck, we don't get the greatest fuel economy. 

Then with the one car, Mike is typically stuck at home all day.  Now he has the mobility to get outside, visit neighboring towns, and get back into photography.  It's a much needed outlet for him.

Lastly, we need to improve my health.  There's a reason you never see me in pictures on here.  I know that where I carry my weight + my family history is one giant formula for heart disease and diabetes.   Every ounce of preventative care is paramount.

We're super happy with our bikes.  A grand looks like a lot on paper, but when we think about the positive energy and good health they're bringing, we know it's worth every penny.

Side note to the moms and worrywarts out there - yes, we have helmets, locks, sunscreen, IDs, cell phones, and water at all times :)

Saving Up for Bikes

Hubby and I hit up the local bike shop yesterday to check out some options.  The sales guy was super helpful and I not only learned a ton, but have a good idea of what we need.

See, we recently lost a car in an accident (long story, not my fault, overpass still destroyed the car, only liability insurance).  So we had to suddenly evaluate our car situation.  There is no way we could add another loan payment to our monthly obligations.  Second, we're tired of getting used cars that don't last long or come with hidden problems.

Luckily enough, we're in a position to only need one car right now.  Though Mike will be starting up classes, they're either at night or on the weekend.  Second, we live right on a bike trail, which not only goes downtown where Jennie works, but literally right behind her building.

So bikes it is (with careful planning until then so Mike isn't stuck home every day...).

Like most people, we've gone the cheap route on Wally World bikes.  Twice.  I estimate we've probably spent $500 on bikes in the past 8 years.  Cheap bikes are exactly that: cheap.  They'd break, be uncomfortable, or be easy to abandon.  Which I shamefully admit we have done.  Long-term planning + college students ... well, you get the picture.

So this time around, I want a serious bike.  Which also means a serious pricetag.  I want something that will get me to work, get me exercising, and provide something Mike and I can do together.   

Based on the models we looked at, we're looking at spending approximately $900 on 2 new bikes.

Trek 7100 Hybrid Bike Path Bike: $420 (ish) + tax

That's a cheap used car! 

But I have to tell myself, these ARE in place of a cheap used car.  This equipment is promoting entertainment, health, and environmentalism all in one.  That's a good combo for nouveau hippies like us :)

So to purchase these bikes circa April, when I'm hoping the snow will melt, we have to squirrel away around $225 a month into savings.  Sigh, particularly when we've been averaging $60 a month, and that in itself has been steep. 

Of course, we are going to look at some more options, particularly national chains like Dick's or Scheel's.  A friend also suggested checking out pawn stores, which is a fantastic idea.

Regardless of getting the money together, I am excited about this venture.  It's perfect in so many ways.  And the best part: we've both resolved to not buy a second car until we can do so upfront, no loan, gently used. 

Any other suggestions for getting a good bike?