Two checks

Last night, I wrote out two checks.

One was the final payment of our Camper.

The other was the final payment on our Diesel pickup.

I can't express how happy I am to have those two payments GONE. It's a big step towards reaching a goal I have. My goal is to get everything paid off. By paying these two off, we now only have payments on the tractor and the car. The car will be paid off in less than a year. The tractor has 2 years left. If I can manage it, I'll pay both off early too.

But, well...I also have another motive for paying these off now.

See, I can drop the insurance coverage on both. The pickup can now go from full coverage to liability only. And the camper will have a lower premium as well. And I need that break because...

well because....

We decided to buy Andy a new car for graduation.

And, yes, it's a secret. So if anyone tells him...you'll have to deal with Kev. Andy doesn't suspect at all, because his father has said for years and years and years, "I had to buy my first car, so don't expect me to buy you a car." And, when Kev first suggested it to me (yes, it was his idea,) I couldn't believe those words were coming out of his mouth! But after thinking about it for a couple of months, and after driving the Ranger recently, we decided we really needed to do this.

The Ranger has 250,000 miles on it and it's starting to show its age. In addition, Andy will need something more dependable to drive to and from school. And, good lord, a lumber wagon is smoother than that Ranger is anymore! The Ranger needs to retire.

We found a nice car, newer than the one we drive. The price is right. We can get some money on trading in the Ranger, so we decided to do this. Then I checked into insurance. And almost had a heart attack! Car insurance for teenage boys is frighteningly high. Ridiculously high. Insanely high.

So, Kev and I decided we needed to see what we could do to save a little money. And when I was paying bills on Monday night, I realized that I only had 6 coupons left on the pickup. So, I called to see what the balance was. It was so low, that I could afford to pay it off...early! And, I knew that the camper was also almost paid off. Called for the balance on it, and paid it off too!

Now, I can not only put some cash into savings every month, but we can also afford to buy our son a new car! And, we'll save some money on insurance too.

I can't wait until graduation morning, because he's going to be stunned. Shocked. Thrilled. And...family...those of you who will be joining us that day...you'll get to see his excitement with us!

So just remember...keep your mouths shut for two more weeks!

(And, yes, this is safe...Andy never reads my blog...)