We bought a new car. Not a “new to us” car, not a “nearly new” car, an actual factual brand new 2022 Subaru Outback. But Liz–you’re now fretting– don’t you know that:

Buying a brand new car has to be one of the worst financial decisions a person can make.

Buying a new car is like shooting yourself in the foot not once, not twice, but three times. Here’s why:

1. The mark-up on new cars is astronomical.
2. The opportunity cost of buying a new car–even if you pay cash–is profound.
3. Most car loans have interest rates, which means you’re spending even more money.

Unlike a home–which sometimes, hopefully increases in value–a car is almost guaranteed to decrease in value. A car is not an appreciating asset.

Who wrote that?!

Continue reading Why We Bought A NEW Car at Frugalwoods.

Low-mileage, relatively young used cars are often a bad deal. Today we’ll explore why and what you can do to save yourself and your money.

The Frugalwoods Fleet-O-Vehicles

Let me start with a quick rundown of what my husband and I drive our two kids around in:

• 2010 Toyota Prius: purchased in April 2016 for $8,995 at 96,854 miles
  • For comparison, had we instead bought a brand new 2016 Toyota Prius, we would’ve paid circa $24,880
• 2010 Toyota Tundra: purchased in April 2018 for $15,300 at 139,528 miles
  • For comparison, had we instead bought a brand new 2018 Tundra, we would’ve paid circa $37,000

Four notes:

1. Apparently we like to buy cars in April.
2. We paid cash in full for both of these vehicles, which means we don’t have car loans and thus, aren’t paying interest.

Continue reading Why Buying A Low Mileage Used Car Is The Worst Of Both Worlds at Frugalwoods.

We finally did it. We didn’t want to do it, we delayed it, we put it off, we even bought a Subaru instead. But the realities of rural living caught up with us and we finally capitulated to the fact that… we needed to buy a truck. And so, this month, we did. I don’t have anything against trucks except that they’re so BIG and non-fuel efficient and, well, truck-like, which is exactly why we needed it!

I won’t keep you in suspense, we bought a 2010 Toyota Tundra for $15,300 and we paid cash. For comparison, a brand new 2018 Tundra, similar to the one we bought, costs circa $37,000.

Fear not, all details are below! Also, don’t worry if you hate cars, this’ll still be a fun post to read. I did, after all, once write a post about replacing a storm door that people thought was hilarious, so hey, this at least sounds more interesting than that one did, right?!

Continue reading Why We Broke Down And Bought A Used Truck at Frugalwoods.

Buying a brand new car has to be one of the worst financial decisions a person can make. I’ve said this before and I continue to harp, even though I know it sounds a tad… oh what’s the word… hardline? Crazy? Like a frugal evangelist? Nevertheless, I persist because it’s one of those purchasing decisions with the power to impact your longterm financial health in a profoundly negative way.

My past harping on this topic is enshrined in the following:

• Help Us Choose The Next Frugalwoods-mobile!
• Ode To An Old Car: Our Money-Saving Machine
• Our Frugal Solution To The All-Wheel Drive Conundrum

Most of us need a car in order to get to work, buy groceries, take our kiddos to the doctor when they have their fourth fever of the month… and so it’s easy to be lulled into thinking a car is a necessity.

Continue reading Why We Buy Used Cars And You Should Too at Frugalwoods.

I knew this day would come, though I dreaded it for years. Because we’ve been together a long time. We’ve charted many an adventure together. And now, our chapter has come to a close. I’m speaking, of course, about my beloved Frugalwoods-mobile, the 1996 Honda Odyssey minivan that Mr. Frugalwoods and I proudly drove.

It’s the car we brought Babywoods home from the hospital in and the vehicle that transported Frugal Hound into our lives. It’s the van that carted many a great trash find from the streets of Cambridge. And it’s the auto that, tragically, cannot survive life in Vermont.

Not Dead Yet

I’m thrilled to report that Frugalwoods-mobile is still alive and kicking–just with a new family. We sold our dear minivan for $1,000 on Craigslist and, I’ll be honest, I nearly shed a tear as they drove her away. But it was a deed that had to be done.

Continue reading Our Frugal Solution To The All-Wheel Drive Conundrum at Frugalwoods.

Oh Frugalwoods-mobile the oft-mentioned, but rarely glamorized, work horse of the Frugalwoods family. Today, I dedicate a post to you. Fear not, this isn’t a eulogy for she’s not dead (yet), but rather this is a reflection of gratitude for the tremendous schlepping performed by this fossil of a vehicle. While certainly it would be thriftier to exist sans car, Mr. Frugalwoods and I consider Frugalwoods-mobile a luxurious element of our lives. It’s just plain easier to own a car, which we can say with authority since we went many years without one here in the city.

And so, I hope you’ll join me in singing the praises of the second most put-upon member of our little family (Frugal Hound feels that she’s undeniably first since she must suffer the indignity of not only being forced to wear ridiculous outfits, but then secondary humiliation by having the photos posted for all the world to see.

Continue reading Ode To An Old Car: Our Money-Saving Machine at Frugalwoods.

Mrs. Frugalwoods and I own one car: a cosmetically-challenged 1996 Honda Odyssey minivan.

The Frugalwoods-mobile doesn’t have a name (other than somehow being a she?) but she does have 201,000 miles! Despite her advanced age and mileage, she gets us where we need to go with a modicum of trouble. In the 3 years we’ve owned her, we’ve only spent $350 on maintenance… and that was mostly for consumables like oil, filters, gaskets, and brakes.

And then there’s her amazing cargo space. Oh the cargo space! The middle seats are removable and the back seats fold flat. Suddenly you no longer have a van, you have a covered pickup truck that gets 25 MPG! We’ve stuffed so many things in the back of the van that it’s hard to keep count. Almost all of our furniture found its way home from the wilds of Craiglist courtesy of this van.

Continue reading Help Us Choose The Next Frugalwoods-mobile! at Frugalwoods.