The Junky Car Club

This post is dedicated to a woman that introduced me to the idea of the Junky Car, thank Kara!

I just found this new blog, The Junky Car Club, I have to say...I'm impressed! Thanks Gretchen! We are frugal people, that's no secret...lol! We've never owned a brand new vehicle and began the Dave Ramsey program very early in our marriage. Right after I graduated from college, I wanted to reward myself for paying for my own schooling, with a brand new lavender colored Ford Explorer, that's what everyone drove in those days. Yes, I said lavender! Well guess what, I kept my 1985 Toyota Camry hatchback until 2003! When the a/c went out in New Orleans in the summer, it was time to get another vehicle. We bought our 2000 Toyota 4Runner and paid it off in 15 months! We haven't had a car payment in over 5 years, and yes...we are members of the Junky Car Club! I say this with pride because it has been hard work. We lived off of Brandon's salary for the four years that I worked full time before Miles came. During that time, we paid off about $5,000 credit card debt, $25,000 student loans, and about $28,000 in car payments. Now I don't consider our cars junk, but in our society's eyes, we aren't living up to the American dream of flashy cars and flashy car payments. Sure I would LOVE a newer vehicle. But my 4Runner is running just fine. Yeah, I have a big dent on my back door, and the torn leather seat is driving my crazy, but it's paid for!
You'll have to check out the Junky Car Club blog and read about it. It's really our own philosophy, and it takes guts. I challenge you! Really, I do! "Live with less, so you can give more!" Man, have we been a testimony for this! You always hear things like, "you can't outgive God." It's really hard to take that leap, but we are proof that when you do start living on less and giving more, your life takes on a whole new meaning. We don't worry about money. God has provided for us and we know He always will. Like my grandmother just said the other day, "you don't see U-hauls attatched to coffins!" Give, and be generous! Support the things that mean the most to you. You don't have to be the most "spiritual" person to do this. Believe me, we were very early in our walks when we commited to this.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34

Our pastor from Corpus Christi used to always say, "show me your checkbook, and I'll show you your treasure."

I suppose now would be a good time to announce that it looks like we have almost all the money we will need to pay for our adoption! Travel expences can vary by the thousands, so that's why I say almost, but we have done it! With His help of course. There was a day when it was very overwhelming. We knew we were called to adopt, but coming up with $20,000 plus dollars, cash, was not easy. We prayed for God to give us wisdom like he gave Solomon. We didn't expect people to throw money at us, just because we were adopting, we prayed for God to show us how to come up with the money. I'm not going to lie, it was not easy having the faith at times. I'd hear of people who were adopting and thier family and friends showering them with money and sometimes I would think, "man would that be nice!" But God called us to adopt and this was our journey. Sure it takes a village, but we needed to pay for this, and I'm so glad for all the lessons we learned. He showed Brandon that he needed to sell his 1965 mustang, what a faithful act on his part, I'm so proud of him for that. He also showed me that I needed to work for awhile. And the rest was just faith. Giving faithfully, saving faithfully, and living below our means...faithfully!

So join the Junky Car Club with me, I dare you! Sell your cars with car payments and buy your next car with the cash that you have! Live on less, so that you can give more!