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I’ve  joined the club.

We bought a minivan.

You see, my husband and I each were driving beautiful little ‘98 Ford Escorts.  Yes, matching cars.  Long story. Let’s just say we were building a fleet.  I loved my Escort, high mileage and all.

We knew with the arrival of baby #2, the Escorts may get a little cramped, but we thought we could manage for awhile.

But after Jack arrived, my tiny Escort was beginning to look more like a clown car.  Between two car seats, diaper bag, my purse that I carry way too much in, and double stroller, we couldn’t fit anything else useful- like my husband or groceries.  It was time to buy something with a little more room.

Thankfully, we had set a financial goal at the beginning of the year to save enough money for a new-to-us car by this summer (while maintaining other investments and an emergency fund) just in case either of our clunkers faced its inevitable death.  We reached that goal and were able to pay for the van in full.  What a blessing!

You see, my husband and I decided a long time ago that car debt wasn’t something we wanted.  I know it works for many people, and some people may be in a situation that makes a loan necessary.  But in our very inexperienced opinion, there’s “good” debt and “bad” debt.  Good debt is the kind that’s an investment- like a house or an education, perhaps. And even those good debts are only good if you can afford the payment (along with a number of other factors).  A car, however, typically just isn’t an investment in our opinion.  You won’t get more than you paid when you go to re-sell it.  It looses value, never to be recouped, by the day.  And really, most car loans come as result of purchasing more than just a reliable vehicle to get you from point A to B.  (If you want to hear more on nixing the car payment, check out Dave Ramsey’s advice here.)

So we were blessed to find a great deal on a wonderful 2006 Kia Sedona.  I love it, we all fit beautifully, it’s incredibly safe, there’s room for more kids if that’s what the years ahead bring, and it’s 100% ours.  We owe no man anything for it.  I smile each time I look at that minivan.