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Hello, do you ever feel like 
you're doing all the right 

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things but your budget still 
feels tight? 

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What if the biggest drain on 
your money is sitting in your 

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driveway? 
The average car payment in the 

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United States is now over 
$700.00 a month and that doesn't

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even include insurance, gas, 
maintenance, or the emotional 

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toll of car stress. 
So today we're going to be 

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talking about cars and if your 
car is the thing that's keeping 

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you broke. 
So I know this was something for

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my family that was very 
challenging to move past. 

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And so I'm going to share a 
little bit about my story, but 

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also some tips for you to help 
understand if your car is the 

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thing that's keeping you where 
you are financially. 

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Welcome to the Debt Ripple 
podcast where we discuss the 

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insurance and outs of personal 
finance for families so you can 

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eliminate the burden of debt, 
create financial margins, and 

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learn a new way to interact with
your money. 

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I'm your host, Jules the Budget 
Nerd, and I have been in your 

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shoes. 
My husband and I have paid off 

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over $107,000 in consumer debt 
until we finally threw in the 

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towel and decided it wasn't for 
us. 

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Throughout our journey, we 
learned another way to do life 

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without debt, and that's my hope
for you. 

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You can learn more about our 
story and see full show notes on

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my website, 
julesthebudgetnerd.com. 

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That's JEWLZ, the budget 
nerd.com. 

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Now let's dive into today's 
episode. 

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All right, before we dive in 
today, I just want to say an 

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extra special thank you and 
welcome to our alliance coaching

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membership, our alliance 
coaching members who just joined

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us recently. 
Because this topic is one that 

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comes up a lot in my my coaching
practice. 

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But also I wanted to address it 
for our podcast community 

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because it is one part for our 
family that was quite a game 

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changer when we shifted our 
mindset about car ownership and 

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our our transportation to and 
from work. 

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So I'm going to, as we dive into
this, I want to talk today about

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why or if your car is the thing 
that's keeping you broke. 

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So one thing that we found for 
ourselves, I grew up, my parents

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didn't have car payments. 
My grandparents didn't have car 

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payments. 
They always paid cash. 

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You know, I wrote a check for a 
car and even if it was a brand 

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new one, they always, they 
always paid cash for it was 

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never financed. 
So then when my husband and I, 

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it was right before we got 
married, he was actually working

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at a car dealership. 
And so we thought, hey, we're 

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going to be getting a really 
good deal. 

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He had a car payment at the 
time, my car that was a car that

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my parents had purchased for me 
when I was younger and I was 

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still driving that and we wanted
to buy a car together. 

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So my husband was working at the
car dealership at the time as 

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before we got married, but he 
was working there. 

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So we thought, hey, we're going 
to be getting, you know, the 

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friends and family discount. 
And we were just about to get 

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married over that. 
Hey, this will, we can do this, 

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right? 
And it was about the same price 

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he was paying for his car 
payment that he already had. 

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So we decided to go for it and 
we bought this. 

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It was it was, it was more on 
the luxury side for a car, you 

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know, leather seats and the, you
know, the brand, that kind of 

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stuff. 
And we got into a spot where the

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driver's side window broke not 
long after we purchased it. 

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And when we found out how much 
it was to replace it or to fix 

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it, we decided we would wait. 
And then like, you know, 

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headlight went out. 
And because of the make of the 

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car, there were some things that
we weren't able to do ourselves.

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And so we had to have a shop do 
it for us. 

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And so those bills added up very
quickly, so to the point where 

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we were trying to make the car 
payment, pay for the insurance, 

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obviously the gas, you know, 
taxes, registration, that kind 

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of stuff. 
And we couldn't pay for all of 

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those things all at the same 
time because we had overextended

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ourselves in our budget to the 
point where we just had to roll 

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the window up and let it go. 
And so we had a driver's side 

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window that didn't work. 
I would, well, let's see, it 

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worked for a couple of months 
after we first got it, But for 

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the the remainder of the time 
that we owned that one, even 

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when we sold that car, the 
driver's side window didn't work

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because we couldn't afford to do
that. 

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We had to make sure that the 
payment was paid and there was a

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time when we couldn't do all of 
those things. 

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And I hear a tow truck come up 
the driveway and I think that's 

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the day that our car gets 
repossessed because we just 

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couldn't take all of the 
expenses all at one time. 

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So when we talked about the 
difference between we go to 

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maybe a dealership or something 
like that and we're going to 

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purchase a car, we think about 
the car payment, but we 

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sometimes can lose sight of what
the actual costs are. 

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Like we know that the cars need 
to be insured. 

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We know we got to put gas in it.
We know all those things. 

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But do we know the actual 
expenses for that particular car

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and what it's going to look like
for us? 

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And how is that going to change 
our family's financial 

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situation? 
So at the time, you know, 

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insurance for newer cars is more
expensive. 

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Gas prices were very different 
back then, but still that's all 

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relative, right? 
And then we purchased a car that

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we couldn't do some of the 
maintenance and the repairs on 

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ourselves. 
And then you've got your 

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registration, taxes and fees. 
And then there is the one thing 

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that we didn't take into account
and that we didn't realize that 

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we were in a situation that was 
causing us some emotional 

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stress. 
And it was, it was an emotional 

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cost. 
So there was this stress 

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because, my gosh, we have this, 
we have this car that we're 

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trying to make payments on, and 
it looked really great from the 

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outside. 
We were the only ones that knew 

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that the driver's side window 
didn't work. 

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Yeah, of course, we didn't go 
through Dr. Thrus because we 

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couldn't get the window down. 
We'd have to open the door. 

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And so that was super 
embarrassing. 

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So that goes to that whole part 
of trying to keep up the 

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appearances that we had. 
It had it together. 

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And so that's one of those 
hitting costs I think that we 

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don't necessarily take into 
account when we're purchasing, 

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you know, big, we're making big 
purchases. 

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So sometimes this can happen 
with homes, but especially with 

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cars. 
Our culture really puts a lot of

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value on the kind of car we 
have, maybe our address, that 

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kind of stuff. 
And so those things can really 

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distract and take away from the 
joy and the things in life that 

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bring us joy and rob us of the 
mental capacity to focus on 

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other things. 
And so today I want to encourage

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you, whether you maybe you have,
you're in the situation where 

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you're like, you know what, the 
bills for the car are adding up 

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way faster or maybe I'm in a 
lease or a situation where I 

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don't want to do this anymore. 
We're going to talk about a 

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little bit more about that in a 
minute. 

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But one of the things when I'm 
when I'm talking about the 

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distractions and that kind of 
stuff, it is an opportunity 

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cost. 
So if we're going to use the 

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example that the average, the 
average US family has a car 

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payment of $700.00, what else 
could we be doing with that 

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$700.00? 
So that's right there. 

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That's a huge chunk of an 
emergency fund. 

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Imagine how much debt you could 
pay off every single month if 

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you had an extra $700.00. 
Or maybe what kind of vacation 

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you could take every year with 
$700.00. 

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When we sign for a car payment, 
it isn't how much per month it 

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is. 
It is we do ask ourselves how 

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much per month, but there's a 
much bigger price tag that goes 

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into that that sometimes we can 
not take into account. 

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So for US one of the things was 
the negative equity. 

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So when we purchased that new 
car or that new to us car, it 

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was it was still a used car. 
But when we purchased that then 

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my husband's previous car had 
negative equity. 

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So we had to roll that into the 
new loan. 

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So if you add that on top of the
purchase price of that car, then

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maybe the interest was higher, 
that kind of stuff. 

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It just is a snowball in the 
opposite direction that we want 

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to go. 
So when I talk about a debt 

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snowball, we don't want it to be
that kind of like it's just 

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building and building and a debt
part. 

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We want to be reducing that and 
eliminating that debt. 

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So one of the things that our 
culture says is that car is like

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a sign of success for us. 
And so I know that I myself, 

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when I first started out in real
estate, I was, I was very aware 

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of what people thought about 
real estate agents and what kind

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of car they drove, how 
successful they were, whether or

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not they wanted to do business 
with me. 

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And so I had a Volvo station 
wagon and I was like, I'm not 

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able to get a new car. 
So you know what I did, I was 

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very young at the time, I was 
22. 

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And so I got glasses and I wore 
my hair a certain way because I 

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wanted to look older so that 
people would take me seriously. 

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And so some of those things and 
some of those traps that I got 

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myself into was I was more 
worried about what people 

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thought of me then I needed to 
be. 

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And I allowed that to be a 
distraction in my life. 

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So just like when we bought that
car, we thought, you know what, 

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this is a sign of success. 
It's the first thing that were 

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purchased. 
So, well, the second thing, we 

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bought a house together, but it 
was the second thing that we 

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were purchasing together that I 
was like, hey, everyone else is 

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doing this. 
And then we got into that 

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situation where we couldn't do, 
we couldn't make all of the 

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payments and maintain it and all
of the things all at once. 

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And so that's when we decided 
once we got rid of that car that

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we weren't going to go back to 
car payments because it's such a

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huge expense. 
But like I said, the opportunity

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cost there, the other things 
that we could be doing without 

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money are are very different 
from paying a bank to lend us 

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the money to have a car that 
isn't going to work anyway, 

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right? 
So what do we do instead? 

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So this is where we have to, we 
kind of, we kind of flip things 

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on its head, right? 
This is where the 

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countercultural jewels, the 
budget nerd, the debt rebel 

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comes in. 
Because I want to challenge the 

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way that you think about your 
car. 

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Right now, your car is just the 
mode of transportation that you 

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use to get your kids to school, 
to their activities. 

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The thing that you do to get 
your family to maybe, you know, 

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Rd. trips, that kind of stuff. 
You want it to be safe, 

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obviously, but you, it is the 
thing. 

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It's a tool that we use to 
create the memories with our 

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families. 
So now the things that I'm about

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to share, this is not to bring 
any kind of shame because trust 

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me, I have I have been in your 
shoes. 

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And if you're thinking, you know
what I, what she's saying makes 

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a little bit of sense. 
It sounds a little bit crazy, 

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but hear me out because I want 
to challenge you in the most 

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positive way to re evaluate some
of the things that we think our 

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needs in our lives for. 
Maybe this is a short season and

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maybe I'll explain more here in 
a second, but one of the things 

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that our family really looked at
was do we absolutely need 2 

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cars? 
Now at the time, my husband 

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worked close to work and so and 
I didn't. 

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We could coordinate our 
schedules so that I could take 

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him to work and it wasn't going 
to be that much of an 

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inconvenience. 
But then also his employer 

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provided a bus pass. 
We live really close to the, you

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know, bus system, so that was an
option. 

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He could ride his bike. 
So there was a time where we 

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were down to 1 car because it 
fit our lifestyle and our 

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financial goals better. 
There was a time where we, like 

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I said, that car that we had, we
got it down to the value that it

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was actually the market value. 
So we owed more than the market 

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value. 
We finally got down to where we 

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could sell it and just got rid 
of it and then paid cash for a 

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used car from there. 
There was another time where as 

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we were actually gifted a truck,
which was an amazing 

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opportunity. 
It was amazing gift and it 

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wasn't, it wasn't a brand new, 
it wasn't a brand new thing, but

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it was something that was going 
to help us get through a season 

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so that when we had the 
opportunity to gift another 

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vehicle, we were able to do that
for another family. 

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And so those things might might 
not be an option for you, but 

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it's just we want, I want you 
to, I want to challenge you to 

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think outside the box and think 
about really is your, your car 

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situation? 
Is it serving your family the 

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best right now? 
So like I said, you can you know

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another opportunity or another 
way that you can eliminate some 

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car stress is AC about paying 
off your current car early. 

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Maybe you are you can shop for a
different insurance that one's 

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and will help when you own a car
that is so newer cars have 

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higher insurance rates because 
the cost to replace them is much

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higher. 
So one of the reasons why our 

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family drives cars that aren't 
brand new, that are, that are 

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new to us, but that I have 
smaller, smaller value is 

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because the monthly insurance 
costs a lot less. 

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Usually the recalls have already
they've already made their way 

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through and those are over and 
done with. 

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We know what we're getting. 
One thing when you're shopping 

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for a vehicle, that's a really 
great tip is if you find one 

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that you like is just Google or 
a get on ChatGPT and say, Hey, 

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what you know this year, make 
and model, what are the biggest 

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issues now? 
If you see stuff like, you know,

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they have huge engine issues or 
electron electrical issues, that

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kind of stuff, steer clear, 
right, because you know that the

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expenses are going to be higher 
for repairs on those things. 

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Now all all new cars, whether 
they use gas or electric, 

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there's going to be maintenance.
So you and you want to factor 

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those things into your budget, 
but all cars are going to need 

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some maintenance. 
You're going to get a flat tire 

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at some point. 
Those types of things happen and

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that's what happened to us 
recently. 

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My car that I absolutely love, 
it meets all of our needs. 

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And that's one of our big jokes 
about it is because it really 

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does meet all of our needs. 
But it's getting older. 

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And I went to turn the air 
conditioning on the other day 

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and all of a sudden, like the 
this light pops on. 

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And so I pull over, get it towed
to the shop and the and needs a 

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new and need a new battery, 
which we hadn't replaced the 

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battery since we got it and 
we've had it for a while. 

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And also the alternator went 
out. 

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And so those those types of 
things, we have money set aside 

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for that. 
So that didn't become a 

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stressful situation. 
I was with my daughter. 

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That part wasn't what, but I got
to a safe spot and I could just 

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like if I was driving a brand 
new car and had an issue with 

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it, the exact same thing is 
going to happen. 

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However, this wasn't as 
stressful because we have money 

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set aside for these types of 
things because life happens, but

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also and we didn't have the 
added stress of trying to make a

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car payment and do all of these 
things while making the repairs 

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as well. 
That's where the next the next 

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thing is, is to have that 
sinking fund that you have is 

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just money set aside. 
Maybe it's in a separate 

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00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,600
checking account or savings 
account for your repairs for 

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00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,640
your car so that you don't have 
to swipe your credit card when 

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those things come. 
And so today I want, I want you 

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to hear me say that our cars, 
just like our credit scores do 

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not define us. 
But today I want to encourage 

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you to think about maybe driving
an older car that's paid for is 

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going to give you a better 
quality of life than the stress 

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00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,760
of that $700.00 every month 
bill. 

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Because the the time and the 
energy and the money that goes 

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00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,160
into maintaining a car. 
All cars, like I said, need 

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00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,920
maintenance, but all of the 
efforts that go into that kind 

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00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,600
of thing could be redirected 
somewhere else if you didn't 

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00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,920
have to worry about that $700.00
every single month. 

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00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,880
And so if you are thinking, hey,
you know what, maybe maybe my 

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00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:10,680
car is the reason why I can't 
make the kind of financial 

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00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,839
progress I want to make for 
myself and for my family. 

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00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,720
And maybe it's not your car. 
Maybe it's some other little 

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00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,880
expenses that are just really 
keeping you from that financial 

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00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,520
freedom that that you deserve. 
This is my special invitation to

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00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:27,960
you to join the Alliance 
Coaching membership. 

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00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:31,400
And this is where we do that 
kind of evaluation together. 

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00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:35,360
We create a plan and help you to
take action in real life. 

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00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:41,080
So we get together a few times a
month online and we work on our 

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00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,840
budgets together, provide AQ and
a session where it's your ask me

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00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,480
anything opportunity. 
And there's also step by step 

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00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,920
plan to eliminate your debt 10 
times faster because when you 

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00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,600
have support and accountability,
you're going to cross that 

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00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,440
finish line much faster than if 
you did it on your own. 

307
00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,480
I would love it if you would 
join me inside the Alliance 

308
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,520
coaching membership. 
You can join us at Jewels the 

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00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:12,440
Budget nerd.com, that's JEWLZ, 
the Budget nerd.com/membership 

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00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,480
and get your next paycheck 
working for you and not for your

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00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,360
car. 
So I hope that today's episode 

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00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:23,240
was a challenging one, but a 
good one for you. 

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00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:25,640
I would love to hear what you 
think. 

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00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,280
You can send me a message on 
Instagram and you can also catch

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00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,160
me inside the Alliance Coaching 
membership. 

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00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:38,680
All right, talk soon. 
Thank you for listening to the 

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00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,240
Debt Rebel podcast. 
Now, if you want to take your 

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00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:45,280
next step, check out my website,
jewelsthebudgetnerd.com. 

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00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,840
That's JEWLZ, the budget 
nerd.com. 

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00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,040
I've created a bunch of 
resources just for you. 

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00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:55,760
So hop on over, check it out and
we can connect more there. 

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00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,760
If you love today's episode, I 
would be honored if you would 

323
00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,120
hit that subscribe button and 
leave me a review. 

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00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,720
And remember, every step towards
financial independence is a 

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00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:08,200
rebellion against debt. 
So stay strong, keep pushing 

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00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,520
forward, and fight the good 
fight until next time. 

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00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,040
Debt rebels stay resilient.