We paid off our car this week! We saved, we sacrificed, we did it. It felt good. Unfortunately, when Matilda was in the hospital our car was forgotten and abandoned in an NYC parking garage for four months. And during that time, it was abused by nesting rats (or so the mechanics tell us). So although we were happy to make it our own, we also began scheming for our next set of wheels.
We got excited until we really started thinking about the logistics of it. So much is still up in the air. Matilda's medications are mostly paid for this year through Medicaid because once you acquire over two million dollars worth of hospital bills you qualify for things you would not be otherwise eligible. BUT what about next year? Post transplant medication can cost between $19,000 - $26,000 a year. So by eliminating a car payment, we put ourselves in a safer place financially even if it means sticking with our cramped - once rat infested - car.
And then I brought up the fact that we have had the same ugly furniture which we bought from thrift shops in college. We started talking about unpacking our things (we moved into this rental house the week before Matilda was born - yes, it is still full of unopened boxes), doing something about the dreadful wallpaper and yes, buying a real couch.
I honestly feel more excited thinking about buying a couch than I ever did when we were talking about upgrading to a larger car. I am excited to feel proud of the space I live in. I am excited to make it nice.
Jen of With Heart wrote a lovely post about Matilda yesterday. Please stop by her site and check it out. Happy Friday, happy moving forward.
