The First Pinch

Summary of where we are in the journey:  Husband and I are both working 40 hours a week, I carry fabulous insurance for the family, we're living comfortably (but using credit cards for big stuff and paying more than the minimum but not the whole balance).

Then the emotional pinch:  my dad's stomach cancer, which was diagnosed in spring, was super aggressive.  He passed away four months after diagnosis.  I was in the beginning phases of both of my jobs, stressed from learning them and having to take unpaid time off.

As we headed toward fall/winter, my husband's family business seemed on its last legs.  They limped along for awhile and then at the beginning of December, my father-in-law shut the doors.  My husband began claiming unemployment.  I'd say that was the first financial pinch....I had to go down to paying minimums on credit cards (but, oh, still used credit to pay for Christmas gifts that year - STRIKE THREE!) and even paid some past the due date.

After two+ months on unemployment, my very aggressive husband landed a job.  And what a job it was!  $10/hour more than what he'd been making!  We breathed a sigh of relief and went car shopping.

What?  After what seemed like a year and a half of unstability, why would we go car shopping?  Well, it did make sense for his vehicle, because his old one was 13 years old and facing a HUGE repair bill.  At the same time, we talked about getting me a 4WD vehicle so that I didn't get stuck in our own driveway in the winter (had to call AAA twice to tow me out of my own drive that past winter). 

We found two used vehicles that checked out great, seemed to be a good price and went to dicker with using my Honda Accord as a trade-in.  Its value was somewhat reduced due to a messed up undercarriage (see: towing out of my own driveway), but we walked away with two car payments that we could conceiveably afford, as long as nothing major went wrong....