When it rains... things break

"When it rains, it pours" didn't seem to fit.

I could have also given this post the title, "When it rains, our savings gets drained."

And really? Our issues have nothing to do with rain, except that it has been rainy and drizzly and just plain soggy for the better part of May and June. Popcorn, hot cocoa and a movie under a big blanket is all that my brain craves. No time for that. And isn't it almost summer? My body is confused. Hmmm...

Anywho, we sold our high-payment, just had to buy new! car and took out a small loan to cover what we were upside-down and to buy a beater to get the Husband to work. Cut our monthly car payment in half. Yay! A step in the right direction, right? Would have been except the Husband and I are incredibly trusting individuals and got royally duped by the sweetest dad of four with the paperwork of EVERYTHING that had ever been done to the car, and the story that the money from the sale was going to fund his vasectomy. We bonded and got a cool new/old car, to boot! We lamely overlooked the fact that every time we looked at the car, the guy had it running. We never actually started it ourselves. Dude, we are NOT people with any sort of knowledge of anything to do with cars and we want to see the good in people always- which turns out is a terrible recipe for getting suckered in the auto department.

When the Mr. got it home and started it, white smoke. Hmmm... take it to the mechanic just to have it looked over, maybe have some hoses or belts replaced. Yeah, the heads were bad. Pretty much the WORST thing to have to fix on a car you just bought. A measly two-grand would have it up and running. That's two-thirds of what we paid for it. Sweet! Score one for the car dummies!

Long story longer, my sister's boyfriend offered to make it his project for a fraction of the cost. More than just the heads were bunk (including a full rat's nest nestled snugly in the engine and a goopy jell-like substance in the radiator, a clutch that needs replacing...etc.) but James worked his car magic and we have it back at our house and listed on Craigslist! I'm pretty sure James won't speak to us again because of the headache we caused him. At the very least we had to sign a document and have it notarized that "We, the aforementioned car dummies, do solemnly swear to NEVER purchase a car without the consent of an outside person containing half a brain. "

It feels really cool to be in our thirties and learning these types of lessons. Really cool. Doh!

So now that the car is "fixed" we are on the prowl for a super cheap washer and dryer set since ours decided to die this week. AND, we just got our refrigerator fixed for the second time in a year, so we're really excited about that.

Things happen in three's right? We're done with this stuff, right? Right???