Making Sacrifices

That’s quite a dramatic title isn’t it? “Making Sacrifices!” As if I’m going to announce I’m donating a kidney, or spending all my free time in a soup kitchen. In reality, by the end of this post you’ll probably just think I’m really spoilt.

I bought my dream car when I was 22. That’s almost two years ago, and for a 22-year-old it was pretty good going. I’d always wanted a 2-seater convertible so one Sunday, on the way home from Morrisons, Frog and I wandered into the local Mazda garage and I somehow came away £3k lighter and with a rather scary finance agreement. And, of course, a beautiful new car.

It’s a bright blue MX-5, with two exhausts, shiny alloy wheels and a fancy leather interior. It has heated seats, it goes like the clappers and corners like its on rails. It also costs me a small fortune. Insurance is the best part of 1k every year, road tax is £235, servicing is over £200, petrol is…well let’s just say it doesn’t get very good MPG and work is a 44-mile round trip every day.

I didn’t buy any clothes for almost a year. I was in my overdraft for 18 months. I’ve only just got my finances back onto the level, and each month I still have to pay for my car. It’s time for it to go.

Without my car (my beautiful car) I’ll be so much better off. I can save…save lots! Save a deposit for a house and get onto the property ladder. If you’re buying alone you need all the cash you can get, right?

My car is going tomorrow, and I’m getting a Corsa in return. I’m actually quite sad, because I love driving it. It’s fun and it goes fast and it just works really well. A Corsa won’t be fun, and it won’t go fast, and I won’t feel like I’ve achieved anything by getting it.

Still, this is all about saving money for a house. A house is a much bigger achievement than a fancy car, so I just need to hold onto that thought and learn to love my new Corsa.

So why does it still feel like a sacrifice?

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