I go to consumerreports.org for most of my purchases of any value, for what it’s worth. I think it is worth the $20 a year to relieve the “analysis paralysis” anxiety.

Production to Perfection

Same idea, slightly different means of expression.

I think training your mind to look for the best deal, the best value, the most ethical thing to do can be absolutely paralyzing. I recently bought an external hard drive to back up my photos and music. I haven’t started using it yet. Then I saw a better deal on a much smaller capacity drive. I could buy two of those for 2/3 the cost of the big one, back up everything and put one in my safe deposit box. But I would have to order it, pay more shipping, wait, and return the other drive. With great effort, I decided “ENOUGH!” and shut the window on my browser. It’s not that big a deal. Even if I’m wrong, having all that time and energy for another task is a better feeling.

My husband buys his clothes mostly at Costco to avoid the “paradox of choice” — there are two kinds of jeans. Pick one. No biggie – they’re pants. There’s one parka. Do you like it or not? If so, buy it; if not, move on. It does make life easier to have less choice.

Setting a date does help me for bigger decisions. I always feel a big relief when I have made the decision…that relief sometimes motivates me to just get it done!

You mention that you don’t use your truck that much since you’ve been working from home. Great! Because this is your situation, it might be wise to consider getting rid of the truck and NOT replacing it. Just switch to being a one vehicle family. It will take a little adjusting at first I’m sure, but with planning you could make it work. Days you need a vehicle, just take your sweetie to work and pick her up! If your hearts are set on a mini-van get rid of two cars and relplace them with one. You will save on all sorts of car expenses: repairs, insurance, car payments, and even some gas as your driving amounts are sure to go down at least a little!

On the other hand, my PU was purchased for a cool $800 in ‘04, still runs fine, has adequate gas mileage, and has retained most, if not all, of its resale value.

Often, your “good ol’ boy”, the guy who works on his car in his yard and drives the zoning nazis insane, will know when engines, trannys, etc. are on markdown sales. Spam from auto parts stores can be a Very Good Thing to receive–I’ve seen in-the-box factory rebuilts go on sale for under 1000 many times.

With kids, though, the safety features definitely are a factor to consider. I assume that if you got a newer car, that would be the primary car your wife drives. And if you have small children, having a car in case of emergency is money well spent.

“Also in the central gray — the land of closest decisions — we can expect disagreement to go up over which decisions are best. We can expect intelligent, elaborate debates with both sides insisting theirs is the right side. We can also expect to debate with ourselves and to second guess ourselves. In the central gray is where we can torture ourselves with the question: Did I get it right that time?

And that’s why I say: The decisions that trouble us most are the ones that matter least.” -Tommy Angelo

“It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

Effectively, it is better to achieve progress than achieving perfection. While you are trying to perfect something before starting or releasing it, you could be making progress or improvements instead.

We are all guilty of analysis paralysis to some degree . . .

While Trent is concerned about being stranded in an Iowa winter with a disabled vehicle, I’m also concerned about hauling around two young kids in a vehicle that lacks modern safety features. No airbags (or only one airbag), perhaps no antilock brakes, certainly fewer crash-survival features such as crumple zones, stronger pillars, side-curtain airbags, etc.

The safety features alone would prompt me (if this were my decision) to go ahead and replace the truck now, even if I could get another year out of it.

Trent is not looking down the mouth of financial meltdown. He and his wife (sorry, I don’t recall her name) are prudent with money. Being frugal does not mean never spending money. It means making wise choices with money, and wise tradeoffs. It means making choices that have maximum value to the individual. Note that those choices and values are PERSONAL. If Trent and his wife feel better knowing that at least one vehicle is reliable and provides a higher level of safety to their precious children, that’s a good reason to spend the money on a minivan (new or used).

Could they wing it and hope the truck makes it another year? Sure. But the decision here is more than mere dollars. Peace of mind is an intangible that they will have to weigh along with the dollar cost of the minivan.

Over my winter vacation, I started looking into getting a Roth IRA, but I didn’t know where to start. I spent almost full day shopping around for the perfect plan, but got nowhere.

But then I realized that by procrastinating this process any longer, I’d be less likely to save for retirement at all. By the end of that Sunday, I opened up my Vanguard Roth IRA and dumped my $5000 into the S&P 500 fund. Not necessarily the best option I could have chosen, but at least it was something.

One of the best ways to find large items such as a used car, is to advertise for them. We have usually used the Des Moines Register, and list what we are looking for under “wanted”. We have bought 2 cars, a tandem bicycle and even our house this way. All at very good deals. It’s nice because since you are the one advertising you don’t have to try and beat someone else to the listing. I believe that I first read this idea in a financial book by Mary Hunt.

Figure out how much you would pay for a new car: monthly payments + gas + insurance.

Whichever is lower you go with.

Until the existing car starts costing more than a new one on a monthly average it’s still worth it to repair.

Or, since you don’t drive it that much, try not using it all. See if you can go without a second car for a week, two weeks, a month. Quite possibly you don’t need that car at all– saving all kinds of cash.