Spend or Save

Project Coordinator: Ricky Boles

So much of our spending is a mindless swipe or transfer — bills, groceries, gas, mortgage. But sometimes real thought goes into an expenditure. We asked readers to describe a time they struggled between principles and pocketbook, between paring back or going all out. Some decided to spend less; some decided to spend more. Did they make the right call? And what would you do?

When we considered a new car, we decided to SAVE

WE own two cars: my husband drives a small, simple SUV and I drive a minivan. But we had reached the point where we could downsize from our minivan to a 5-seater. So we went to look at used cars.

While we were shopping, we saw all these nicer, newer models for decent prices, and suddenly we found ourselves thinking, “Hey, maybe we should swap out our other car too!” For about $150 more a month, we could’ve had two pretty new cars. And honestly, my husband deserves something nice — he works so hard, and we’re really not big spenders. Plus there were Tesla rebates, which made it extra tempting.

But then we remembered: we only have nine months left on his current car loan. His car may be a simple 8-year-old SUV, but it runs great, never gives us trouble, and he barely uses it since he works from home.