As far as my finances, I could have more in my retirement but I have just north of 10k and still contributing. As far of the rest of my finances, I'm pretty set. I eliminated all of my debt before I separated from the navy almost 2 years ago. I drained my savings while spending nearly a year taking it easy and looking for a job, so I'm building that back up. I know it sounds like a waste of my savings, but it was my plan, and after going through what I did, I needed a breather before I had a mental breakdown. I have almost 800 dollars left over after all of my bills every month.
As far as the vehicle situation goes, the reason I am looking for a newer vehicle because of the following:
-I'm going to use my GI bill starting fall 2014 and I will still need a vehicle then.
-I don't know how much longer the truck will last. The drivetrain is in good shape, but I'm a little concerned about corrosion. I give it 3-4 years at best, but anything can happen. I live in south central PA at the moment, but I will be moving to state college in a year and a half. They salt the roads like crazy around here, and I wash it after every snow storm..
-I want to have a newer vehicle so I don't have my back up against the wall if it fails inspection sometime in the future. I can bide my time and find exactly what I want and have the upper leg now.
-I also have a hunch that the used car market will only get more valuable as the supply gets lower because people are keeping their cars and those who need a new one buy used. If I get one now and take good care of it like I did my other vehicles, I might get another 15 years out of this vehicle.
The truck is a V6. My rough math figures that if I drive the car most of the time, I will break even on costs in about 5 years. That is, the savings in gas will catch up to the costs of the new car in said amount of time. I found a 2005 with 42k miles for only 9700, and it drives fantastic and is a very sound car (I have a mechanical background and my father is a former auto mechanic). The truck would only be used for various hauling situations and partial winter driving. I wish I would have bought the 4 cylinder truck, but it was all I could find. As far as getting 2-4k, that's what a co-worker told me, but I found it hard to believe. I guess it is possible. I bought it for 3800 a couple years ago. Once again, my main concern is cutting my fuel bill in half and prepping for future loss of the truck before the used car market becomes much more expensive. I currently spend 250 - 300 dollars a month on gas. I would go from 15/17 to 22/29 and I do almost no city driving. I do use the truck somewhat regularly, but I would put the most mileage on the car, by a lot. You guys are giving me a lot of good suggestions. Thanks. I'll keep reading them and try to weigh all options.