Leasing is usually not a very good option. I think there are some situations where leasing is a better plan than buying, but buying the car is (in my understanding) almost always better.

Yeah. My parents lease their cars, but having a new car every few years is important to them. Having a car that'll get me from point A to point B in relative safety, and which I'll have for the longest amount of time and the lowest amount of money, is what's important to me right now.

vw, are those gross icicles inside or outside the house?

Inside. Aren't they disgusting? Oh, and now they're melting, but re-freezing to the stairs, so there's ice on the stairs...kind of dangerous, in my opinion.

I say, "pretty!" when looking at those pictures, vw. I suspect this is because I am sitting on my ass in CA, and haven't shoveled show in years.

Thanks, Sparky!

No problem, Sail. I'm always happy to offer up help I only have to facilitate, not actually supply. Hee!

Hil, the DH and I have been writing down every penny we spend for a month in an effort to actually cut expenses and come up with a budget we can live with. Fortunately, we are probably living in the cheapest space we can hope for, all things considered, so actual packing and moving is not on the near horizon.

Sparky, insent.

but having a new car every few years is important to them.

This is one of the aforementioned circumstances -- getting a new car every few years is one of the upsides of leasing.

Having a car that'll get me from point A to point B in relative safety, and which I'll have for the longest amount of time and the lowest amount of money,

Yeah, you want a nice "certified, pre-owned" vehicle. Used, but not too used.

If you're not sure you're going to replace the car, don't lease. I leased, fell in love, and bought it. Way too expensive, but that's love for you. Won't lease again -- I'll just do the up front work to make as sure as possible I won't want to replace it after three years.

Having a car that'll get me from point A to point B in relative safety, and which I'll have for the longest amount of time and the lowest amount of money,

See, that's such a benefit. I had Sherman for almost 5 years *after* he was paid off. That's 5 years without a car payment, which, let me tell you, helps a lot. And I plan to have the still-unnamed-Echo for a long damn time as well, since I have 4 more years on the loan.

the still-unnamed-Echo

You didn't like my suggestion of Bob (-ob -ob -ob)?

the still-unnamed-Echo

You didn't like my suggestion of Bob (-ob -ob -ob)?

It's not *me* -- nothing is sticking as The Name. "Sherman" was just one of those things where it happened and I realized "Well, OF COURSE his name is Sherman!" That hasn't happened with the Echo yet.

We only got a few inches of snow, but I took [link] this picture of the Episcopal Cathedral from near my home.

This [link] is a pic of my home from the same spot, if I swing the camera 90 degrees to the left.

I took more, but the cathedral one was the first I've played with of the batch. Photoshop is a time sucker.