cars

I have never bought a car, and for that I am very blessed. My parents were uber generous and gave me my lovely little civic as a college graduation gift, and it's been the perfect car for me. BUT, after my one experience babysitting, and having to deal with a car-seat in my little civic, I made the executive decision that my car will NOT be the perfect car for me once we have kids. Getting a baby in and out of that car for only one day was more than enough. It was way too tight getting the car seat even in the car, let alone trying to get it in with a baby in it.

And so begins our car hunt.

We originally we were looking for a 7-8 passenger SUV (trying to avoid a minivan) so that we would have room for multiple kids and a dog, but were having trouble finding one that we could afford (hoping to get away with no car payment--thanks for the tip, Dave Ramsey!). Then my very smart friend Stephanie reminded me that we won't have a bunch of kids right away, and that Jason will need a new car before too long, too, since his truck is a '92. :) Thanks for being way smarter than me, Steph.

So, now we're going to look for a normal sized SUV, and then when it's time for Jason to get a new car we'll probably get a bigger one. I think we'll find many more options this way, for what we can afford right now. My parents have a CR-V and love it, but we're open to other possibilities. Do any of you have SUVs that you love (or hate)? Any tips for car buying?