This Is Getting Old
Day 70 | $35,083 paid | $55,634 till freedom
So the date last night went well and we had a lot of fun, but I spent a lot more than I wanted to. Despite the free concert tix, food and drinks, I had to pay $20 for parking, and then we met up with some friends at The Park in the Domain afterwards where I paid $20 for drinks. Here I was expecting to have what I thought would basically be a free date, and it ended up costing about $40 more than I would have liked. She's a really cool girl and I'd like to go on a second date, but I honestly don't know if I can--with a $6k gap to my goal in June and no bridge in sight, I just can't do $40 dates. Full stop. Can't do 'em.
And I don't think this girl is very high-maintenance, but she does seem to enjoy the finer things in life. She's a nurse, so she has some disposable income to throw around. She's a pretty big traveler and she likes to eat out and do stuff. (Hey, me too! ...But not now!) I got the sense last night that she doesn't data a lot of guys who bristle at the thought of having to pay for a couple of drinks and have to rely on supplier freebies for dates.
So, she's probably out of my financial league at this point. And say what you will about finding a girl who doesn't need to be wined and dined, but I'm just not convinced that there are a lot of smart, attractive girls that fit that description. I just don't.
Another Sacrifice, Another Deferred Expense
In other news, my S2000 just died.
It's nothing serious, but the master cylinder for the clutch on my 2000 S2000 with 63k miles has officially kicked the bucket. I went to go run some errands on Saturday before my date, and the weather was absolutely perfect for dropping the top. So I cast a haughty glance at the Murano and hopped into the roadster, fired it up, went to shift into reverse to back out of my garage--and I couldn't actually get into gear. The clutch pedal has almost no resistance and only an inch or two of travel compared to the usual six or so.
After spending some time in online forums and talking to my friend who experienced the same problem with his S2000, it looks like the master cylinder has failed and will cost about $300 to $400 repair. My car is in excellent condition (except for this) and Honda S2000s are fairly bulletproof, but it turns out that this problem is actually pretty common.
I'm going to call the shop on Monday to ask them how much it will cost to fix. Since the car is also due for an oil change and an inspection, I could be looking at a $400 + $50 + $30 = $480 bill.
Alternatively, I could just disconnect the battery, put some fuel stabilizer in the tank, and store it.
If I store the car, I would avoid the $480 in repairs and maintenance, as well as whatever I'm paying now in insurance. Between the S2000 and Murano, I pay $170/month for coverage. If I can chop $50 or $100 off that for the next 8 months, I'd save $400 to $800.
But here's the thing: I love driving this car. The weather was way, way too hot for a convertible during the summer. Riding around when it's 105 degrees and humid out is miserable--even with the wind blowing. Stopping at a light and sitting in a car with an all-black interior is intolerable. So I've been looking forward to driving the car with the top down now that we're finally hitting some cooler temperatures.
And now I can't. Just like the holidays in 2011, here's another thing I'm probably going to have to sacrifice. Since my car is not a "once-in-a-lifetime event," I really will have to suck it up and store the car. I'm so bummed. If I weren't on this stupid debt mission, I could easily drop $480 to get the car moving again. Now, thanks to NMHD, I won't get the car fixed until July if I pay off all of my debt by the end of June, and that's when Austin will be at its hottest and won't cool down again until November. So I'm basically going to have to wait an entire year to drive this thing.
Pic of the rides below. All are paid off, but as of this weekend, only two are operational.
When I'm not riding my bike, I'll have to drive that brown thing...ugh. This sucks.
So let's tally up the awesomeness that is my life: no dates, no holiday travel, no roadster, and I'm spending money on stuff like soaker hoses to water my house's foundation. So, so incredibly lame.
Is it July yet?