You Are Only As Smart As Your Debt

If this saying is true, I am probably a total idiot.  I embrace the whole "debt-free is the life for me" mentality. I love it.  I hate debts and the gobs of money banks make off of borrowing it to us. A few years ago, my husband and I agreed to DOLP (dead on last payment; this is a method of snowballing debt endorsed by David Bach) as well as REFUSED to take on any more debt.  He agreed. I agreed.  We succeeded for a while. And then we failed.   We have three kids and an overactive dog and years ago had completely outgrown our cars.  But because of DOLP we were to buy our next car CA$H.  The problem? Every time we had a few hundred saved up for said car, life would happen. Then, push came to shove.  The paid-off car (11 year old Kia Sephia) died a slow, tortuous, death.  The time to buy was now, we were backed into a corner!  Ok,  could we have gone to a one-car family? Truly, yes.  Would we go insane in the process? Possibly.  I have heard how awesome one-car families are, and "Yay, you!" if you are one.  But remember that, I don't want to be the cheapest family in America, thing?  We signed over another five years of payments.  Sad, but true.  However, instead of thinking of all the Benjamin Franklins I am kissing goodbye, I am thinking the the sanity I get to reclaim.