Guess what? My car will be paid off on Saturday! That will free up quite a bit of money that I can use toward getting a tune-up for it and new tires. That is, if it doesn't all go for gas in the tank!

I am thinking I need to shop around for another car, but for now I just want to keep this one and get it running more efficiently. I'd also like to have the air conditioner fixed in it, but I know that will be a big chunk of change if there's very much wrong with it.

The car also has a small oil leak, which is leaking more now that I'm driving more. I keep plenty of oil in it, though, so the motor doesn't get damaged. I also use Lucas oil additive to protect the internal parts of the motor.

I think I'm going to keep babying my old car around for awhile longer and get all the miles I can out of it before I trade it in. My thought is that I can buy gas for this car easier than I can buy gas and make payments on another one. And, if I get some work done on it, I might just be so satisfied that I won't want to trade it in!