I finally did it! I was always blessed growing up with my parents helping me out with giving me cars. When I was 15 my dad told me that I was going to be buying my first car myself. So I got a part time job working at Publix and spent many hours babysitting to save up. I knew I wouldn't have enough by my 16th birthday but I was still determined to get one as soon as I could. Then on my birthday my dad surprised me with giving me his old Explorer and telling me to use the money I saved up for gas for my car. What a great feeling! I knew the value of what he did because I spent every weekend looking at auto trader to see what I could afford.
After many dings and dents I put that Explorer through a roller coaster so for my 18th birthday I was given a new Saturn to take me to college. While I was very happy with the gift, I always missed having a big SUV to drive around in. The little coupe wasn't the same driving experience I was use to. My brother was turning 16 around the time I graduated from college so we passed the Saturn down to him to get his first few years of driving a test and I was given another amazing graduation gift - a Mazda Tribute. I was in an SUV again! A little smaller and better on gas this time, but still the big car I love.I drove the Tribute around for about 5 years which was great as I began working. My first job only paid $23k a year, barely enough to pay for rent and food so not having a car payment came in handy! But now, it has become time for me to grow up a little and take on responsibility. I've always been very grateful for the gesture my parents made by making sure I had a safe car to get around in. But now I am a grown woman with a good paying job and a husband to help out and I can take on the car payments.
After many hours of researching car reviews, 'building' cars online and going to lots to test drive various SUVs I finally found my new love - Black Betty! Black Betty is a 2010 Honda CRV-EXL. She has every upgrade I wanted and is a beautiful car. It is very comfortable and got great ratings. This is the first big purchase I've ever made on my own and I am proud of the decision that we made! I can drive around for the next 10 years in a car that I can finally say that I picked out and purchased all on my own!
