The Curse of the Final Payment

I finally made the last payment on my car, Salvatore, only to get a flat tire the very same week!

I've known for some time that Sal needs new tires. In 2014, I had to replace one of his tires because I ran over something and it was beyond repair. The guy at Firestone told me to replace them all then, but I'm not balling like that, so I just replaced the one and figured I'd replace the others when I had the money. Of course, I've had the money several times over, I just chose to spend it on other things. As fate would have it, the huge nail I ran over last week punctured my one good tire. So, I was riding around on three bald tires and a donut when snow flurries started falling today.

I'd already made my appointment at Firestone for Friday to replace all Sal's tires and have the one decent tire patched to use as a spare. With the potential for snow and ice, though, I decided to go ahead and have the patch done so I could take the donut off. Turns out, even though I was too cheap to change out all the tires when I was supposed to, I did opt for the warranty on the tire I bought. So, the patch didn't cost me anything. That's the good news.

The bad news is, replacing all four tires is going to cost me $400.00! Obviously, I'll be getting the warranty on the new tires since it came in handy this time around. Still, in addition to needing new tires, the check engine light came on about two months ago, the driver's side door only opens from the outside, and I need an oil change and a tune up. Oh, and an Inspection. And I need to renew my registration, which expired last April.

I know, I suck at car maintenance. Don't judge me. I swore I would do better this year. I absolutely do not want another car payment any time soon! So, this one has to last me. Besides, who knows what damage I would have done trying to skate through another winter with shoddy tires? 

Now, for the worst news ...

My credit score dropped twenty-eight points because I paid my car off! Twenty-eight points! I'm devastated. I've been working really hard to repair my credit. So, seeing my score plummet just broke my heart. I knew it would happen. I'd requested a raise in the limit on my credit card to balance things out, but I didn't anticipate such a dramatic affect. I feel like I can't win for losing. 

Still, I'm grateful the car is paid off and, because of that, I'll have the cash I need to tend to my vehicle. My credit score will recover with time, I just have to be patient. That's not exactly one of my virtues, but I'm working on it.