Saving for a New Car

24 Saving for a New Car Our family doesn't have a lot of extra money. My dad works and my mom stays home and makes extra money sewing clothes for people. She's an expert seamstress. A while back, our family car was so old that it couldn't last another year. It was time to buy another car, but my dad kept saying we didn't have enough money. My parents would see a used car, and my dad would say, “ We can't afford it. " But my mom would always say, “ We might be able to. " One day, they were at a car dealership and they saw a car they liked. As usual, my dad said, “ We can't afford it. " But my mom said, “ Let's go home and figure out if we can. " They did all the calculations, and they were about $1, 000 short. My mom asked us to follow her to the bedroom. We all went to the bedroom, and Mom pulled out a shoebox that was hidden on the closet shelf. She said to us, “ When I was first married, my grand- mother gave me advice about being married. She said, “ The best way is not to argue. Any time you get mad at your husband, instead of fighting, crochet yourself a little doll. "

She opened the box, and inside were two crocheted dolls. My oldest sister said, “ Wow, Mom. You and Dad have been married fifteen years, and you've only been mad twice?" " Well, not exactly, " my mom replied. She then pulled out a stack of money. “ There is just enough here for us to get that car. " We all looked at the money and passed it around to each other. There was just over $1, 000! We had never seen one thousand dollars before. “ Where did all this money come from?" Dad asked. With a smile, Mom explained. “ I was running out of room for all the dolls I had made over the years, so I sold them! " We all laughed, but my dad laughed the loudest. He knew that maybe he could be a little hard to live with sometimes. That night, we went and bought the car. It was one of our happiest moments. As we drove home, my dad was going a little too fast, so my mom said to him, “ Slow down or I'll start on a new doll! " We laughed all the way home.