[TinyFish]

I would stop paying the payment on the truck until it comes due again and apply that extra money to either the debt with the highest interest rate (best financial move) or to the lowest balance (if you need the psychological boost of an early 'win'). If you are still having to add to the CCard balances, I'd use the extra money towards your groceries or whatever is putting you over.

Yes, you don't want to get complacent and forget that big bill is coming back soon, but you should have an idea of how you will budget for it and mark your calendar so you don't forget it.

Sounds like you are moving along, taking steps and making plans and that's great!

For the car thing, we have two certified used Toyotas. I'm pretty sure the Corolla was less than 10K, though this was a few years back. Still runs like a charm, hasn't needed anything but oil. My certified used truck from the same place was a little more and has only needed an alternator replaced and that wasn't so expensive (we had problems with a third-party alarm system on it that was draining the battery and might have been responsible for some of the wear and tear). These are both 98 model years, so that gives you an idea.

Remember, the sticker price isn't necessarily what you will pay! I'd try calling up some dealerships and telling them "I'm looking for a certified used Toyota for under 10K, what can you do for me?". This might be a good move towards the end of the year when they are trying to make room for the new stuff. Wouldn't hurt to try anyhow. I'd drop lots of hints about how you will be buying a nice, NEW Toyota sometime in the future from the nice dealership that can help you out now. I think they like to build brand loyalty with the certified used vehicles.

Here is another thought. Sometimes dealerships might be more amenable to let you out of a lease if you are buying a new car from them. Of course, it would have to be an inexpensive car for this to work and you would have to be careful not to get into trouble with them rolling the least into the car, but again, worth a phone call maybe. Financing a car maybe isn't the best thing, but an inexpensive car with reasonable financing would be better than that killer lease.

Of course, a final thought is to buy a used car from someone you trust who has taken good care of the car. I sold my old Corolla (10-12 years or so, and it was used when I got it) to my brother-in-law and it ran fine for him for years until he had a series of accidents, culminating in wrapping it around a bridge support.

-E!