Unless I missed something, I don't see where the author and her husband made any poor choices. Keeping the paid-off vehicle is prudent[0]. They were making a combined income of $120k, according to her, when they chose to have a child. Only after the pregnancy was her husband laid off and they couldn't have easily foreseen that the babies would have health problems. They bought a house but the timing wasn't their fault and it's almost impossible for a layperson to predict. In short, they discovered the true meaning of "shit happens."
0 - That's one thing people might want to keep in mind when they see someone talking on an iPhone while paying with food stamps. It's far easier to keep what you have than to sell it--usually at "fire sale" prices for quick cash--and try to replace it with something cheaper. If I ever lost my job, two of the last things to go would be my paid-off vehicle and my dirt-cheap unlimited data mobile plan with smartphone.
I've driven perfectly reliable cars that cost less than $5K. A 10 year old Mercedes in great shape is probably worth about 15-20K. Why not trade that in and get another "paid off" car worth 5K and a check for 10K?
I guess it depends on how you were brought up. I'd rather sell all my possessions at pennies on the dollar, live in a honda civic, and do odd jobs than take government assistance.
you cannot under estimate the value you place in things in your everyday life when you know you worked to obtain them.
I cannot imagine being unemployed and simply collecting money and assistance. I would take entry level jobs putting up groceries to bide my time, or be at the local donation center sorting stuff for free. idle time leads to an idle mind and that does more damage than about anything else I know of
But then again, I've always been the 'help yourself' type of person, my main reason for that is that I like to have some control over my life and government hand-outs rarely come without strings and can be withdrawn at a moments notice.
But for those that really need them it's very good they exist.
The trade-in, dealer value for my paid off car is approximately $2,100. According to Kelly Blue Book, the dealer value for a well-equipped 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK with 150,000 miles on the odometer and in "very good" condition is $5,124.
> I guess it depends on how you were brought up. I'd rather sell all my possessions at pennies on the dollar, live in a honda civic, and do odd jobs than take government assistance.
I strongly object to the insinuation that my, or anyone else's, rearing was any less moral or righteous than yours simply because I wouldn't conduct a fire sale of my assets, make my family homeless, and forgo the social services that my tax dollars have paid for. Not once in my adult life have I had the misfortune of being unemployed, gravely ill, or some other tragedy, and for that I am both very lucky and truly grateful. My childhood was the exact opposite for my family and I'm thrilled that my parents didn't pack us into the Suburban and say "welp, that's it, kids, we're on the streets now!"
Not a 10 year old C-class, especially not a C230.
It's called a safety net because it saves people.
Not even close. The three Kompressor models in '03 were the C230, C32 AMG and SLK32 AMG. KBB trade-in values for those cars are about $3k, $5k, and $10k respectively and it is likely they had the C230 otherwise the author would have called it their Mercedes AMG.
Luxury cars are terrible at retaining their value. If you want that, buy a Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla.