I'm sure you've said before, but refresh my memory again as to what the baby's mother and father are doing so that you're paying for his daycare?
My niece is currently working for Amazon, which I assume has a call center or something in Grand Forks. I think it's a seasonal job, but may turn into something longer term. My great-nephew's sperm donor (I refuse to call him Isaac's father) is a worthless loser who has paid a couple hundred dollars in child support — if that much — over the past year. He hasn't seen Isaac in months, and it wouldn't bother me if he was never seen or heard from again. Laura's boyfriend and the father of baby #2 (yes, I know; she was on birth control pills, but they didn't work — either time) is a stand-up guy who has a full-time job at an aircraft manufacturing plant. For all intents and purposes, he is Isaac's daddy, loved him before he was born, and we hope Tony can adopt Isaac one day.
Isaac's daycare ranges from $500 to $600 a month. My sister and I split the bill. We are both determined that Isaac will not suffer while my niece tries to get on her own feet and support herself. And Laura is like a daughter to me, and as I've told Susan, I will always have her back.
$1000 into a 21 year old, 300,000 mile Deville? With repsect, that's a little steep...
You have a point. However, we can't really afford to buy a different car, and even if we found something decent in the $2,000 to $2,500 range, it's still a crap shoot.
Cruella, at least, is a known quantity. Thanks to Quicken, I know everything that's been done to this car since 2005 and the past 70,000 miles. The electronics that were replaced were likely original or at least 10+ years old. I had never touched the rear brakes, nor the the brake hoses or alternator that were replaced last spring. This just happened to be a very vexing problem with likely a combination of problems that required more time to diagnose. The engine is solid otherwise, and the transmission was rebuilt at 216,000 miles. We just need the car to last another couple years.