Miss Thrifty

UPDATE: If you are visiting from MSN Smart Spending, welcome to Miss Thrifty! My passion for fashion knows no bounds, but neither does my craving for saving…  Bargains ahoy! I update my blog daily with all the latest frugal tips and red hot discounts. Please have a look around; if you like what you see, subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for stopping by  - Miss T.

Now this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this behemoth of the frugal motoring world, so I thought that proper introductions were in order. Please allow me to present to you…

(drumroll)…

The Thriftymobile!

It’s a Mazda 323 and it rolled off the production line in 1985 – so it’s only a few years younger than I am.

You may think look it looks like a little ol’ banger (and what’s more, it’s teeny-tiny by US standards). But trust me: this humble motor is one of the best financial decisions I have ever made.

Here’s why:

1.   It didn’t cost me anything to buy. Back before Chernobyl and the Oprah Winfrey Show, when this 323 was at the cutting edge of automobile technology, the car was bought brand new by my 77-year-old great-grandmother. Twenty-odd years later, she couldn’t drive it any longer and it began to pass down the family. It came into my hands in 2005, after I finally passed my driving test.

2.   Despite its age, the car was in pristine condition. When we climbed into it, it smelled new. Don’t believe me? Here’s the odometer now: (more…)