Surprise New Car Winner
After all my research, I realized that my oldest child would drive a car—a brand-new 2025 Toyota Camry. We started looking at affordable SUVs and realized there was no strong need for an SUV anytime soon.…
A-List Sadness
My second summer of A-List is over. It was nowhere near as successful as my first, and I blame Hollywood! I only saw 20 movies in my six months of ownership. At $145, this is $7.25…
Election Day 2024
Today is the day we see what the House, Senate, and President will look like. You should also participate in local elections, but our county has so many uncontested positions that it is pointless. I have…
Entry-Level Electric Vehicle Driving Options
I have been a fan of electric vehicles for a while. While you shouldn't ditch your new ICE car to get one, I have a 17-year-old Accord that announces itself loudly when going in reverse. I…
Best Hybrid SUV Under $32K
$32K is an arbitrary number, but it keeps things under $35K with taxes and fees, and that's where we want to be. I previously looked at all cars under $32K. Now, we will look at "entry-level"…
2025 Entry-Level Hybrids: Civic vs. Corolla vs. Elantra
As I continue looking for a new car for my oldest, I want to compare the top companies that offer hybrids at their entry level. Kia is replacing the Forte with the K4, which does not…
Top Reviewed Vehicles under $32,000
I queried carsheet.io for all vehicles under $32,000 MSRP. Then, I aggregated the reviews for each vehicle from Car and Driver, Edmunds, Motor Trend, and Kelley Blue Book. I removed the lowest score and averaged the…
Starting the Search for an Affordable New Car
Our oldest will be turning 16 in a month, and what better way to celebrate than getting them a new car? Like, an actual new car. But what is out there? What does "affordable" mean? My…
FAFSA Delays & Net Price Calculators
The 2025-2026 FAFSA will not be available until December 1st. To put that date into perspective, UCLA stops accepting applications on December 2nd. Most schools allow you to apply through December and into January, but less…
Top Universities In-State Tuition
I am following up on my post on the top public universities and their low tuition prices. I wanted to show people that there are ways to get the cost of a resident's tuition even if…
