***

Specifically, what I bought today is a 2008 Pontiac G6 GT Coupe with a 3.5L engine and just about all the bells and whistles they could pack into it, including some things I didn't know about when I decided to buy it. For instance a remote start feature so it can be started and warmed up in cold weather from in the house. For instance 4 way (front/back, up/down) power seats and a separate button to move the gas and break pedals forward and backward wrt the steering wheel; that will be nice on trips to Texas when I want to reposition my legs a little after sitting in one position too long. For instance fold-down rear seats so I can haul things that wouldn't normally fit in the trunk. (No, Heather, it's not a match for your Matrix but if I had to I could haul 8 ft long boards or fence posts in it.)

The only thing keeping me from feeling more than a little sick over how much money I spent all in one place today is remembering that if things ever get really bad I have a paid-for car I can sell for most of what I have in it.

I talked to Scotty a little more about the Malibu. He seems very confident he'll have his GED soon and fully intends to get a better job as soon as he can after that, then buy the Malibu from me. It's the only half-way nice car he's ever driven, he likes it, and he wants it. In the short term I'll keep making the payments on it. He understands that mean that days I need to I drive the G6 and his mother has priority on using the Malibu. (What that usually boils down to is my sister takes him to work, takes her younger son to school, runs whatever errands she needs to, comes home for a while, picks her younger son up from school, picks Scotty up from work, then the car's his for the rest of the day.)