I Sold My Car - Now What?!

Yes, you read the title correctly… I sold my Jeep Patriot. I loved that car so much and wow it was my first big purchase on my own. I drove my Patriot to Florida with all my belongings and traveled countless road trips with it - so why did I sell? Read and find out.

If you’ve been following me on social you would have known back in December 2016 I picked my 2017 Jeep Patriot out. I went to the dealership and actually selected it off the truck! It was such a wonderful and unique experience. Over the years I have had some highs and lows in that car. From having unexpected flats to traveling in snow covered roads to visit family at Christmas during the Pandemic! It has been such a joy to have but as I paid it off and 100% owned it with no loan attached I realized that the chapter of my life has shifted. From current events to wanting a more sustainable future. I simply sold my Jeep for a change that will have long term benefits for me. Bryce and I have been debating about where we want to live on our future - which having a car or not plays a big role. Also, with the amount of traveling I do I need a car that can handle the miles, drastic shifts in weather and climates. I also want to go in the direction of a battery powered car for a longterm benefit for my family. 

Though this Jeep has a special place in my heart - I have always made sure to take the best care of it with the end goal to sell and get something new, different, and a step up. 

Is the car a problem? No no 100% no. Its a perfect car. I’ve always worked hard on making sure it was taken care of the way someone would an exotic sports car. No wreaks, no damages, no problems at all. In fact whoever gets this car is going to win the lottery. It has so many new upgrades added to it that I feel its literally a brand new car. 

How we sold the car:

We requested quotes from Carmax and Carava. I considered Cars.com but their website seemed to be a bit picky with the number of miles my jeep had - my jeep had less miles than predicted based on the year model and the website said my mileage was incorrect (odd right?). Carvana quote was over 1.4K more than Carmax. Sadly I am having to pay $290 for a delivery service but still the price and value was A LOT better on Carava

Have you sold your car recently? How was your experience? For us we opted to reach out to multiple car selling companies (carmax, carvana, etc) for the best quote. 

Half Year Check In (Where I'm at, Where I've failed, and What's next)

Hey friends, today I felt like doing a half year round up on how 2023 has been and what I hope to achieve during the remaining months. Check-ins vital for mental health and physical health - so why not a half year check in to see if we’re on the path for success?!

I’m going to admit something major - this first half of the year I feel I’ve been on auto-pilot. I don’t feel like I’ve achieved as much as I hoped but I also don’t feel like I’ve failed… I’m just doing the average and I assume its okay (but to be frank I want to be going above and beyond, so I aim to make the last part of the year have more passion for goals). 

To do some reflecting on why I feel I’ve been kind of ‘auto-pilot’ I think its best to explain what’s been going on.
-  I loss a family pet unexpectedly and it has resulted to deep affects on me, more than I expected on myself.

• I ended up having my car damaged in a situation that was out of my control. I had a new windshield installed because I felt it would increase my car value when I sold it, BUT some unexpected events happened resulting in over $2.5k in damages as a result of the windshield specialist not installing my windshield correctly. The “big goal” was to sell my car in May but it ended up being 2 months of back and forth drama and requesting legal actions. 
• Bryce became unexpectedly ill and it took half the year to discover what was wrong with him.
• I also haven’t had much spark in doing LTK as much. I do post but its more like here and there VS the goal of posting daily. It might not be a surprise but A LOT of people are kind of getting exhausted with social media… It was helpful during the pandemic to keep everyone socializing in a safe way but now that the world has opened back up I feel social media is going on the back burner. 

Now I want to aim for my remaining goals. My biggest mission is to get off ‘auto-pilot’ and get somewhere that there is great results and something I can be proud of! 

- I want to work harder on my social media, I know I just said more people are becoming tired of it but personally thats my opinion - if you do research they claim social media is still growing and deeply valued. So since I feel the way I do, I want to make sure what content I create is very inspiring and that’s what I want to focus on is creating more inspiring content. 

- I also want to make sure my LTK stats improve. The pennies and small dollars I do make on there is to be sat aside for my Japan trip in March 2024 and I want to have saved up as much money as possible so I can create some travel inspiration for the future.
- I also want to improve on my health. I’ve been slowly adding vitamins into my diet all year but I need to really start a fitness routine or just find a way to get my body moving more.

Anyways, I hope this half year check in helps you in some way. Maybe it shows you that we all have moments where we feel we’re ‘just getting by’ or possibly hearing where I’m at will help you find a new goal to strive for in the remaining months.
As always don’t forget to follow along on my socials especially YouTube and instagram since those two will be featuring the most of my upcoming Japan trip! 

My Ex Best Friend was the Problem NOT me

The worst feeling is when you notice the signs that your friendship is over - gone - ended. 

Maybe the sign you’re seeing is not being invited to the parties or the wedding. Maybe the sign is when you send text messages, emails, voice messages and they get ‘read’ but no reply - or even worse, you no longer see any of their social media posts and you’re completely in the dark... on the blocked list.  

SO what went wrong? When you know you’ve done nothing wrong. 

You always sent positive words of encouragement when there’s problems in her life. In fact, you’ve always been THE listening ear and never said anything hurtful, even on days you needed to vent - you took the latter. You remembered special dates and occasions (even took time to post a special ‘in feed’ post to celebrate). And always done your best at being ‘there’ for your best friend even with the 700 mile distance and the busy lifestyle of being a parent.

That is why I know I was not the problem. I was doing the best I possibly could in the busy life of a 30 something year old. My Ex Best Friend was the problem. 

My Ex best friend is the one reading the messages of concern but refusing to reply. My Ex best friend is the one who unfollowed my social pages. My ex best friend is the one who’s NOT explaining what is wrong. Even after sending messages saying “I’m sorry if I did something wrong. Let me know what has happened and if I can make it right” "I'm sorry if there's been times I haven't texted you back immediately... Life with Holly right now has been complicated, just let me know what I can do to be better?" - when that goes read with no reply…. That shows me that SHE’S the one who has decided to not want the friendship anymore AKA: It's not me, its her.

I reached out to a friend who has no connection with her and in fact, him and I recently became friends and are still getting to know each other via WhatApp as penpals. He's thousands of miles away and I felt his input and thoughts about the situation might help open my eyes to something I'm missing.When I told him about the sadness, confusion, and hurt I was feeling - he said: 

“Sometimes friends change. And seeing it like this, the distance happens.”. 

I also told him I had reached out on multiple outlets (social media & outside of social media) cause I’m not sure if I did anything wrong. I personally felt I did everything to the best of my abilities. And still, no reply - which he then stated:

“Life is made of cycles one closes and another opens! Some for the better and some worse - the important thing is not to harm anyone and always be honest. If people disappear its because there’s some internal reason and we can’t be sad and move forward in life”. 

After doing some deep reflection I believe I did all I could in the friendship/relationship. At the end of the day I know my life and where I’m at (from work, relationships, dreams and goals) doesn’t align 100% with hers; and maybe these differences became too much? I know at times she felt she was on a different level than me and probably at times felt un-relatable to me. I tried my best and that’s all I can say. I know I did good and I know I will continue to do good. I have no hate, no negative feelings, no negative opinions about her. All I want is for her to grow into the person she dreams of becoming and always do good to others. I hope the next best friend that replaces me sees how amazing of a person she is, treats her well, and sees the beautiful person I saw in her. 

I wish I didn't lose my friend of 14 years. But the chapter is over.

Anyways, I wanted to make this post to let anyone know who is going through a loss of a friendship that you’re not alone. If you done all you could do and still the friendship ended - its okay. It’s a chapter that is being closed and it’s now you're time to open a new chapter. 

Best, Britt