Dirty Junk Yards and Saving Money

I need new tires. Like, yesterday. Don't tell my mom (because she'll worry), but wire is showing through on one of the tires. And another one is dry-rotted and almost bald. And I found out today that one (yes, just one) of my tires is a completely different size that the other three. So, I don't just need one new tire, like I originally thought when I saw the wire. I need an entire set.

Insert my personal panic about money and how much I have (and don't have). I have been trusting God all along, every step of the way. And, I will continue to trust Him in this. God cares for me, and is for me.

This morning, I went to a junk yard with a friend to pick through the tires that they had there. If you know anything about junk yards (which I didn't at the time), you can probably pay a small fee (in this case, it was $2) and pick through any cars for parts you may need. Buying new SUV tires would probably be around $80 each, and $300 for the set, so I was eager to save any money I could by getting something decent instead of new.

This is the pile 'o tires.

So, in the late morning Virginia heat, we pick through these tires.

And these tires.

Looking for a specific size tire. Do you know the size of your tires? Did you even know that they don't come in Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large and Oh-My-That's-A-Huge-Tire? I had an idea that I needed to know numbers, but I didn't know that there were so many different sizes.

225-70-15. That's mine.

And we sifted, and sifted, and sorted and stacked. Until I found this. One. Tire.

This sad little guy appeared after looking for about 45 minutes.

I got so excited that I think I may have made a noise. But, then got sad again when I saw that it was bald. It was only half a step up from the wire-showing tire that is currently on my Jeep.

But we decided to leave it. Which, I am pretty happy we did.

We ventured in the back of the junk yard, back where all the picked-apart vehicles sit, waiting to be of use to someone. There were soooo many sad Jeeps. And sadly, some of them were actually better looking than mine- they just weren't really functional anymore.

When we went in the back, we found two little prizes!

A brand-new, never-used temporary tire ($12) and a very good-looking 225-70-15 just waiting for me :) ($15). Tomorrow I will be shopping around for a tire place that will switch my rim, balance the tire and all that jazz. Hoping to spend $10-$15 on that.

Total cost for the day was $27, plus tax. Total for the regular tire is $30ish. Very far from the $80ish for a new one!

Still on the shopping list:
-2 more tires (to replace the odd-sized one and the dry-rotted one)


Projected Cost:
-$60(before tax)

Sincerely,
Determined to Save Money on a Low Budget