Because I’m a man, when the car isn’t running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I’m looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, “I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn’t know where to start.” We will then drink beer.

This is how we live in the Ranchettes part of Itasca, where I was born and raised and now live as an adult in the house I grew up in. For the most part, it’s a happy life.  But the transmission blew on the car a few months ago and I knew I didn’t have the cash to fix it, and that meant I also lacked for money for a down payment on something new. Not good.

But I know the Internet and knew I could at least find some ideas there.  I looked for loans on home equity, which are actually harder today to get than a couple years ago (and my dad holds the title there, so that wouldn’t go over well).  Then I found car title loans, specifically Itasca Title Loans online.  The were able to finance the car repair with the book value of the car.  I got the cash in one day, enough to get the transmission replaced in less than three days.

After that, I sat down and had a beer.

By the way Itasca is near, Medinah, Roselle, Bloomingdale, Bensenville, and Elk Grove.

There are a lot of unanswerables in life. Why is “abbreviated” such a long word? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the third hand on the watch called a second hand?

My new question is why do the commercials make it look like credit cards are about creating a wonderful happy life for you and your family, but car title loans are looked down upon? Lemme tell you about my credit card story.

I was given three credit cards when I went to college, and here, four years after I graduated, I’ve only gotten more and more debt accumulated. I paid the minimum balances for the last three years, then lost my job at United in the fall (just as well, it didn’t make sense to commute into the city now that they moved there from here in Elk Grove Village). My unemployment checks didn’t come close to covering my expenses, so I had to figure out how to keep them working in case I had to buy something on emergency.

Fortunately, my car is paid for (thanks dad!). So I went to Elk Grove Village Title Loans to see what it was worth. I was able to get a car title loan in less than 24 hours, which helped me make rent and get some car repairs that I might need if I take a job in McHenry County (yeah, who knew?). Either way, it was at a rate that is less than my 29% credit card interest charges.

Which goes to show, it pays to question some things we take for granted in life.

By the way Elk Grove Village is near Wood Dale, Bensenville, Mt Prospect, Arlington Heights, and Wheeling.

My husband’s family is from Arkansas, which is a far distance up here to the Chicago area in Bensenville. They are such hillbillies, they spend more on their pickup trucks than on education. They drive around the country to deer with their cars … on purpose! You can tell how old his mother is by the number of rings in her bathtub. And speaking of his mother, she wanted to tell our kids how to sneak booze into sporting events. Ay carumba!

So when my husband told me he lent his brother $600 to buy an old boat for fishing, I went through the roof. I needed that money for some home improvements we planned on, literally, to fix the roof. So I insisted he come up with ideas on finding that money before winter came.

He found a company called Car Title Loans n Bensenville , where they lend you cash based on the value of your car title. We got a car title loan on his pickup truck for exactly $600 – so now when he pays that off he knows it’s all about him and his brother going fishing on the Fox River. As for me, I buy my fish in the groceria.

By the way Bensenville is near Wood Dale, Addison, Nothlake, Schiller Park, and Elmhurst.

My wife says that if it weren’t for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.

I’m your best example of that. I got a degree in accounting. I keep my car properly serviced and in good condition. I go to the gym and don’t eat hamburgers for lunch.

But apparently I don’t know how to save money. My wife, she’s always looking at ways to save money. Like the jacuzzi we installed off our back patio. We’ve used it twice since putting it in last fall. The first day and the second day it was there. We got it at 50% off. And if you go into the stores these days, it seems like everything’s 50% off. How about that?

Except, even 50% adds up in the debt column. So when we both lost our jobs (funny, but even with extra time on our hands, we’d rather my brother’s kids play sports at Addison Trail High School than soak ourselves outdoors where the neighbors might see us), when we both lost our jobs we had a hard time paying the bills.

That’s when I looked at some assets, our cars, both paid for, as a way to get some emergency cash. I went to Addison Title Loans for a cash advance on both vehicles. It was easy, the online application has changed the car title loan world, and we got money in a day.

So my wife actually acknowledged this solution was a winner. Whew, I’m so relieved to hear that.

By the way Addison is near Villa Park, Lombard, Elmhurst, Wood Dale, and Bensenville.