Saving money with an old car

I've mentioned my 10-year-old minivan a few times on the blog. By avoiding trading it in for something newer (can cooler), I've been able to save a lot of money that I use to trade. It seems to me that among average folks, transportation is one of the greatest financial drains. Endless car payments create continuous strain as the car quickly becomes worthless.

My car is worthless now, but I'm going to try and squeeze another 50,000 miles out of it. In the long run, I value financial independence over a sweet ride.

Get rich slowly has a good article about driving an old car.
Here's a great animated slide show from Dave Ramsey about the real cost of car payments.