Never Lease and Vacation

Words of wisdom, never lease! Well, it might work out for some...but for me it did not. When I first graduated from college I went right into my grad program which lasted for about a year. During this time I was driving a 98 Chevy Cavalier. I was broke and my car was ready to turn in. When I completed my grad program I was so thrilled to have an actual paycheck and the first thing I did was lease a brand new Jetta. My lease lasted four years, 10,000 miles a year and 350 payments monthly. Well, the mileage was great because I lived about 10 minutes from work and rarely took trips...until I meet Craig. Craig lived about 40 minutes away, and the weekend we would hit up his cabin which was another hour and a half away so the miles slowly put on. Brings me to the current time, I am driving to and from work 30 miles each and still going to the cabin with Craig at least 3 times a month. Currently I have 1 more year on my lease and the mileage is sitting at 38,000. Knowing I was close to going over my mileage I took my car to the dealership yesterday to see what my options were.
These are my options:
1. Buy the car out at 14,000
2. Sign another lease for 3 years with another new car and break my current lease
3. Just end the lease and pay back the remaining year worth of payments
4. Sell the car to the dealership and owe back the 2,300 in sales tax
After coming home from the dealership yesterday, I talked this over with Craig. He opted that I do everything I could to just get out of the lease and he would cover any extra expenses that I would have to pay. Of course after talking with Craig, we called my Dad because he works at a dealership and I wanted a third opinion. My Dad gave me the option of selling my car back to his dealership and taking out a loan to purchase a car from him. That way I would be completely out of my lease and making payments rather than burning money. This afternoon I plan to go into the dealership and figure things out. I can tell you this much, I will never lease again! I have learned my lesson, I don't need the fancy sun roof, heated seats, leather seats, etc. and have to pay an outrageous fee every month and not even take any ownership out of the whole deal. You live and you learn!

In other news, good news, Craig and I booked our trip to Costa Rica!!! We leave at 5:30am on July 11 and return on the 17th. We went through a local travel agent and booked it all inclusive for about 2,800 total. This includes drinks, food, hotel and air fares. We will have to be paying for extra activities that we would like to do. We are staying at the Riu Guanacaste

Now, I am really excited for this vacation for one reason, hopefully a PROPOSAL!! Craig and I have been talking about engagement, our wedding, and rings non stop for the past several months. Craig has set out a rule of being with someone for at least 2 years before becoming engaged, our 2 year is at the end of June. I know it is coming sometime soon....and I am hoping for this vacation to give him the push. Cross your fingers for me!!

Workout Recap: I am still sore from Insanity, it has lowered to just my calves and a short pain in my upper quad. I did some light elliptical and cycle this morning and I am setting out for a 5-6 miler run tomorrow. The weather is suppossed to be a mild 70 degrees. Perfect running weather for a Saturday!

Questions: If you run, what are your running plans for the weekend?

Have you ever leased a car? Was your experience a good or a bad one?

Any exciting vacations in your future?