"You’ll notice your car is not in the driveway," my mother said, as soon as my dad left.

Yesterday on portland.craigslist.org, one hundred and sixty-five of the "by owner" car ads contained the word "wife."

Brittany Shoot loves her car.

This year, I learned that sometimes it's best not to throw in the towel.

Not all of us are broke and feeling insecure. A lot of my friends are getting married this year, and others have babies on the way. They have just bought homes, or are saving now to buy homes. And some who are single like me and who aren't planning on getting married or having children any time soon are saving money and shedding as much debt as possible. That money isn't just going to sit in the bank forever—we intend to spend it. So what do we want to buy?

Bye, car.

"I shrugged, handed the man a twenty and took my change. But I knew I could have done better. I knew I’d failed in the negotiation."