TURNING A NEGATIVE LIFE EVENT INTO A POSITIVE

A couple of weeks ago, I got woke up at 2 am. by my neighbor pounding on my front door.  He told me someone just messed up my car.  Apparently a hit and run driver ran off the road, crashed into my car in the driveway and took off.  One look at my car convinced me it would be totaled by the insurance company.  Right then and there I decided not to let this be a catastrophic event.  I had full coverage on my car, so I knew I would get something for it.

As it turned out, the police were able to catch the driver of the other vehicle.  However, when I called to file a claim with his insurance, they told me his insurance number was invalid.  So I had to file a claim with my own insurance.  They sent a tow truck to tow my car to the body shop for an estimate on repairs.  I was still convinced they would total the car, so I began looking for a replacement.  I estimated what I thought I'd get after the deductible and shopped online for a car with comparable mileage to my old car and within the price range of the insurance settlement.  I did research on used vehicles concerning reliability and gas mileage while I shopped and narrowed my picks down to a Toyota Corolla or a Ford Focus.  When the insurance company called to tell me they'd decided on a total loss and confirmed how much they'd be paying for my car, I went and bought the Ford Focus.  I'd have preferred the Corolla, but it was already sold.  

After all was said and done, I bought a car 6 years newer than my previous car.  It was priced at $2,400 but I got it for $1,950.  It needs a few minor repairs, which I'll pay for with the $650 I had left over from the insurance money after buying the Focus and getting it licensed and insured.  My insurance is less on the newer car and I'm averaging 28.5 miles per gallon on gasoline, so I'll save money going forward.  Should I have any money left after making repairs, I'll put that toward purchasing more shares of a monthly dividend stock, so I can continue to collect from this incident.  Also, should my insurance be able to collect from the driver of the other vehicle, I'll be reimbursed for my $500 deductible.  

So with a little thought and action on my part, I took what could have been a very negative situation and turned it into a positive one.