Keeping the window closed

So much for buying a new mixer.  We just learned that one of our cars needs new rear brakes, calipers, and springs.  And the repair will cost about a third of what the car is probably worth.  But the car only has 120K miles, so hopefully it will last us many more years.  

My father, a man who enjoyed managing his finances and took an active role in his stock portfolio, always said a car was a bad investment.  A bad but a necessary one.  

With one kid in college and two more on their way, we'll need to keep our bad investments going for a while yet.  And not throw any stand mixers out the window.

To remove the temptation?