just wondering

Are there people here who drive cars where there are various problems and you have to stick with the car due to not being able to make any changes at this time? If so then what kind of problems do you have wth your car? It seems like my car is screwed up all over. At this time I don't know what to do with how finances are and how much things cost. Just wondering given the bad spot I feel that I am in right now.

My Sable needs a new engine. It has been sitting in the garage for 3 years now. I get close to having the money saved up and my wife does something, or my step-son does something, and the money is gone. So I have to start saving all over again. My Escape needs a new control arm, sway bar connector and a couple of tie rod ends. It is also past time for new brakes. The Accord heater fan that my step-son drives doesn't work. I really want to change out the junky original spark plugs in the 05 Expedition my wife drives, but since the Sable is down and we don't have an extra vehicle for her to drive in case the plugs snap as they are known to do, it isn't happening anytime soon. 5 years ago my step-son was using my Cutlass Supreme Convertible. Let it run out of oil, then out of coolant. So that is way down on the list of things to fix. I really want him to pay for it, but that won't happen. Health insurance went up $200 a month this year, but neither of us has had a raise in 4 years. I get to work and eat a 25 cent ramen noodle for breakfast and have another one for lunch. We get free sodas at work, so I supplement my calorie intake with those. I have other kids with my wife, so I can't leave because of the things she and my lazy ass step-son do to our money situation. So, one day at a time. Maybe the tie rod will snap on the expressway, then my life insurance policy will take care of our debts. Outside of mortgage, payment on Expedition and student loans, we owe $50,000 mostly from wife's medical bills that weren't covered by insurance. Tough times bud. I was within $100 of having enough to fix the Sable last October when my step-son let his car get repossessed and the wife said we had to buy him something to get to work in. I said his 10 speed is right in the garage. That is how we came to own a 20 year old Accord. And to top it all off, because of her medical problems I haven't had sex in 1 year, 4 months, 10 days and 11 hours. Ask a loaded question, get a loaded answer. Growing up there wasn't much money in the family. I started working young and bought my first car at 14. I have owned many a beater. Tie rods held on with bailing wire. Smashed bodies with only the back passenger door working. Rusted through floors that you could touch the ground like Fred Flintstone. Engines that went through two quarts of oil a day. Heaters not working. No radios. Bald tires in the winter. Ball joints so worn out you have 12 inches of play in the steering wheel. Duct tape for upholstery. Spider cracked windows. Manual transmission with only 2 and 4 gear/ no reverse either. So what I'm try to say is, I've dealt with a lot. As long as your vehicle gets you from point a to point b, it is doing its job. It doesn't matter what it looks like. And if I can keep going with everything I have to deal with (it would fill a book, less than a thousandth of a percent mentioned here), then you should think you are lucky and be happy. I think seeing things in 3rd world countries when I was in the Marines reminds me how lucky I am. But I wouldn't be disappointed if a semi does something stupid and I can have some everlasting peace.
Sorry for turning an auto forum into a rant and rave session. Bad morning. No sleep last night.

Thanks for the response. I hope to hear more stories from others. I'm in a spot now where every time I have to drive I am scared. It also gets me down knowing that I can't do anything to help myself. Last year I had to fix for my power stearing, sway bar, coil, battery and axle. It gets to be too much with this and other stuff and I can't make any moves right now with other problems. I've had starting issues, my heating/ac doesn't work and I have a small leak at least once a day or every few days. I go in to my oil change place since they look at some stuff for free. They say my oil pan is leaking and can see something with my trans axle pan. They check the oil levels and say it's fine at this time.