Regrets Revisted

In an April 2014 post, I wrote about my regret for taking a car loan.

I find it necessary to revisit that.

So, I was in an automobile accident, which totaled my car, This was right around the time of my SSRI induced apathy and resulting overspend, so I wasn't in a particularly solvent state at the time.

My wife was driving four kids everywhere, and now she was driving me to and from work as well. So I felt a rather urgent need to get a new car. The accident was my fault; I pulled out to turn left and didn't see the oncoming traffic, or didn't realize how close they were....

As a result, I was feeling very much not-confident in my driving, The medication, and illnesses and so forth were leaving me feeling much older than I feel now, and I feared perhaps I was no longer fit to drive. So, I opted to go with a more expensive, automatic transmission. (On the up side, that has worked out well for my son, who is now driving age).

I know I said I wouldn't do another car loan, but I convinced myself this one was okay. We needed a car, and since interest rates were so ridiculously low, I would end up only paying a few hundred dollars over the life of the loan. It really wouldn't be a big deal.

Except. There is more to it than just the interest. You see, there is also the matter of monthly payments. Those monthly payments, interest or no, are what really make you a prisoner.

A $200 monthly car loan payment means $200 of your monthly budget is now unavailable to you. For the duration of the loan.

We did a road trip vacation across the US this summer, using Tax return money. It was great, I am glad we did it.

But.

We had to do it super on the cheap. We are building a house, at a time when construction costs are outrageous. So we are trying to save as much of that money as we can to help keep that loan from being too outrageous.

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is find amazing, local places to eat. Once when I was in Phoenix decades ago, I randomly drove around until I found this Italian restaurant in a converted house, run by three generations of Italian men. It was so cool! Meeting the family and watching them work and interact while I ate amazing food was a truly memorable experience.

I also have fond memories of a barbecue place in Florida. It was actually an area of pavement, with tables set up under canopies, next to a parking lot. There was a small brick structure which consisted of a pit, a walk in cooler, and a restroom. The owner was a large, friendly gentleman of African heritage. The food was old family recipes. It was amazing! It was kind of like being invited to a (incredibly hospitable) stranger's neighborhood party.

I'd love to share that kind of experience with my family (though perhaps they might not find it as enjoyable as I do. Everyone has their own tastes I suppose, pun intended).

On our vacation we ate peanut butter sandwiches and McDonald's. We did eat at a barbecue place in Nashville one time, but it was a chain, not a local hangout (not that it wasn't good, mind you. The food was good, and it had a fun atmosphere, but it still had that chain feel. It didn't have that special, one of a kind, memorable uniqueness.).

It those little things, those unexpected opportunities that you sacrifice when you commit yourself to the bondage of a monthly payment.

A car payment, even if the interest rate is virtually nothing, is still a car payment. It is still money you can't choose to use elsewhere when an opportunity arises, or when an unexpected series of events tightens the belt.

For serious. Avoid loans like the plague!