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The Culture of Car Buying
by Fred Bramble
A social force that is gaining in popularity in recent times is the attempt to simplify one's life so that one can enjoy more the experience of living. This is probably related to the fact that we live in a very busy culture, where keeping a job or staying on top of a career demands an inordinate amount of our time, and having leisure time is now at a premium.
Historians tell us that at no other time in American history have we had so little free time, and that they're concerned about the effects of this....less involvement in the creative arts, less involvement in community projects or politics, less involvement in personal and family relationships, etc. Indeed, nowadays we hear a lot of concern about what has happened to our communities...what has happened to our values?
However, in an attempt to simplify our lives, we often overlook the obvious impact of reducing our financial expenditures, so that we don't have to feel the burdening clutter of emotional stress that comes with too many financial pressures and debt. I remember a television program that recently looked at the issue of young married mothers working to supplement the family income...a need that seems obvious to many young couples...but they actually found that when all of the added expenses of working were accounted for, that it actually cost this particular young mother more money than she earned, let alone the tremendous additional stress that it caused her and her whole family. Thus, we ought to look carefully at how we think about money, and not just assume things.
The second most major purchase most people will ever make in their life is one of buying a car (the first, of course, is buying a house). New cars are nice, but they're quite expensive, especially if you want one roomy enough to put a family in for long trips. And, you know, it just doesn't make much sense to use so much of one's hard earned income to buy a new car, especially if you're not wealthy, and especially if you don't need status symbols to prop up your ego. Thanks to the Japanese influence, cars have become much more reliable than they use to be, and can provide many years of good transportation. Updated safety features such as anti-lock brakes and airbags have now been in cars for a number of years. Also, since the major depreciation of a car occurs in the first one or two years, tremendous savings are part of the package of a good used car. Any repairs it will need will cost far less than the extended monthly payments of a new car.
In my own case, I'm needing to replace my old VW van, but I still have a young child in grade school who will someday want to go to college, I'll still need to keep building my retirement fund, and I'll definitely be looking for a good used car, instead of a new one. The money I save can either be invested in a college or retirement fund, and I'm going to be much less stressed about finances. When I do have some precious free time to spend with my family, I can be more available, instead of being preoccupied with financial worries. In a very concrete way, this decision to simplify my life can be very rewarding. Little changes can sometimes make a big difference.
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