TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
I had to bite my tongue while talking to my neighbor.
My neighbor is a super-nice guy and a friend. He's the one who commutes 600 miles to Sacramento (there and back once per week). He's a nurse. He's the one that has two twenty-something kids living at home, and who still has a big hole by his garage after starting a big drainage project which was totally unnecessary.
He does the commute in a huge pickup truck.
I was walking by his house, and see a new truck. It's even bigger than the old one. "So you got a new truck?" I asked.
"Yes, I was able to get this new one, and I traded in my old truck, and it didn't cost me a penny!" he said.
"The new one cost less that the old?" I asked. I really thought that's what he meant.
"Oh, no. The dealer just set it up that I didn't have to put any new money down. It's rare that they can do that. I still had about half the payments to go on the old truck."
"Did the old one break down?"
"No, but it has over 100,000 miles on it now, and it's past the warranty. I worry that things will start breaking."
I was very good and didn't say anything. I just can't understand his thinking.
Another example: A year ago, this family spent $4,000 to get a redwood wall-hanging sculpture thing. It was custom made. It's still sitting in their garage!
I just find it scary that people are like this. We have some other friends who are always spending and borrowing. They went to Europe for six months. Now they're going to get some extra money by cleaning houses. They are both 69 years old. They just bought a Prius to "save money."
Both these families have the attitude that "Oh, we're in so much debt, but everyone is these days."
My neighbor is a super-nice guy and a friend. He's the one who commutes 600 miles to Sacramento (there and back once per week). He's a nurse. He's the one that has two twenty-something kids living at home, and who still has a big hole by his garage after starting a big drainage project which was totally unnecessary.
He does the commute in a huge pickup truck.
I was walking by his house, and see a new truck. It's even bigger than the old one. "So you got a new truck?" I asked.
"Yes, I was able to get this new one, and I traded in my old truck, and it didn't cost me a penny!" he said.
"The new one cost less that the old?" I asked. I really thought that's what he meant.
"Oh, no. The dealer just set it up that I didn't have to put any new money down. It's rare that they can do that. I still had about half the payments to go on the old truck."
"Did the old one break down?"
"No, but it has over 100,000 miles on it now, and it's past the warranty. I worry that things will start breaking."
I was very good and didn't say anything. I just can't understand his thinking.
Another example: A year ago, this family spent $4,000 to get a redwood wall-hanging sculpture thing. It was custom made. It's still sitting in their garage!
I just find it scary that people are like this. We have some other friends who are always spending and borrowing. They went to Europe for six months. Now they're going to get some extra money by cleaning houses. They are both 69 years old. They just bought a Prius to "save money."
Both these families have the attitude that "Oh, we're in so much debt, but everyone is these days."