I threw the car back into park, unstrapped my seat belt and announced, "I'm going to go fight him." There was silence... and then laughter. My children knew I wasn't going after a schoolmate of theirs, even though his comment was obnoxious. We had been walking through the parking lot. It was a beautiful Florida night, about 73 degrees with a slight breeze and no humidity. We had just left my daughter's water polo game where, as a freshman, she started on varsity for the first time and played well. We were all in a good mood. The kids were talking to someone they knew from school. As we got to the car, the acquaintance said in an unflattering tone, "Nice Honda." I've written before about some money lessons I've taught my children and mentioned that cars are not that important to me. Their school has a lot of kids from wealthy families. The student parking lot is filled with BMWs, Mercedes and Audis. I drive a 2017 Honda Accord, the subject of the entitled Beemer-driving brat's scorn. The car I had before this one was nicer. I didn't downgrade because I had fallen on hard times. Instead, something far worse happened. My dad passed away unexpectedly a few summers ago. The Honda was his car. And as you may know, death does not get you out of a lease contract. My mom was on the hook for the remainder of the lease. So I sold my car and took over the lease. Sure, we could have given the car back to the dealer (while still paying the lease) and I could have driven a more expensive vehicle, but that's not how I was raised. We're paying for the car, so we're going to use it until the lease is up. Once it is, I'll get something different. To be honest, I hate that damn car. It drives well, but it doesn't have many of the features of my old car. But mostly, I hate the reason I have it. Fortunately, my kids get it. They weren't embarrassed that their old man drives a Honda while their friends' cars cost more than double the price. They understand that not keeping the Honda would be a waste of thousands of dollars, and they know that while a car can be fun, it does not define who I am or who they are. |
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