Be thankful you’re in the driver’s seat

Many of us have the privilege of having our own car, whether it was a gift from our parents or a loan until we are able to get our own. For some of us we are left with driving a somewhat older car, far from a Mercedes or even a Lexus. Then again, some of us are blessed to be sitting in the driver’s seat of the new 2003 models. Regardless of what we are driving, we should be glad that we have our own transportation to get from place to place. Right?

As crazy as it seems, some of us are unsatisfied and unhappy with the cars that we drive. We are tired of the little oil leaks, smoke coming from who-knows-where and the unavailability of power windows and door locks. In actuality, the fact that the car is still running should make us happy. Every day we drive past people waiting at the bus stop or we see a taxi cab taking a mother and her children to their destination, but we are still ungrateful.

Adding to this unhappiness, are the hundreds of car commercials on television. From Nissan to Toyota, there are more features, more luxuries, but have we ever stopped to think about more money? Of course not, once we hear zero money down and no payments until April we tend to think that getting a new car could never be so easy. “Slow credit, bad credit, even recent bankruptcy is no problem,” I am sure we have all heard this on the radio.

Little do we know; it’s never that easy!

We try to apply for a loan, but being the college student that you are those late credit card payments have put a few glitches on your credit report. Or perhaps, like in my case, you just don’t have enough credit established. The next choice is to seek financing through the car dealership, but as a first-time buyer there is no way you can do it alone. A co-signer is very much needed, but in some cases mommy and daddy can’t be sought for such assistance. After all of this you are still left with the same clunky vehicle that led you on this journey.

You get into your old car, hating to do so, but you never think about the stress you just saved yourself from. Were you really going to be able to pay those monthly car payments? How much more would you have to pay for insurance? Would there be more working and less fun? Just how much more money would you have to put toward gas? Would you possibly have to work two jobs this summer to save more money? With all of this being unknown, aren’t you glad that you didn’t get that new car? Of course, it would have been nice to show off your new vehicle, but it’s really not worth the stress.

Find out what needs to be fixed on your car and get it fixed. Now you have a little more money in your pocket and less worries. For once be thankful that it’s not you waiting for a bus, a taxi or someone else to drive you around town — you’re in the driver’s seat!