Free Car for Life
I came in to work this morning and with last night's heavy rain, half of our parking lot was flooded. We lost 14 cars the last tally said. The rental vehicles just down the hill from us literally floated down Indian Creek as police officers called the owners at 5am. The imagery of cars floating down the river reminded me how cars are just stuff and the money we spend on them also seems to be floating away, never to return. Fortunately, God has provided a way out of that.
I have been in the Volkswagen selling business for two years now and I see people happily signing up for huge amounts of car debt everyday for as long as 84 months. Next to a house this is the second biggest purchase we all make. Heck, Andi and I bought a brand new Chrysler minivan for 60 months 7 years ago right about the time Gabe was born. While it was the most basic of minivans we justified, we just now financially recovered from that mistake. The truth is, we never really understood how one could ever not have that expense. We will always need cars or some mode of transportation, so car payments are inevitable and easily justifiable we told ourselves. Not anymore.
I am just finding out that there is another way. A harder but much smarter way. This is not some scheme I divised on my own in the last two years, but rather a perfect gift God has handed me this morning amidst the chaos of moving cars back after the storm.
Could God have guided my feet here two years ago just to teach me this lesson as a good Father teaches his son? Moving to car sales was a little frightening for us, but there was a young Christian man name Donald who detailed cars here when I first started. I believe my Father put that young man here for at least three purposes - one was to comfort me as I made the transition to car sales. Donald has since moved on to be a police officer with the KCPD, but the second purpose is this - in the first few weeks after I started, Donald handed me a book from Dave Ramsey called The Total Money Makeover. This book, inspired by biblical principles, helped us get out of $22,000 worth of debt in the last two years. We now have a small emergency fund, no credit card debt and hope to have no debt at all except for the house by May next year. The verses from Proverbs 22: 6-7 have never been clearer: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." I never even realized these two verses were side by side.
As a salesperon I've sold everything between $16,000 Rabbits and $70,000 Diesel Touaregs. Millions of dollars in inventory. If I'm not selling the car myself, another salesperson is, and the phrase "I will always have a car payment" is commonly heard around these parts. Car purchases are so emotional it becomes comical how people will justify their purchase. The fact is most people do need cars. Do they need new cars? Probably not. However, in order to have used cars we must sell new cars. But really, new cars should be reserved for the people who can really afford them, with cash. Don't be a servant to the lender.
Anyhow, the third purpose Donald was put in my way is something I learned this morning by watching this short video, and it is to live a rich debt-free life. This is another one of Dave Ramsey's nugget of truth which will surely set you free from car debt bondage. If you're already free as I know some of you are, know that you're doing it right.
Enjoy: Free Car for Life.
