How to be a millionaire (and falling short)

My mother always said "Millionaires have money because they drive their cars for ten years." God, she said that to me years ago and I've never forgotten it. Now mind you, she, and I, know that you have to do a lot more (or less) than drive your car for ten years to have a million bucks!! But this one piece of wisdom has stuck in my brain, and she was right. A car is a necessary evil. A status symbol, maybe but put simply, a mode of transportation. A convenience and not much more. A car is not really an asset, unless it's one of a kind, collectors dream kind of a car. A car depreciates in value the minute you sign the papers and drive it off the lot. It continues to lose value daily. My mother's philosophy. Buy a car, make you car payments and when you have finished paying the bank and you own the car... Keep the car. That's not all though, keep the car and keep making car payments, only this time to yourself. I have only half followed this gem of advice and at that not even half. I made maybe three car payments to myself in the last 4 years. I have owned my car outright for 4 years now. It has required little maintenance, I have not had any extraordinary expenses...

"It's the good advice, that you just didn't take"~Alanis Morissette

Nine years ago, I bought my little silver Toyota Corolla. It was my first big, on my own, adult purchase. I was in Texas at the time and driving my periwinkle blue, with camel leather interior, kick ass Saab Turbo 900. I loved that car! That car, Ethel, had 'personality'. Ethel said I am an individual, I am not every other car on the road, my owner is so cool! That car rocked! But Ethel was old and temperamental and not at all in love with the heat and humidity of Texas. She needed constant attention and had to be treated like an old lady. So, 13 months, almost to the day, from when I moved to Houston, I drove Ethel to a Toyota Dealership traded her in and bought a new car.

My mother also says "The salesman saw [me] coming from a mile away!" I know now, I paid too much, knew too little and that I should have at least tried to negotiate. I accepted everything he put in front of me at face value...but I did it! On my own! I have now been driving my car for just shy of 9 years. If I had followed my mother's advice I would be in the car one more year. I would have paid myself my car payment and socked it away to the tune of $3600 a year. A grand total of $14,400 over four years. This would be roughly half of a $30,000 car. With trade on or private sale of my car a nice little chunk of change to put down on a car. I did not however take my mother's advice.

But... This time, I did my research. This time I went in willing to walk away. This time I knew what was available from each dealership, each manufacturer and this time I made an informed purchase. We did not pay sticker price. We squeezed the salesman to take every thing off the sale price possible and then squeezed every dime we could out of him for a trade in and... got more in trade than my car is actually worth!! This time, we rocked it!!!

It was a bit sad saying goodbye to Lucy today. She and I grew up together over the last several years. We logged what felt like endless miles on the California freeways but what in reality was only endless hours stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. We've be in three states with 3 different license plates. We've been in once accident and I learned how to parallel park to the detriment of my hub caps and out of necessity (no other option in CA with street parking). It was a good run Lucy... I hope your new owner is kind. Thanks for a great 86,000 miles!!

Here's to Brunhilda and all the good times and new memories to follow. Keep my children safe! Let's see if the girls and I can make it 10 years with her!

NOTE: The guys at Sunset Ford on Bell at 91st avenue ROCK! Charles Moore and Fred Cordts are two guys I would insist anyone speak with the next time you are in the market for a car, even if you don't think a Ford is your thing... Great Great Great, no pressure, no hassle comfortable easy salesman!!