I love cool cars. That probably started when my Father, (an engineer for the Ford Motor Company), brought home a 1966 Mustang convertible one year. I was 10 years old, and it was really cool.
I have been blessed to own several (cool to me) cars. I use them as a personal incentive to create enough income so that we can afford this extravagance as our secondary vehicle. Since we became Dave Ramsey converts early in this century, I needed to have the cash in hand to pay for them. It took me longer to get there, but making that goal became so much sweeter.
In 2019, my business was in high gear and I was able to skim enough cream off of the top to buy a used 2002 Thunderbird convertible. It was a cool pearl white beauty that we used to cruise the mountain roads in style.
In 2020 the pandemic hit, and my business completely imploded. We had several long- term investments that would secure our future. But I needed liquid assets quickly so we could eat and keep the lights on. The smartest thing to do was to downsize to one vehicle. Our primary transportation needed to be an AWD SUV and the Bird was not. So, I traded it in for a 2009 Ford Edge and we sold our other car. I was sad leaving that classic car in the parking lot as we drove away.
I did not regret that decision. I did regret the decision I made 9 months earlier when I thought all was going to continue as it was presently being projected. I should know better. I faced similar circumstances when I lost jobs in 1981, 1985, 2008, and 2016. Not much in life is guaranteed. I do believe if I make a poor choice, there will be circumstances. I feel the same about good choices. I learned that I need more than what I am planning on, I need to have it in hand first (or in the bank, in this case). We are fortunate and have recovered financially. It is time to dream about cool cars again, with the emergency fund solidly in place.
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