Recently our van was
pronounced D.E.A.D. . We had just had this fixed, then it went back in
for that, then something else happened. That third time it was the final
strike. To fix the latest thing, would involve a total engine tear down /
take every thing apart, which is a huge time involved task, and the
process there-of would most likely reveal even more problems, which
would increase both the parts and the labor. So the van is dead. It
served us well. It has over two hundred and thirteen thousand miles on it. But
that means we are currently with out a vehicle of our own. Thankfully,
Papa Honey is loaning us his truck. But we need to get another vehicle
of our own.
Brian had been
looking on line, such as Craig's list, etc.. Yesterday we ventured out
to look on local used car lots. For one, to see what certain vehicles
looked like in person, how much room they really had, etc.. And
secondly, to look at how much they were priced for.
About number
one. While some have suggested that it's time for us to move down to a
small little car for just Brian and I, that option does not at all fit
our life style. It is normal for us to be hauling stuff, or people, or a
combination of people and stuff. And sometimes it's our GRAND children and their stuff. Definite priorities to us!
About 'secondly' - oh my word did we get sticker shock !!! A
particular vehicle we were really drawn to, was nine (9) years old, had
over one hundred and thirteen miles on it and yet it was priced at
seventeen THOUSAND dollars. And on it went. Till our sticker shock wore
into sticker numbness.
"They must be getting it, since all of them are priced like that", "I know... but how in the world can people afford it?".
That conversation brought a multitude of various things to mind.
~ Things such as, hearing just how many credit cards and loans some people are carrying.
~ Things such as, knowing a bunch of people who have filed for bankruptcy.
~ Things such as, 'getting' even better why minimum wage employees want
the minimum amount drastically raised, yet being confused as to why
they don't 'get' that the companies will in turn then just raise all of
their prices, because there is no way that companies are going to take a
cut in their gross profits.
~ Things such as, a conversation we had with a friend several years
ago, about the price the wife had paid for their daughters high school
Sr. prom. $400 for a prom dress, then $ for shoes and a manicure and a
hair appointment, etc.. Made me question if it was really her Sr. prom
or her wedding. I had questioned how many hours he had had to labor to
pay for all of that. I was informed that you can't look at things from
that perspective any more.
WHY NOT ?!?!? Isn't that what you have to do to pay for said
expenses? And if you put those expenses on a charge card, the company
adds interest to your balance, thus raising the total you have to pay,
which in the end equals that many more hours you have to work. It really
does boil down to being that simple. And it really does equal out to
that vicious of a cycle. But that IS the way it is!
Another thing which came to mind, was part of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book, 'Farmer Boy'.
In the particular section which came to mind, the dad was teaching the
son the value of money. And how before you could spend it, you had to
earn it. And when you looked at something you thought you wanted, you
had to keep in mind just how long and how much effort was it going to
take you to earn that amount. Once you thought all of that through, you
could then make a realistic decision about whether or not you wanted to
purchase or even start saving towards said item.
Seems to me, that the world needs to start spending an hour every
Sunday afternoon, reading their way through that book! And reading it
aloud. That way more senses are involved and thus the truths therein are
more likely to get grasped / sink in.
If "how your going to pay for it" doesn't actually figure in, as in,
how in the world do you realistically plan on paying off that loan, or
that credit card, or that mortgage, etc., then no wonder people are
literally drowning in debt. No wonder businesses are going belly up. No
wonder our national economy is in the condition it's in. People need to
read that simple children's story and take heed of the wisdom contained
there-in!!!
So
how are we going to get a new vehicle? Honestly, we're not sure yet.
We've placed the situation in God's hands. He's proven time and time
again that He is capable of both providing for us and of doing "the
impossible" (things we refer to as 'miracles'). We are ever so
thankfully that He is and does! ! !
