Day 83: Why Do You Own the Vehicle You Do?

What: Vehicles

Why: Why do you own the vehicle you own? Do you own it because it works for your family? Do you own it because you are trying to portray a certain way of life or status? Have you ever thought about how much your vehicle is costing you? A vehicles can be a money trap – is yours? Here are some questions – food for thought – to consider. I am not advocating that you sell your vehicle (unless you feel you should). I am more asking the tough questions – questions that go deeper than the physical vehicle you own.

Questions:

• Why DO you own the vehicle you do?
• How many vehicles do you have?
• Why do you have that number of vehicles?
• Is your vehicle expensive to maintain?
• How much is insurance, taxes, and the parts to fix the vehicle?
• Do you see your vehicle simply as something to get you from A to B? Or is your vehicle something more to you?
• Does your vehicle boost your ego?
• Do you park as far away as you can, so that no one will put a paint chip or dent in it?
• Do you see your vehicle as a status symbol?
• Again, why do you own the vehicle you do?

Confession of the Day: I pose these questions because I feel in America, our vehicles can be a status symbol – a way to climb up the social ladder. Is that where you want to be? I heard the other day that there is a Lamborghini that is worth over 3 million dollars. I say that because if we are looking to get to the “top” of the social ladder with vehicles, I personally have a LONG ways to go! Or are we “competing” against our friends? While trying to live with less, our vehicles may get in the way of accomplishing this task. This is more about mindset than about the vehicle itself. Why do we own what we own? What pride do we have a hard time letting go of when it comes to vehicles? I ask myself these same questions because I have wrestled with these very ones. Vehicles (even though full coverage insurance is a beautiful thing), are still something that can be ruined in a heartbeat.

This is a picture of our vehicle after we went through a tornado in Henryville, Indiana in March 2012. The tornado totaled our vehicle and quickly we learned that our vehicle was just a possession – we were humbled at how quickly life can change and how fragile life is. We have never viewed our vehicles the same. We ended up getting another Explorer as we have really appreciated this vehicle (we survived a tornado in it, which prompted me to write Ford, thanking them for the quality – we learned from the auto body shop that it was a solid vehicle, even considering the damage it had). We were okay, just some small cuts and bruises. That experience literally and figuratively shook our world.

Living with less means living with less emphasis on our possessions. What are you holding onto, too tightly?

How do you view your vehicle?