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Thread: Dd and the cost of owning a car

  1. #1
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    Dd and the cost of owning a car

    Dd just got her liscense plate renewal forms. First she was appalled at the fee "that much for a sticker?" Then I explained that the money is used to maintain the roads and she said "oh. Well then they need to charge more. Because the roads are sh*t."

    then she she did the math and discovered that her car (payment, gas, insurance, taxes, fees and maintainence) eats a third of her paycheck.
    dd

    me
    "isn't being an adult fun?"

  2. #2
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    It is neat when they make the discoveries on their own without being told. Reality is hard to run into suddenly. The fun for the parent is "been there, done that" and suddenly it seems that the child thinks that their parent suddenly got a lot smarter than they had thought.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Cars are an evil necessity in most places

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    We definitely live in one of those places. A truck is a necessity for us. I feel better about it because it now serves three households, although, as it is almost 20 years old, I begin to worry about replacing it. The brakes need work at the moment.

    She now understands why we made her check insurance rates on various cars before buying, the value of a good student discount, and the importance of maintenance. Her car payment is over half of that cost, and she is 20. So in 5 years her costs will be much lower. She also sees the value of public transportation in high density areas (where we live the closest thing to public transportation is the school bus)

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    You are great parents for giving her thoughts on best way to get ahead with a car.

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    Where are the schools in all this? I would think knowing how to conduct a rudimentary cost-benefit analysis would be at least as important as some of the stuff they seem to think is crucial.

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    Well, this child only attended three years of school 10, 11, 12. She was required to take a life skills class, but honestly it was complete crap.

    my favorite was the simulation where they assign you a town to live in, a spouse, a level of education and debt, a number of children, and one or more jobs and then make you work out a budget. They did not allow you to choose "go back to school", "have one parent quit and stay home because daycare is too expensive", "subtract one or more children because we would have chosen surgical sterilization at that point", "move", or any other creative solutions to your financial situation. Just choiceslike cable/no cable

    the he place where I work has a similar class called "life skills" to allow students to qualify for a state diploma. I have started threatening to teach a competing class called "Adulting."

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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Where are the schools in all this? I would think knowing how to conduct a rudimentary cost-benefit analysis would be at least as important as some of the stuff they seem to think is crucial.
    As if the corporate world wants consumers to grow up cost savvy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chicken lady View Post
    the he place where I work has a similar class called "life skills" to allow students to qualify for a state diploma. I have started threatening to teach a competing class called "Adulting."
    Probably quickly get a lot of signups from people who thinks it means something else (more adult in nature).

  10. #10
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    No, that's how they talk. "I took myself to the dentist #adulting."

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