Maybe My Papa Was Right About the Car

Insightful things I read and realized today

I have always considered myself an “art-first” person. I like things to be a certain way - not necessarily because they are the most practical, but because they look and feel good to me. Whether it’s font rendering on iOS, the design of a product, or the way a car looks, aesthetics matter to me.

Recently, I bought a car, and honestly, I chose one that gives relatively lower mileage. I was willing to compromise on mileage because I cared more about the looks, design, and overall feel of the car.

My Papa had told me, “Buy a car that gives good mileage.” At the time, I thought, “Do you really buy a BMW or any other nice car by looking at its mileage?” 😄

But now, I think he had a point.

Sometimes, choosing practicality means saving money today that can give you more flexibility and freedom tomorrow. And maybe that’s one of the biggest lessons about money: saving money can ultimately give you more control over your time.

At the same time, another thing I took away from the book is that you should of course save for your goals like in my case to buy a car but you should even save when you don’t have a specific goal for that money. Saving doesn’t always need a purpose. Sometimes, saving just for the sake of saving is valuable because it gives you options and flexibility for the future.

So, was buying a car with slightly lower mileage a completely wrong decision? I don’t think so. It was something I genuinely wanted, and buying a nice car was one of my personal goals.

I think I have made some financial decisions in the past that I wasn’t great but as I read more about money, I am becoming more aware of those decisions - and hopefully, I will make better ones in the future.

Moral of the day:

Save as much as you reasonably can.

Don’t buy things just to show them off to other people. Buy things because you genuinely want them and they bring you satisfaction.

There are some purchases that you make and, even years later, you still love them. You tell people, “This was one of the best things I ever bought.”

Those are the purchases worth saving for.

And even when you don’t have anything specific to save for, keep saving anyway. You never know when that money will give you the freedom to make a choice you couldn’t have made otherwise.