Paul graduated from college in May with a business degree and started a new job in June. On the Friday of his first week, a bunch of his co-workers invited him for drinks at a nearby pub to celebrate his first week of work. As the night progressed, several of them asked him when he was going to buy a new car to replace the one he had all through college. Paul told them he wasn’t sure because he just started working and his current car was still running well.

Several co-workers told him his old car was our-dated and he should buy one that matches his current lifestyle as an executive with the company. They told him how they all bought new cars after starting with the company and that he needed to look the “part” if he wanted to be successful there.

The next day Paul thought about his co-workers’ comments and suggestions as he was driving to his parent’s home for dinner. When he arrived at his parent’s he told them about his co-workers saying he needed to buy a new car that was more suitable for his current job. His dad asked him how he would buy it and Paul said he wasn’t sure.

He had bought his current car with money he earned working summers as a lifeguard. Paul’s older brother suggested he finance the car. Paul had never financed anything and wasn’t sure how to do it. His father and brother told him it wasn’t a big deal and one of them could go with him to the dealership.

When Paul got to work on Monday, his co-workers started asking him when he was getting a new car. He told them his brother or father was going with him on Saturday to look at cars. His co-workers started telling him what kind of car they thought he should buy and what features he should get on it.

During lunch, he began looking online at the cars they recommended and was shocked at their price. He thought how is he ever going to afford one of them, let alone one with the features they suggested.

Randy, who sits next to him, saw him looking online and asked which one he was getting. Paul said he didn’t know because they were all so expensive. Randy told him they seemed expensive because he was comparing them to what he paid for his current car. Besides, Randy said, all you have to worry about is how much the payment is for it.

Amy and her parents spent an August Saturday moving into her dorm room in college. It was a lot of work, but she was excited to be starting this journey towards her dream job being a marine biologist. Amy began her classes on Monday and started acclimating to campus life. The week went pretty routine as she got used to the demands of her college classes.

On Saturday, the school had a welcome fair for all of the students. There were many recruiters, local vendors, radio stations, along with a few banks and credit card companies present. Amy and her roommate made their way around them and one of the credit card companies was doing a raffle.

The winner would receive a free makeover, at the local boutique, for anyone who applied for a credit card with them. Amy’s roommate told her they both should sign up. Amy wasn’t too interested in the makeover but her roommate she’d love to get one and by the both of them entering they’d stand a better chance of winning. Her roommate said that if Amy won, she could her use it since she wasn’t interested in getting one.

Amy acquiesced and filled out the application, as did her roommate. About a week later, Amy and her roommate received their credit cards in the mail. They both activated them and Amy put hers in her wallet. She didn’t plan on using it but felt it was safer in her wallet than just laying around her room.

Several weeks later Amy went to dinner with her roommate and several others from her dorm. They had agreed to each one pay their checks and when Amy got hers, she realized she didn’t have enough cash to pay it and leave a tip. Amy’s roommate told her to charge it on the credit card and that she could pay it off when the bill came next month. Amy had forgotten she had it and decided to follow her friend’s advice.

Amy paid off the credit card when the bill came but later found herself using it again. She rationalized that if she paid it off each month it was like being able to use the money for free until she had to pay the bill. Over the remainder of the semester, she continued to use the credit card periodically and pay the bill when it came in.

Stay tuned next week for the continuation of Amy’s story and her trip home during the Thanksgiving Break. We’ll also see how Hope & Tyler handle their family and friends’ recommendations to buy a home after their marriage.

I hope today’s blog was encouraging to you and provided information to help you and others better handle their financial matters. My purpose through these blogs is to inform you about money and financial issues so we all can become better managers of our assets. If you like what you read, make sure to sign up so you can receive my weekly posts.

The goal of Take Two Financial Coaching is to provide the necessary information to help families and individuals break the chains of debt so they can experience the life they were created to live by build lasting wealth and become outrageously generous.

For those who are tired of being in the rat race or just want to better manage what they earn, I am available to have a Free 60 Minute Conversation to discuss your situation and how I can help you change it. Go to my calendar at https://ramseycoach.com/taketwofinancialcoaching to arrange a time that works for you. You can also email me at taketwofinancialcoaching@gmail.