Getting Rid Of a Bad Decision

by Russell Tibbits

When I was little, my dad owned a boat. Almost every weekend in the summer, we would go fishing and water skiing. Many times, he would take me after grade school for an afternoon of skiing and cruising the lake. But as we got older, we stopped boating as frequently. Busier weekends and a new brother and sister left me and my dad with little time for this extracurricular activity. In fact, the boat never touched the water during the last few years we owned it. It spent more time collecting pieces of trash and taking up space in our driveway than anything else. This seemed to grate my dad’s nerves a bit. It was around this time that I heard the saying, “The two best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.” This concept echoes our clean up and clear out method on a grand scale and I recently found myself in almost the same situation.

In January of 2008, with just a few months left on my lease, I began enjoying the thought of having a 4-door sports car instead of a 2-door. Researching my options and thinking completely with my heart, I headed to the Acura dealership where I upgraded to a new lease on a new car. I found myself almost giddy as I drove home with my new heated seats, my GPS navigation system, my XM radio and my empty back seats. Not only was this car more exciting to drive, it had all the amenities I obviously needed.

This feeling lasted until I received my first lease payment. And reality began to sink that I was paying an additional $230 per month for this new lease. It also began to sink in that I didn’t really need GPS for my 3- mile commute to work. And I couldn’t really feel the heated seats begin to work until my 10- minute commute was almost complete. And by the time I pulled into the parking garage at work, I was able to listen to ESPN radio in crystal-clear XM radio, but was often limited to the absurdly long commercials. The backseat, like the boat, collected more empty glasses and bits of trash than serve its actual designed purpose. Oh, and did I mention it got 14 miles per gallon in the city?

Only a few days ago, I ended that lease early and bought almost the same car I had before the gas-guzzling amenity monster. On the drive home, I, again, found myself giddy. I’m in a car that fits my lifestyle and my budget. Most importantly, I was able to clear out something that I wasn’t using and replace it with something that is more manageable.