Lost at the Ford

San Anselmo, California: Last weekend Adrienne and I had a hard talk. For us, talking about money is usually difficult. I’ve learned my lessons very slowly, and so only in recent years am I trying to be smarter, learning the lessons better learned at 30 than at 59. Adrienne, younger, seems even slower; and so we struggle.

She agreed, however, that the only possible way to have wealth is to (a) live below your means, however modest that might be, so that you can (b) siphon off some money, and (c) with these funds purchase assets which will bring you money without working.

For example, buying a rental house. Purchasing stocks or bonds paying dividends. Owning some sort of copyright or patent that can be leased. In other words, going from paying interest to collecting interest.

So then yesterday, after a mysterious ‘going shopping’ trip with daughter Lilah, she arrives home, having purchased a nice new car. I’ve now been physically ill for 24 hours.

The car is quite lovely, but I just do not comprehend. We’ve just spent the last several years getting free of debt, and presto here’s more debt. And, we don’t need a car.

I feel ill because it is painful to realize that we’re living on such different planes. I am appalled that she did not consult with me about this. I believed that we had some other plans, but, come to find out, they seem to have changed. For the last several years I’ve set aside a certain amount of savings, and immediately in one day, we have debt almost as big as those savings.

I suspect the daughter. The plan as hatched is that Adrienne is going to give the car to the daughter to drive for a while, and daughter is allegedly going to make the payments for a while. It remarkably similar to buying a car for daughter. Something is wrong with this picture.

I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to say. Except one thing.

This is bad.