What Kind of Car Do You Drive?

I hope you’ve picked it well, because your choice of car that you drive tells more about you than you may think.

its-all-about-your-car-luxury-sedan-mercedes-benz-jaguar-bmw-lexus

What does your car say about you?

It could mean,

You are a confident, well-balanced, trustworthy individual

If you drive a car that is not a burden and well within your means, congratulations, you are likely a confident, well-balanced, trustworthy individual and you’re in good company.

To qualify, your automobile will have a value of no more than ten percent of your annual gross income. If so, good job. You are driving a vehicle that is adequately suited for you, and may support the increasing of your income next year, or in the near future, thus raising your budget for an even nicer car.

This is the path of the confident self-supporter on track for increasing his or her personal wealth by not living beyond one’s means.

Financially, an automobile is far more than its adjusted value because there are many others costs of ownership which drive up the overhead for possessing such a vehicle. The monthly drain on your financial resources includes not just the car payment itself, but higher maintenance and insurance costs. And for whatever the reason (there are many ideas and conspiracies concerning) the nicer the car, the more parking tickets and traffic tickets you seem to attract, driving up the costs even more.

A local single mom who drives her kids to and from school in her new(er) Lexus who could afford the car payments, found herself not being able to afford much else. When the vehicle failed to work, the mom found herself fully swaddled in car payment with no reserves available to fix the now useless family ride. While she still had to make the payments, she could not afford to fix, nor replace it. Fortunately, she was able to raise enough money via crowd-source funding to have her car fixed after she and her family became stranded when it became inoperable.

What a disappointment, to have a nice vehicle that sits broken down in the driveway while you’re still paying the monthly freight of car payment and insurance.

That’s just one example of being upside down in your vehicle purchase, there are many stories including losing homes, families, job and investment opportunities due to possessing a car for which you are not well suited for, nor can adequately afford.

Nicer cars tend to attract not only the attention of law enforcement, but they attract other cars (either in accidents or in the driveway) and a sort of “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, affecting your home, belongings and other creature comforts, adding even more financial and emotional stress to the purchase.

You might be surprised to find that almost three-quarters of all over $250,000-a-year income earners drive more modest consumer vehicles (Hondas, Toyotas, Fords and Volkswagens), leaving only twenty-five percent of them driving luxury vehicles that the rest of us covet.

Yet, nearly one out of every ten less than $100,000-a-year income earners are driving a luxury vehicle that is well beyond their means.

If you’re one of the unfortunate individuals who has fallen into the trap of being over-sold a luxury vehicle, it may indicate that you

Lack self-confidence, are easily swayed by what other people think or say and may likely to be headed for (or already up to your neck in) financial difficulties

Or alternatively,

A success and attention-seeking risk-taker, using the car as a status symbol, who aspires to become (or to persuade others to believe they are) a member of the nouveau riche

What Can I Do?

If you’re upside down in your vehicle, your best option is to get out from under it by selling it. Let it go and get something more moderate that is within your budget.

It’s probably not advisable to return it to a dealership, as that may not turn out the way you had planned.

If you really want that fancy car, no problem. You can use the money you’re saving every month, invest or grow it into raising your income to the point necessary to make your car choice make more sense, then finance it (or maybe even pay cash for it).

Personally, I don’t think its a good thing to try to judge (or categorize) a person by their appearance, source of income, their home or what they drive. Regardless, our society insists on doing so. (Which is good for business.)

Going With the Flow

I work with a wide variety of clients with just as varied philosophies and levels of personal and professional acumen. In my attempts to reach out to them – to help make their lives more efficient and/or effective – invariably we encounter obstacles along the way.

In every case, there are at least two options involving making a decision to attempt to deal with the problem or circumstance. It is my preference to evaluate the situation from as many perspectives as possible before taking action (if time and circumstance allows), weighing the available data and deciding to take the action that offers the least resistance.

Go with the flow life as a river raft trip personal spiritual professional business akiyoko photo
If life was a raft, you’d make it so much farther downstream in less time, by letting the current do most of the work.

If one approaches his or her life as a river rafting trip and thinks of the raft as representing one’s life or business, then you are more able to disassociated yourself from the circumstance enough to more successfully navigate the journey and allowing the flow of the water carry you to your destination.

In the same way that we use conservation to protect valuable resources and reduce waste, we need to approach problem-solving, navigating our business and lives by expending the least amount of effort to gain the greatest reward or impact. You want to conserve your strength for what might lay ahead, only using the necessary resources to get you from here to there.

Yet, the river’s flow and the terrain surprises you with what may be lying around the next bend (especially if you haven’t navigated a river trip, like the one you are currently taking).

Some, if not most, of your river rafting trip will not be torrential and you will be able to drift along enjoying your scenic oneness with all that is.

I am blessed to be invited to join others on their river rafting journey and it is my life’s ministry to offer my perspective to others to help maximize their efforts along the way.

Whether the trip is a personal, professional or spiritual one, my calling is to help others achieve their highest and best. This journey – whatever shape or form it takes – requires effort and resources to get from here to there; thoughtful conservation of energy and resources involved the management of your cache to increase the effectiveness of your time spent in the flow.

Find ways to go with the flow. Ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my efforts and resources at this time?”

You may find (if you’re able to remove yourself from the anxiety of the current perceived situation or crisis) that in some cases, little or no action may be necessary, because even though it looks like you’re hurdling straight for that rock… the flow of the river’s current will guide you around it.

Sometimes your choice to go to the left of the rock – or the right of the rock – can directly impact what lies ahead. The rock may represent anything, a life challenge, business opportunity, marketing approach or financial decision. Using a T Chart or having a co-pilot can be extremely effective.

A wise person uses the technological resources available to best navigate the journey. Although this approach may be offensive to the purist, I would embrace having lookouts with binoculars connected to me via a wireless headset to assist in navigation, if possible. (Just sayin’.)

In any case, be open and willing to take no action, if necessary and enjoy the thrill of the ride.