Daughter Asks Mom Why They Don’t Have A ‘Cool Car’ But Is Taught That Their Paid-Off Car Is Cooler Than Any New One
Being debt-free is cooler than anything else.
Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels A woman recently taught her daughter a lesson in financial literacy after her daughter asked why her mom wouldn’t buy a new car.
The daughter wondered why they don’t have a ‘cool car,’ and her mom recognized a teachable moment.
Erin Monroe filmed herself in the front seat of her paid-off car and introduced her topic of the day: Car payments and financial stability.
“My daughter asked me, ‘How come we don’t have a cool car?’ And I said, ‘I beg to differ.’ We have the coolest car available on the road today, and that is a paid-off car,” Monroe explained. “She said, ‘Well, if you don’t have a car payment, doesn’t that mean you can afford a new car?’ And I said, ‘Not around here partner. Not around here.’”
Monroe taught her daughter why owning a beater you don’t owe on is the best.
“This car might be 11 years old and 190,000 miles on it, but we are gonna drive her until the wheels fall off and the engine explodes on the side of the highway," she explained. "We are gonna drive her until the cost of repairs outweighs what we have saved for a new car.”
Photo: Elijah O'Donnell / Pexels
“We are not fixing non-essential items,” she continued. “The backup camera doesn’t work — that’s fine. I learned how to parallel park without one. The radio works when it wants to, also fine, I’m content sitting in the silence, listening to the racing of my own thoughts. The temperature gauge says it’s 100 degrees outside; it’s not. I live in New York. It’s snowing.”
“We’re gonna drive her until she doesn’t drive anymore,” Monroe reiterated. “Because there is nothing cooler than a car that is paid off.”
Car payments are a major expense and not being bound to one gives people more financial freedom.
A recent survey by GOBankingRates found that over 40% of Americans have monthly car payments. They also reported that in 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shared that car loan debt reached $1.5 trillion, as over 100 million Americans have car debt.
The average monthly payment for a new car is $729; for a used car, the average comes out to $528. Monthly car loans have become hugely expensive, due to larger economic factors, like supply chain issues and the fact that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates.
Even if a car is paid off in full, there are still essential expenses that come with owning one: Insurance rates, maintenance, and gas, all of which will put a dent in anyone’s income.
Monroe filmed a second post in response to someone asking if her “broke bestie” was making fun of her car.
“Little broke bestie got a masterclass in family finance,” Monroe replied. “I said to her, ‘Baby, do you know the family you were born into?’ The last car your daddy owned was a 2004 Buick Rendezvous we paid off, which he drove for a few years before it threw a rod, [expletive] near dropped the engine in the middle of the highway.”
“Before he sold it to the junkyard, he took the windshield wipers off because he said they were basically new,” she explained. “[He] siphoned the gas from the gas tank, and the only reason he didn’t take the tires off is because they wouldn’t tow it without the tires.”
Photo: Element Digital / Pexels
“Get used to Bertha!” She exclaimed. “Put some respect on her name. She’s been through a lot. She might not have all the bells and whistles anymore, but she runs like a beast and she’s great in the snow and she’s free. God willing, she’ll be yours one day,” she told her daughter. ‘We’ll get you one of those fancy fuzzy steering wheel covers and a Bluetooth speaker. She’ll be basically brand new. You’re welcome.”
Monroe is one hundred percent correct in her assessment that the coolest thing a person can be is debt-free. For every new, flashy car on the road, there’s a 20-year-old sedan still running.
After Vin Diesel, my beloved 2003 Honda Civic, finally crossed over to the junkyard in the sky, and also the literal junkyard, I mourned her perfectly imperfect quirks: her leaky roof, the fact that she had one key to lock up and another key to turn on. These older cars have character, and the best part is exactly what Monroe emphasized: They run like beasts and they’re debt-free.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.