I Charged The Down-payment For My Truck On A Credit Card.
By: Joseph C. Malone
Tags: Finance, Personal Finance, Life, Finance And Banking, Money

I Charged The Down-Payment For My Truck On A Credit Card

Here’s what I learned

Photo Credits: Credit Karma

I have a confession to make.

As much as I’d like to continue to discuss relentlessly why you should only buy assets and avoid liabilities.

I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t talk about the what, why, and how that led me to become more financially responsible.

So, here goes nothing.

I charged $2,000 on my credit card for the downpayment on my 2020 Toyota Tacoma, and today, I’d like to share why I did it and what I learned.

I began to realize I have a problem

Photo Credits: HuffingtonPost UK

After, I left the dealership that day; Driving home in my brand new ride. I didn’t feel the excitement I thought I’d feel by purchasing a new vehicle.

For most, this is one of the biggest purchases we will make in our lifetime, and as so, generally, the excitement phase/period of euphoria will last at least about a month.

Not for me.

Immediately, that night I began to question the decision I made, and I asked myself? Why the hell did you just go by a $40,000 dollar vehicle and put the damn downpayment for the vehicle on a credit card?

Voices of my father lecturing me like Rich Dad began to echo in my head as the first rationalization I came to realize at that moment hit me. I was broke.

However, despite me knowing that, my desire to gain guided the decision process in purchasing a vehicle.

While at the dealership, I fixated myself and imagined how much utility and fun I could have in my new truck doing everything from picking up furniture for my family to enjoying the offroad mud trails.

I fell into the exact trap car salespeople want you to slide into.

Only now do I realize there is nothing wrong with desiring to have more than what you may currently have.

But, it’s important to be able to know how to properly restrain that desire so that you are able to delay gratification and pay for things only when you have the money to purchase them outright.

This is an attribute of personal finances that, unfortunately, keeps so many people in the rat race.

And so, I learned to:

Only purchase consumer items once you have the ability to pay for them in full.

A New Financial Low Inspired Change In me

If there’s ever been a point in my life where I just felt a strong intrinsic desire to change myself; The day I came home from purchasing my vehicle was the day I knew I couldn’t continue down the path I was on.

I began investing time in broadening my financial literacy and understanding.

And yes, I was raised in a household with two certified public accounts, where I was taught about the value of maintaining credit, paying your bills, and balancing a budget.

Still, I felt like I need to expand my horizons even more.

So, I began with a Google search on personal finances and budgeting, and I read/bookmarked every worthwhile article I could on those topics.

Later, I purchased best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki’s famous book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and I found it to be a remarkable read on personal finances.

I was seeking to become an expert in the field of personal finances for my own benefit, and in the process, I realized, first, there is a shortage of young people who understand finances, and two, there is a lot of bad information on the internet as well.

So, I set my life’s mission, goal, and purpose to help young people create a brighter future financially and otherwise.

The takeaway is this: Through my darkest hour, I found my greatest passion.

Material Possessions Cannot Make Us Happy, In fact, the opposite can happen.

Learning this about myself also brought about another self-actualization moment in my life.

Material possessions cannot make you truly happy.

The credit card I used for my downpayment was a card that I just received in the mail. As you know, to bait you into using it for spending, I was granted an introductory no-interest period for 9 months.

In my mind, I figured what the hell? I can pay my downpayment off way before the 9 months no interest period is up. No harm, no foul, right?

Reflecting on this made me come to the understanding that my financial literacy was severely lacking, and my financial decisions were going to lead me down a path where I would never have anything worth having.

So at once, here I was, on the brink of turning 22 years old. $40,000 dollars worth of auto loan debt and $2000 dollars worth of credit card debt and hardly any way to pay for it.

I was driving the vehicle I thought would be the pinnacle turning point of my life. The decision I thought would make everything better.

But, in the opposite fashion. It made everything worse.

In truth, it’s a scary feeling to have when you know that you have financial obligations; however, you possess no means to pay for them.

For days after the purchase, I began to psyche myself out over how I would make the monthly payments and pay the credit card debt off.

Suppose any of you have been here. You know finances can bring a huge amount of stress to one’s life, and let me tell yall.

Stress can kill you.

But, here’s the kicker.

I learned:

Stress, in any form, comes from making bad life decisions.

If you analyze any of the stressors in your life and sincerely question the source of those stressors. What you more likely will find is a bad decision that was made on your behalf.

In the case of me, my decision to purchase a $40,000 vehicle led to the anxiety and frustration that came later.

It’s okay, though, because nobody is perfect. But we’ve got to own our mistakes, learn from them, and do better.

I’ve seen news stories of people taking their own lives because of the financial stress they have allowed to overwhelm them.

We only get to live one life. Health is our greatest asset. Why should we let ourselves lose that by worrying about how we are going to pay other people?

The best way to solve a problem is to not have one. However, if you’re like me and you’ve found yourself in a situation. Don’t let that situation get the best of you.

I’m not killing myself for anybody

Say what you want. Call it however you’d see fit. But, I rather let my truck get repossessed than psyche myself out worrying about how to pay for it if my circumstances ever come to that.

Now, no, I am not advocating being irresponsible financially. All I am really saying is: Accept the worse, and after you’ve accepted the worse. Try to think of ways to improve upon it.

Yes, I took a page from Dale Carnegie.

No debt, no bill, is worth your health.

Thanks for reading :)

This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.