We have been without our main car for a week now, and we still have another two weeks to go before we get it back. Meanwhile, we are driving our oldest vehicle, a 1998 SUV, and driving it only when we have to. It has been an adventure.
With one car seat and two booster seats in the back, the car is cramped, and someone always seems to wind up with an elbow in the eye or a foot in the back. The air conditioner is loud and noisy and only cools the car if the temperature is below 80 outside. Still, it gets us places. And while we are really miss our nice 2006 minivan (which I know is already old to some), the SUV is teaching us all sorts of lessons.
For one, it is interesting how being used to something newer has made us less tolerant for something older. When the SUV was our main car it didn’t seem to us to be so bad. It is only because we are used to a more luxurious car that we even notice any problems with the cramped size or the air conditioning. Previously, these things were just fine. We were happy enough to drive it.
Now we are used to a different auto experience, and that experience sets the new bar, the new standard. While the minivan certainly isn’t above our means (it is paid off) or considered posh, it does illustrate a good truth. It is very easy to get used to the trappings of the good life, whether that is a bigger home, frequent vacations, expensive clothes, what have you. It makes settling for less a little more difficult.
I wonder if that is why so many of us are in debt. We are used to a different set of standards from previous generations or even from other countries. While there is nothing wrong with convenience and comfort in itself, there is something wrong when we have to go heavily into debt just to keep up with our standard way of living.
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