Test Driving Advice

When considering buying a car, new or used, research is critical. Reliability, suitable gas mileage, and practicality are important considerations. After finding a car that seems appropriate, take it out for a test drive. Does the car rattle? How is the road noise? How well does the vehicle take a corner? Admittedly at this point, you will also encounter a plethora of advice. However, advice can often be unreliable, unsuitable, and impractical. So, don’t be afraid to take advice for a test drive also.

The advice can come from friends, salespersons, parents, or even our selves. The advice can come across as a suggestion, a recommendation, an opinion, or instruction. Sometimes the advice is helpful, sometimes deceitful, sometimes confusing. Either way, advice can be researched and put to the test. During the analysis, you can systematically and successfully make decisions that are more reliable when purchasing. And, there is nothing wrong with taking the same advice for a couple of test drives!
Advice is not all bad or all good. Advice really can be picked apart and examined just like a car. However, success is guaranteed only after we honestly answer the question, What am I trying to accomplish here? What is my motive for this purchase?

Meditation has been found to be very advantageous when clarifying a motive for buying. Useful guidance concerning meditation, from “21st Century Science and Health, (also quoting The Message)” reads “If we are not quietly desiring and visibly striving for the accomplishment of all we ask, we are ‘full of formulas and programs and advice.’” Calm aspiration and a pro-active objective are powerful, allowing a debt free feeling.

It is quite a task to not get caught up in the excitement of buying things. When the suggestion comes to buy a car, are we doing it because our friend just bought a car? Or, because the media makes it look glamorous if we own a particular car? We can’t afford to be trying to impress others. It is very difficult to come up with the funds to follow our friends or the crowd. Honesty will always be within our means.

When we sincerely do need transportation, compare the advice. What is good for someone else may not necessarily be right for you. For example, if you are a graduating college student who got a job in another state, solidify what you would like to accomplish. If you would like to pay off your student loans and any credit card debt you may have, or more importantly, like your job, pay attention to the advice. Even the advice of well intentioned parents can be remiss if they themselves are in debt or at a job they don’t like because of high payments. Staying true to your position in life is reliable and practical.

The opportunities of job variety increase every decade. There is no reason a person has to do a job they do not enjoy, unless they are a slave to too many payments. So, if a salesperson recommends lower monthly payments for 6 years, sit back and think. First, the value of the car drops as soon as you drive it off the lot. Second, paying interest adds to the cost of the car. And third, in 2 years you may need another kind of car. It is more suitable to temporarily take public transportation, or find a car you already have the money for or can pay off much sooner.

Research before buying is valuable, not on just the item you are considering buying but also researching what you would like to accomplish. Does the item help you achieve your life goals, including wise financial decisions? When you begin the purchasing process, advice will come pouring into your mind. There is no shortage of good ideas or excellent recommendation so be sure to take the advise for a test drive, eliminating the noisy, worn out, expensive information. Listen calmly with the assurance you can actively take on freedom from debt.