At least 80% of my financial life and my relationship with money has been influenced by events in my teen years.
When I was 13, my mom’s fancy car (she had 2 cars) got repossessed because she had an outstanding bill of R2000/ US$150 that she couldn’t pay.
She was only left with 1 installment and she couldn’t pay it.
This was the first time I realized that my mother was running out of money.
It was also the first time I became aware that money could run out and that felt strange to me.
My mom had spent most of her life making sure that we never wanted for anything, so up until this point, I didn’t know that a person could run out of money.
The trauma of watching my mom lose her car has stayed with me and has influenced the way I buy cars.
I’ve owned several cars in several different countries and have always bought all my cars cash.
I paid cash for all my cars, even when I was drowning in debt.
It’s never crossed my mind to buy a car any other way, in fact, the thought of having a car installment sends me into a state of panic.