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Buying a beautiful classic car has always been one of the big dreams for Mr. Mt. He doesn’t have a lot of hobbies, but working under an old car seems to be pure joy for him. A million years ago, before we met, he had owned a few. Those are fond memories. In reality, a classic car is bonafide wasteful luxury. It’s lovely, fun and head turning. What did it really take for us to give Mr. Mt that dream? For us it’s an easy answer.

We don’t have cable TV.

That’s it.

Cable TV is also a true wasteful luxury. It just happens to be one I don’t really want. (Another post for another day!)

However, for the first two years of marriage cable was a hot button issue. I didn’t grow up with cable, and thought it was a waste of money. Mr. Mt thought it was a necessity. As in, how are normal people supposed to survive without this stuff? This was back before Netflix, Hulu or VidAngel. We had $50,000+ in debt, so I won that argument. Fast forward 14 years.

The Math

I don’t really know what TV channels would cost. I had coworkers paying $160. That seems crazy. I would never pay that. Some pay around $80-100. Let’s assume I was willing to pay $50 for cable.

14 years X $50 a month= $8400

Now this doesn’t even add in compound interest or opportunity growth. But for the purpose of the argument, we will use the lowest cost with no growth.

Want to know how much that lovely car cost?

$5500.

But what about license, insurance, upkeep? There are ongoing costs with a car.

There were initial costs: Seat belts, stereo, car cover and initial repair: $600

We paid for permanent plates for the car, so these will last as long as we own the car: $160

Our ongoing cost will average out to about what cable would cost. $17 a month for full coverage insurance, plus extra maintenance.

In some ways older cars take a bit more maintenance. But this is Mr. Mt’s new hobby, and compared to our mini van, the classic is WAY easier to repair himself. He managed to replace the broken leaf springs and rear shocks in a few hours; half the time it takes just to do the spark plugs on the van.

After all of that, we are still $2,000 a head vs. cable.

There you have it. We are now the proud owners of a beautiful classic car. It’s a kick to drive around town or take to car shows.

A Bucket List dream all for the cost of not having cable.

It’s not exactly a huge sacrifice anymore. Our lives adjusted and new things filled our time. But holy smollies that first year! We had some heated talks that first year. 14 years later, now we don’t have time for more than 30 minutes of TV anyways.

If you have a big dream, why not make a small change to help fund that dream? So what if you wait 14 years for it? The most important things are worth the waiting and sacrificing.

I don’t have a lot of pet peeves, but here is one of them. People tell me, “The biggest dream of my life is____.” So my go-to follow up question is, “What steps are you taking to make that happen?” 9 times out of 10, folks are doing zero things. ZERO. I don’t care if it’s something as small as cutting cable to buy a car 14 years later. That’s a small step. But zero?

This is your biggest life dream, and you are giving it zero effort?

Here is what amazes me about people’s biggest life dreams: They aren’t that big. In fact they generally are quite doable. Write a book, travel to Paris, hike Kilimanjaro, take a cross country trip with their kids. We aren’t talking things like own a castle in France or becoming President.

As your money friend. As the person who wants to see your biggest dreams happen, even if they are a silly classic car. Do me this one favor. Before I run into you at the coffee shop, standing in line to get ice cream, or at the farmer’s market- before you come up and say hi: Find your 1 thing. Listen to a podcast about your dream, read a book, start a savings account named “Dream” and auto transfer $5 a month, find 10 minutes a day to brainstorm your dream. Give that dream something.

So when you introduce yourself, and say, “Oh my goodness, I have always dreamed of…..” and I ask my question. You will have a great response. Small is fine. And it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing.

 

 

Discussion questions:

  1. What are some of the big dreams you are working towards?
  2. What steps are you taking?
  3. Would you cut cable for a bucket list dream?
  4. If you had to wait 14 years for your dream, would it still seem worth it?
  5. You would be most likely to run into me A) At a coffee shop B) In line for ice cream or C) At that Farmer’s Market?