Where is my Ferrari?

I’m sure you have come across this Ferrari joke before. Do read it again and have a good laugh.

This joke is all about cutting expenses and investing the money to purchase some valuable item in the future. The typical, standard boring guideline anyone from the finance industry will talk about. On face value, the message is clear and profound, however, it is not that straight forward in real life.

I quit smoking around a year ago. I used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. That is RM17 a day. Since coffee goes well with cigarettes, at least for me, I spend extra RM3 on coffee. My morning breakfast was never complete without the cigarette and coffee. In total, I spend RM20 a day just for these two items. That is RM600 a month!

Addiction

I know I was wasting money but that is what addiction is all about. There is little point talking someone out of any addiction if the realization doesn’t come from the person itself. Worse still is suggesting the money can be invested to buy an item that has no interest to the person. I for one have no or little interest in cars. Yes, it would be nice to have a luxury car, but would I save and invest to purchase a depreciating asset? Definitely no.

Let me be clear on one thing, we all have our own guilty pleasures. Some love to spend their money on cars, some on holidays, some on clothing, some on food and some on family members. Just because I’m not into cars, I will never tell my car-loving friends to stop spending on them. If cars are the item that makes them happy, then go ahead. I see little point restraining oneself just to end up miserable. And to be honest, these are the friends I will refer to whenever I have a car issue because I’m certain they will provide good advice.

Surplus

Anyway, now that I have quit smoking, I had a surplus of RM600 a month. I didn’t immediately invest or commit my money into some investment instrument. I decided to keep it aside because I was worried, I might pick up the smoking habit again. On hindsight, I’m glad I made this decision. Not because I picked up the habit again but the reason being my mother, out of the blue wanted a new car as her existing Perodua Kenari was already old and she was worried it will break down any day.

So, we went to the showroom, checked out Perodua Axia and sign up for a 5-year loan which cost RM495 a month. I still have RM105 balance which I decided to keep aside for the yearly insurance and service. It was such an easy decision for me to commit since I did not see it as spending money on a car but more on my mother’s wellbeing. There was a touch of sentimental value there and it made perfect sense.

Note: To my siblings, I truly appreciate your financial contributions to the other aspects of our family well being.

Expenses

The point of this post is not about smoking, cars, savings, investment, my mother or my life. It’s more on expenses. Expenses never end. There is always an unplanned situation or emergency that will require us to fork out money. It’s important to limit our expenses and without a good saving habit, we leave ourselves vulnerable during a crisis. I have written briefly on savings vs investment. You can refer it by clicking here.

Where is my Ferrari? I don’t plan to have one but here is a picture of me with my mother’s Axia. Nice!