Thursday, January 30, 2014

The highways beckon!

When I look back at all the stuff that I've bought over the years almost 90% of the stuff has either been bought on impluse without any planning whatsoever or has been bought as a result of my brain constantly thinking about getting the object of my desire leaving me no other option but to buy it, just to get rid of the thought of having it run inside my head all day long.

The biggest purchase belonging to the latter category was made this month when I drove my brother-in-law's Volkswagen Vento diesel. After I got off the car my mind was only thinking about buying the car to replace the Maruti Swift that I have had for the last six years. A couple of days after my visit to my sister in Coimbatore, I went to the Volkswagen Whitefield showroom and after about 45 mins found myself writing a cheque for down payment for a Vento Highline Diesel. A few days later, I added a car loan to my existing list of EMI payments (Ok..I just have an EMI on the house and now on the car..so that ain't so bad). 

The timing of the purchase was good as I got a pretty good deal on my swift and before the Sensex lost about 700 points last week I was able to sell a few shares that has given me decent returns and with that I made a down payment for about a lakh and took a loan for the rest. 

Given that my brother-in-law's wedding is around the corner it appears that I will have to take delivery of the car only in mid Feb. I am looking forward to some long exciting drives with the family soon!

Some folks may argue that the timing of the purchase was not right given that the car loan EMI would add another 13K to the monthly outgo from my salary but I am at a point in life where I realize that saving up for the future whilst a good idea really does not allow you to live your present life to the fullest. There has to be some kind of balance and my mind finally said to hell with all the planning! I still think I am in a reasonably comfortable position with regard to the finances. I may not be the best off when I compare my self to peers and other friends but then at the end of the day its all about perspective and how comfortable you are with what you have in life and on that note I have no complaints whatsoever.

I may not live in a gated community, I may not be able to take vacations abroad, but the one thing I know is that god has given me much more than what I deserve and for that I am thankful. 

Next up on the shopping list...is my camera ...but that's probably going to be a long wait :)


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