I know a woman who bought a used car despite living very close to a train station. But I thought, hey, at least it's a used car. I caught up with her a month later and she let slip that she had actually gotten the cash to buy the car from her credit card. I don't mean she paid for it with a credit card-- I mean she took a cash advance! When I asked her if she knew how high the interest rate was for a cash advance, she said she couldn't possibly live without a car. I should note that she lives in a city where public transport is safe, reliable, abundant, and even free for her area. But nope, she drives the car every day for 30 minutes ("15 minutes without traffic!") and pays to park it close to work ("only $6 a day!").
This is the same woman who bitched and moaned because our company reimburses our company expenses two weeks after they are incurred. She was worried because she'd had to pay for ~$70 worth of expenses and she had no room on her credit card for gas!
At first I tried to help her, but quickly came to the conclusion that some people just don't want to be helped.
That reminds me of an hourly employee at a previous job. One day she rolls into the company parking lot with a Chrysler 200, aka the car of people who make terrible money decisions. Seriously, I don't know what it is with this car, it seems to appeal to a certain demographic that doesn't have a pot to piss in yet like shiny objects. Anyway, she then proceeds to walk around for the next couple days glued to her gold iPhone, talking about going to get her hair dyed over lunch break in her new car, acting she owns the place even though she made exactly $8/hour.
Fast forward to the end of the month, when money is always tight for the hourly employees. By now it has already transpired that she had needed a down payment gift and a co-signer in the shape of her mother to get the car in the first place. The next month's payment is coming soon, and instead of admitting to the world that she is in over her head, complains about some imaginary defects of the car. All the while maintaining the princess attitude, even though she was closer to toad status than princess.
Over the weekend, she goes back to the Chrysler dealership to give the car back. It turns out that the two geniuses who signed on the dotted line didn't realize they were signing a
lease, not a purchase contract. The term "lease" sprinkled all over the contract, including in the document title, didn't faze them. Neither did it didn't strike them as odd that you could buy a $23k+ car at just $200/month + fees for 3 years.
I left the company shortly after that. I can't imagine she would have the resources to make good on her payments for very long, so it's probably been repo'd since. With the insurance, gas, and various dealer fees, that stupid thing was probably pushing $350/month.