I have one... one of my friends, whom I absolutely adore, isn't the best with finances. She's up to her eyeballs in all sorts of debt: student loans, mortgage, personal loan, loan to start a business, loan for the car...
She travels exclusively by car (sidenote: Dutch and no bike... that borders on blasphemy) and recently, she mentioned her car was getting older so she needed a new one. The car is four years old... and the new car she wants is double in size and price. Now, I truly do like her and want the best for her, so I tried the gentle approach and asked her if she had calculated the added costs (insurance, taxes, higher mileage..). She hadn't. She started waxing lyrical about all the gadgets in the car. It seemed like no argument could make her change her mind. Not even the fact that an SUV sized car would be an absolute b**ch to navigate through the narrow streets of her town.
Fine, I thought. It's her money - or rather, the money of whoever will loan it - but ultimately not my problem. I pointed out the pitfalls and now I need to step back and let her lead her life. 40k decision or not.
The real kicker came later in the day. I told her my 'trusty rusty' (my bike) had given up on me in the middle of my commute and that I'd been searching for a replacement. Normally I'd go for a second hand bike, but I couldn't find any that I liked. I'm not sure if there's such a thing as a Bike Clown (as opposed to a Car Clown) but in the end, I wanted a very specific bike because I do spend quite some time on it. I told her I spent 500 euro on it.
She looked at me like I'd grown two heads. "I can't believe you'd spend that much on a bike. Are you serious?" Me: "Err..Yes..?" Her: "That's just way too much. What a waste." Then she shook her head in disappointment and left to make coffee.
I admit I could've lowered my standards and spent 300 euro less on a second hand bike, but the irony of her impending 30,000 euro overspending is not lost on me. Why is it that cars are some sort of exemption on math and money? The only thing that seems to matter is what you want, not what you need or can afford. I'm still a little stunned.