If You Are Making Car Payments, You Don’t Own The Car

We usually talk like we own the car, but this is just a delusion. If you secure financing for an automobile, the bank or financing company probably owns your car. The person with the auto loan is most likely granted non-possessory security interest in the vehicle. Basically, the bank owns the car and you are not able to sell the car without the loan being paid in full.

mustang-vintage-red.jpgThe reason I mention it, is to clear up what I think is a major reason it is so easy to be in debt. The lending industry wants debt to sound rosy and cheerful, so that consumers will go into more debt. If we continue to fool ourselves into thinking we own things that are not actually ours, we will continue to by more things we can’t afford. Yes, I said it! If we are paying payments, we probably couldn’t afford the item. We delude ourselves by affording payments!

If you think I am crazy or sound foolish, you probably never received the title to a car in the mail after you made your last payment(or paid cash in full). It is just a piece of paper, but it feels so good for some reason.  I would love the world to change how they talk about debt. Let’s talk more about the great feeling of working hard for something and paying for it in full, rather than tricking ourselves into thinking items that we don’t own are ours.

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