Driving and Money

To turn around your financial life, you need to take a holistic approach.  That is, you cannot make changes in some areas of your life, while leaving others the way they were.  Without applying a new way of dealing with money, and everything related to money, to every area of your life, your savings in one area will simply leak out another.

A good example of this is driving.  Until recently, I had always been someone who drove a little faster than the speed limit (and sometimes, without even paying attention, quite a lot faster).  I also did not take much care to fully stop at stop signs, or follow other rules of the road too closely.  For years, this seemed fine--I did get the occasional minor ticket every couple years, but nothing to worry about.

Then, all of a sudden, over the course of just over three years, I ended up with four minor tickets: three for speeding and one for an illegal U-turn.  To make matters worse, I then had a car accident which included a charge for an unsafe turn, a ticket for not having my ownership signed (who knew I hadn't signed it for the years that I'd had it), and a ticket for not completely stopping at a stop sign.  Uh Oh.

At first, I was frustrated and confused as to why I was being caught for what seemed like so many insignificant issues, especially when I had been driving the same way for many years.  Having this many convictions on my record will certainly result in a huge insurance rate increase, which is the last thing I need, and flies in the face of all the other changes we have made to get our financial situation under control.

But then, it dawned on me: if I was serious about revamping my financial outlook, it was hypocritical to continue to drive the way I was used to.  An article on The Simple Dollar with some Thoughts on Speeding drove the point home.  From that moment on, I decided to completely change my driving habits: it was time to slow down, and obey all the rules.


The first week or so of driving this way seemed unnatural, and I had to continuously resist the urge to speed up.  One useful technique I continue to use is to put on the cruise control when I hit the speed limit, as long as the road is open (which is when speeding is most tempting anyways).  But after the initial adjustment period, this new, slower, safer way of driving seemed just fine.  In some ways, it is a relief not to have to worry about passing cars--now I just smile when I see someone weaving through traffic, trying to get home 10 minutes before everyone else.

The moral of this story is that there are many obvious ways that you can reduce spending, and manage your finances more responsibly.  But there are also some less obvious areas of your life, where your behaviour can eventually result in places where your money will start to leak out.  Sometimes, sealing those leaks requires a change in mindset about what is really important.