It seems that my son and I have the same conversation every week.  He is 14 now and he has this fixation with driving.  Even though it is 2 years away, he has already told me what he wants for his 16^th birthday… a Jaguar.  It just tickles me how easy it is for my children to make plans for my money.

My response to the Jaguar thing… it’s not happening.  I don’t even drive a Jaguar.  His response… but momma you said you want your children to do better than what you have.  Kids are funny.  You see how they conveniently twist words to make it suit their needs… wants.

Yes… of course I want my children to have more than I have… more happiness, more joy, more career success, more riches… every parent wants that for their child.  But I have to explain to him that I want him to have more than me on his dime… not mine.  I want him to have a better job or make more money than I do so he can afford to buy a Jaguar if he wants one.

Me buying a 16 year old boy a Jaguar, while I am in a Camry… ain’t happening, kiddo!

Anyway, I told him that I would possibly buy him a car but under certain conditions.  I pay the car note and he will pay the insurance.

Insuring a 16 year old male driver is like taking on another mortgage.  It ain’t cheap.  But I figured that by making him pay the insurance he can be more responsible and conscious about his actions.  He will be able to see how his actions have consequences: If he makes good grades, his insurance premium goes down…If he gets a ticket or gets into an accident, his insurance premium goes up… etc.

These are things that he can control.  And when you are financially responsible for the consequences of your actions… you tend to do things a little differently.  However, if I were paying the insurance premium, he would never see the results of his good or bad behavior.

My son does not like the compromise.  He says he cannot afford to pay insurance because he does not have a job.  Well… at 16 he will be legally able to drive… and at 16 he will be legally able to have a job.  So this works out well… he will have a car to drive to work to earn money to pay for that car.

So I told him… while he is searching the web… looking at all these pictures of Lamborghinis and Aston Martins and fantasizing about how cool it would be to drive up to school in an extravagant car… he also better start looking for job applications so he can pay for that car.

A good job for a teenager is being a Subway sandwich artist.  I am kind of partial to Subway.  For one, I like the food.  But working there should not be as laboring as at other fast food chains.  His clothes would not smell like dirty grease.  He would not have to stand in a hot kitchen.  Plus, he will be able to have a flexible schedule.  That way he can work around school and other activities.

I directed him here.  I told him to print it out, and 2 years from now bring it to the local Subway.