Sea Cadet left for Virginia last night on a Greyhound. He paid $92 out of the monies he saved over the summer. He will return before Tuesday with his new to him car…a 2001 Cadillac Deville.

It is a graduation gift from my Uncle and is titled in his name. But his insurance will remain under me while he is in School full time. (I called to confirm that 1) it could be titled in his name and 2) it was still cheaper to keep him under my policy.)

He has not had a car since last year when he totaled his car, and has handled it like a champ. Sea Cadet has walked to and from work. Had to do without a lot of car access (he was able to drive mine when I didn’t need it.) And just generally had a great attitude.

It was hard to watch him spend his senior year so tied down, but I think it was a very valuable lesson.

The Financial Implications of a New Car

He has paid $25 per week for his insurance. That cost will now go up to $50 per week. (We are keeping full coverage for a short while to make sure he is comfortable with the car, but will then probably drop down to liability only.)

His school is 12 miles from our house and he must attend class twice a week, and attends Police Explorers an hour away from home. He will be responsible for all his own gas and maintenance.

Thankfully, he got a new job last week at a local hardware store and is loving it. He’s making $9.50 per hour. And while he is sad about not getting to return to the coffee shop, I think this new experience will be really good for him. They are open to working around his school schedule too.

Finally, per our earlier agreement on a car, he has $500 in a “can’t touch this” savings account in case he has any issues with the car.

I haven’t figured out how to fairly ask him to help me out with some carpooling duties. I will probably wait a while before I ask so he can get accustomed to his new car.

Do you ask your kids to run errands for you on occasion or ask them to help drive younger siblings around sometime? If so, do you compensate them somehow? Pay for gas or ?

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