Feeling Like A Respectable Grown Up
Last night I had dinner with my parents. They came to trade cars with me so mine can go to our family car guy without me having to waste a Saturday driving it down to Kingwood. My parents are paying for my car repairs. Wait! Hold on! I know you just thought, “Respectable grown up, my ass! Parents paying for repairs. PAH!” But there is a reason, and it is just a loan. My new Target card has not arrived due to some jackassery from Target. I had not changed my address in the system before I cut up my card, which wasn’t a problem, since all my bills and statements are delivered online. But now that I’m ready to have my card delivered, this is a problem. To change your address you must have the security code on your card to confirm it’s really you trying to change the address. So here I am, with no card, so I can’t change my address, and the wrong address, so they can’t send me a card. If I haven’t received my card by the time my final payment clears, which should be tomorrow, I will just call and cancel my card and open a new one with the correct address.
Anyway, my parents are paying for the repairs for this reason, and I will add them to my bill calendar and pay them monthly as I can afford it until it’s paid off. During the conversation about all this, I mentioned that I have another card (read: d’oh!) and my dad did his dad thing and started asking me a billion questions about why I wasn’t just putting the repairs on that card. Without mentioning that I am only $100 from my limit, and without mentioning what my actual limit is, I said that I owed more than I felt comfortable owing and somehow managed to convey my plan of paying off my debt in a way that made me sound fiscally responsible. There was no defensiveness, no yelling or tears (which is good, as we were in a restaurant), and my parents actually seemed impressed at my drive to pay down everything.
That is the first time in my life that’s ever happened. And that? That makes me realize just how far I’ve come in my attitudes about money and responsibility in recent years. Recently, if given a decision between having my fingernails ripped out with pliers and discussing finances with my father, dad would win, but just barely. It would have been a really tough call. But last night, to come out of that discussion not only in tact, but smiling and tear free? Amazing.