Thursday, March 04, 2010

how to lose money

count the ways.....

(1) gamble at a casino;

(2) invest recklessly in stock market;

(3) exchange with black money;

(4) join a dubious pyramid scheme.

you get the point. do any of the above & you would have mockery & jeer showered upon you for not being clever with your hard-earned money.

however, i think the most legitimate way to lose some, if ever there were one, without incurring any ridicule is to buy a car. any car. because the public transport system is so appalling, any worse it would be non-existent. therefore, buying a car is a justifiable exercise, even when it loses at least 10% of its value the moment it leaves the showroom.

in my case, i'm losing 80% of the car's original value after 9 years. the wife is flabbergasted at the depreciation. however, i'm ok with that because i relish those years of reliable work-horse-like service. without pricking on the conscience, i dare say it is a good investment. up & down the country in almost 120,000km of pleasurable driving in comfort & safety - 10-disc CD player, ABS, airbags & all.

only thing it's not, is a babe magnet. heh heh!


so, bernie madoff, eat your heart out!

15 comments:

anastasia said...

oh gosh, please don't get the gay car. I'm all for hybrids, but please, not the gay car... Ha ha

doc said...

Anastasia,

since you're all for hybrids, pray tell me - which hybrid is NOT gay?

Unicorn Girl said...

Is this your way of saying " Woohoo!!! I'm getting a new car - it's about time anywhere " - rite ......????

Anonymous said...

Get a good car with a decent resale value. Cars are not assets. They depreciate over time.

Loshini said...

babe magnets are overrated, doc. i'd go for comfort over style most of the time, oh and economics, of course :)

i second the transport comment, and i live IN kl! :P

doc said...

Unicorn Girl,

woo-hoo! you read my mind.

zewt said...

120km!!!!!

you milked the cow dry doc.... no regrets...

doc said...

Mei Teng,

from your description, guess it would have to be a japanese make. perhaps i should blog about it & ask for opinions.

doc said...

Loshini,

can i take that to mean that you're not impressed with those so-called babe magnets??

based on economics, it would have to be a proton/perodua, no??

doc said...

Zewt,

seriously, the cow was designed to be put to pasture only at 200K km!!

but i fear the cost of maintenance/repairs would overshadow its long life-span.

Loshini said...

yep, msian cars! or a camry :D

hot rims?eighteen horse power and all that is too much guy talk for me!

but dun let my opinions get in the way of your dream of a hybrid or lamborghini or lotus or minivan or watever else car you have in mind :)

doc said...

Loshini,

a "hot car" is not what i had in mind - so that rules out the Lambo & Lotus as well as the other L (Lexus) as well as the 2 Bs (BMW & Benz).

thanks for your opinion.

missyc said...

you will lose $$$$$ too due to
(5) expensive medical fees in a private setting (no choice if you want fast efficient medical attention). Some ppl have no idea how expensive treatment can be esp for cancer, dialysis etc coz its continous process, the total bill can buy an apartment or bmw)

anyway Car is a necessity so happy scouting there are plenty of choices with good hp rates too

doc said...

Missyc,

how very true about the medical bill!!

Jo said...

hahaha.. We had a similar experience... that sense of satisfaction when money has been well spent. It was the 13-year-old washing machine that was disposed of recently. really good ROI!