Do As I Say---

I read Trent's "A Simple Dollar" regularly but unlike his legions of admirers, I don't necessarily assume that he all the answers all the time. I also susupect that, from time to time, he is driven by financial hubris, as are most of us.

But Saturday's columm regarding his family purchase of a new 2009 Toyota Prius via financing is a revelation--partly of the lengths Trent will go to deny that he hasn't made the most financially sound decision and partly the reprobation of his fans who seem unwilling to cut any slack for a less-than-stellar but hardly devastating purchase.

I worry about bloggers like Trent and JD at Get Rich Slowly who have been set up the role models. I continue to read them because I have so much to learn before I even get where they are. Yet, learning from people who have to be perfect takes a toll from all of us.

Can I just fess up now that I have learned at least as much from MP Dunleavey and the Women in Red? I shake my head at some of her financial machinations because I see my younger self in her actions. But I do rejoice when I see her learn her financial lessons so much sooner than I did.

Give it up, Trent! You WANTED the Prius! You did NOT want to put all of your savings toward the car, so you financed it. Revisit that decision occasionally and tell us how it's working for you. And do it honestly. If it's a mistake but one you're glad you made, so be it. If it is something you have to pay off sooner just to get back to financial peace, admit it and move on. It it turns out to be a disaster, well, let us in on that one, too.

We're all big kids here--we can handle it.