Money management isn’t something that I excel at on my own, so sometimes get a little help from Quicken 2016. By creating a budget, I learned that I had some extra money left over that I could put to something useful. I thought about what I could use the most, and the first thing that came to mind was a car. For years I’ve been taking public transportation, and I’ve had a lot of interesting experiences on it, some good and bad. Having to wake up early to catch the bus to the train station is always an annoyance, and having to deal with the crazy people on the train is an even bigger one.

Once while I was riding the train, there was a man who was selling some candy. This wasn’t boxed candy that he bought from the store, but candy that he made at home. The man had poured chocolate and fruity candy into molds and made lollipops. He walked up and down the train car asking anyone if they wanted to buy one, and each time people declined the offer. When he got to me, I told him no, but he wouldn’t accept my answer. He started trying every sales trick in the book to wear me down, but I wasn’t going to give in.

When the train stopped, a few more people got on and he tried to sell them candy, but one person got into an argument with the man, and the man threw his candy in the other man’s face and ran off the train. This was the experience that made me realize that I didn’t want to ride on public transportation anymore. I looked on some used car websites for a car that I could drive around. I didn’t care about having the latest model, I just needed something affordable.