Anyone had to deal with parents that are older and that aren't smart with money? I never realized how bad my in-laws were until now. I knew, but this is really something. Part of it is that my MIL may be starting to have dementia and she is extremely resistant to change and has weird phobias. And my FIL doesn't want to deal with it and so does whatever to satisfy her.
There is much here, but the first big thing that we learned is that they were paying $400+ for what amounted to Internet, cable TV, and a VoIP phone service. And they don't really watch anything great - mostly the Hallmark channel and some other thing that is similar. Great American something or the other. They were resistant to cancel the phone service because one of their relatives call them at that number. Never mind that they each have cell phones that they can be reached on. My wife and I want them to cancel the cable TV since we can get them access to some of these via streaming which is much less. All they really care about are a couple of these channels and local news. We also told them we can get them an aerial antenna to go in the attic or put a panel antenna in a window for the local channels. But my MIL has some weird phobia of the antenna. And this is someone that grew up with no other option that rabbit ears on top of a TV or an aerial on the roof. My BIL was around for a weekend visit and persuaded them to change providers and eliminate the phone. The cable is staying as a compromise. For whatever reason, my in-laws go with what my BIL tells them. Well, partly it seems and more than us at least.
The second thing (car related) is that my in-laws had a bug for a new car. They have had two cars for some several years now. A not super old 2016 Nissan Maxima and an older Lexus IS250 that was my BIL's car that they bought from him a long time ago. They really don't need two cars - my MIL barely drives these days and they pretty much go everywhere together. They only kept a second car around as a backup. So double the insurance and double the depreciation. And for whatever reason, my FIL refuses to use a good indy shop for work - he insists on taking it to the dealer for everything including oil changes and batteries. My BIL suggested they look at a Lexus crossover to replace both cars, and mentioned CPO is a good way to go as that is how he acquired the IS250 years ago. They (with my BIL) test drove a very recent low miles example of the NX350 at the nearby Lexus dealership. After my BIL left town to go back home, they purchased the thing. I think the price was in the lower to mid $40s. Then the dealer must have talked my in-laws into things with the usual scare tactics of what things would cost to replace - windshield protection package, tire and wheel protection package, gap insurance... The kicker is that they aren't getting rid of both vehicles, and they only traded in the IS250. My BIL's logic was that no backup car was needed if they had a Lexus as the dealer always provides a loaner car. So they got rid of a perfectly serviceable Lexus IS250 that spent most of the time in the garage to get this Lexus NX350 that will now depreciate and mostly sit in the garage while they continue to daily the Maxima. With all the protection packages in case the car bends a wheel or gets a cracked windshield while parked. The cherry on this cake is that they financed the car at 5.5% even though they have the means to pay cash for the car. Why? I have no idea. They aren't invested in the AI bubble to put that money to better work or anything, so this is just an expense.
As a sensible car person (and a cheap bastard), I'm extremely bothered. They are both retired and my FIL has some smaller pensions and whatnot. They aren't poor, but they aren't wealthy either. Plus, they aren't car people. They justified the purchase because they had to spend money on minor repairs of the old cars, but yet they insisted on going to the dealer to pay top dollar for stuff, and kept two cars. It boggles my mind. I had to post this as I saw the other post about people being financially unwise trading in cars after a few months for some stupid reason. Thank you for reading.
