Car Insurance Bills and Trooper Billy

821 and 211. Two numbers that are swimming around in my head this week. I can’t let go of either one of them. And both are tough to swallow.

Double take

Even though no one heard me, I apologize for what came out of my mouth a few days ago. It wasn’t pretty (what I said AND what I was looking at). I was holding one of the bills that came in the mail.  It was our monthly car insurance statement.  $821. $821! I had to read it twice. Sure it includes our homeowners insurance, but that’s only a small percentage of the total amount.

Boys aren’t cheap

The reasons our insurance is so high!

I glanced out the kitchen window at the driveway and spotted the reason why. I counted one, two, three, four…. five. We’re now a 5 car family. And I have boys. As any parent knows, boys are statistically at a higher risk on the road than girls, and more expensive to insure.

“I want to scream”

The Bradshaw boys

Tommy, my youngest, just turned 16. All I hear coming from the Bradshaw car lot is boom, boom, boom. He’s out there putting a new stereo system in his truck. He bought it from Jacob, his 18-year-old brother, who’s about ready to take his girlfriend out in his new “ride”. And to top it off, our oldest, 20-year-old David, is emailing me pictures of the latest “dream” car he wants to buy. I want to scream.

Trooper Billy

$821. That’s what came to mind while sitting in the passenger seat of an Oklahoma state trooper’s cruiser yesterday morning. “You know I can impound your car right now!”, he told me. “I know. You’ve told me that many times,” I said. His name and badge number were hanging from the rearview mirror. Trooper Billy Faucett (#585) had just pulled me over while I was on my way to work. I was ready for him when he came to my door. I was going 68 in a 65. “You’re stopping me for going 3 over the limit? Are you kidding me?” I didn’t get a chance. Here’s how it went down:

• Trooper Billy: “License and registration.”
• Me: “What’s the problem?”
• Trooper Billy: “I can impound your vehicle right now. Get out of the car and go sit in mine.”

As I’m walking to the black and white I’m thinking this is a little bigger than going three over the speed limit.

• Trooper Billy: (pointing to my car) “Do you know why I stopped you?”
• Me: (I’m wondering if I forgot to take the body out of the trunk) “No.”
• Trooper Billy: “I can have your vehicle impounded.”
• Me: “Okay. Why?”
• Trooper Billy: “Your tags are expired. Anything past three months and I can impound your car.”
  

  My new tag

My tags had expired not three months ago, but ten months ago! I had spent the past year getting all my boys’ cars, tags and insurance in order, but I forgot my own. And as I sat beside Trooper Billy, all I could think about was that $821 insurance bill, and adding a citation to my financial worries.

The ticket

• Me: “Are you going to give me a ticket?”
• Trooper Billy: “You know I can impound your car right now.”
• Me: (now realizing what the answer would be) “I know, you’ve told me that many times.”
• Trooper Billy: “Yes.”

Laughing at dad

Now I have two numbers to think about. 821. And 211. My three boys sure had a good laugh with the second one.