You're Never Too Old to Borrow Money

My father retired from a full-time job in 1987 at age 85. He worked as a dishwasher in a private tennis club in Milwaukee. When he retired he moved back to our hometown of Munising, MI. He took an apartment in the Windjammer Apartments. In 1988 his car gave out and he went to the Marquette area to purchase a newer model car. I had never thought about a person buying a car at his age, he was now 88. However, the old man toddled on up to Ispheming and made a deal. I do not remember how old the car was he bought, not too old. It was a large Ford or Mercury. He took out a loan to buy the car and the payoff period was 48 months, 4 years.

I was amazed. He and I joked about this event. I told him he was the ultimate optimist, because he would be 92 when he paid the car off. You know what, he did! He paid the car off when he was 92 and enjoyed the use of that car for all the years he had it. Mostly he ran errands with it and went down to The Navigator restaurant each morning to meet with some cronies and have coffee. I found it difficult to imagine that a person would buy a car and take on debt at his age. I found it equally difficult to imagine a bank loaning an 88 year old man money to buy a car with a 48 month payout period. Will wonders ever cease to amaze!