Yes you can be too cheap

Background: My mom drives a 1992 POS car. People have ran into the back of the car twice in the last year. I always bug my dad to get her a newer car with a few safety features...like say an airbag or two. Instead he usually turns around and brags about how little he spent on the car and that even though the head gasket leaks, the car still runs.

Yesterday afternoon on the way to the doctor my mom was sitting at a red light. This lady backs out of a mini mart across two lanes and hits my mom on her drivers side. The CR -V that hit her bounces off while shoving her car into another car on the passenger side. They had to use the jaws of life to get her out of the car.

The impact shifted her teeth and brain. It caused minor bleeding on her left side between the lining and the brain tissue. She spent 24 hours in the hospital and got a little cut up too (a few stitches.)

I was talking to my dad today. Telling him well we need to find mom a newer safer car. His first response, "I am only spending $5K. Cars are only to get you from point A to B." This coming from a man who has no problem spending $10k buying himself a motorcycle and who owns about a $1M in real estate spread out over 4 places. I went off! "You know they have side airbags now, if mom was driving a newer car she would have easily walked away and insurance would have bought you a new car. Mom's safety is worth more than $5k. I am tired of your bull sh1t excuses. Sell a property and take care of my mother."

My mom went to visit her family for Thanksgiving(4 days). She came home sick and miserable. On her way home (a 2 hour car ride) my dad calls and says, I don't have any food for work tomorrow. Can you stop and buy groceries. Then when my mom finally gets home sick and exhausted at 6pm. He asks her to make dinner. Instead of returning to work on Monday she spent the week at home in bed sick. Can you say lazy ass!

My mom's doctor today said to take two weeks off from work and my mom talked the doctor down to 1 week because my mom feels like she has to work. Seriously how can you have so much and yet still feel poor, feel like you need money to survive month to month and jeopardize your already weak health.