Newton’s third law tormented me as we trekked up the road with the hot sun beating down on us. One minute we were in the store browsing the book aisle and the next my mom was running back urging me to come out to the parking lot and help her find her car. “It’s out there you’re just looking in the wrong place,” I told her laughing, “Come on I’ll find it.” The laughter was short-lived. The car has been repossessed. Lesson #. A car title loan is a “secure” loan that uses one’s automobile title as collateral. The lender lends you an amount of money equal to the value of your vehicle. You agree to pay back a “little” more than what is lent to you plus interest. For many, it seems like a good deal and for some, it works out just fine. In regards to taking out a loan one should have at least two things: Confidence that they can pay back the loan and a great deal of accountability. “The worst part is…there were so many times that I had the money. I could have paid it back.” She was laughing but she looked tired, and not just because of the hot sun and humid Georgia air. Aloud I say, “At Least we’re getting our steps in!” Mentally I’m revising the list: We don’t own a house, We don’t own a car. Lesson #. Trade-offs are a concept in economics that can be summarized as the comprehension that when you choose to do and/or buy one thing you are virtually giving up another. Being able to efficiently evaluate trade-offs is necessary if one seeks to live shrewdly. While the immediate satisfaction you get from seeing the Barbie movie with your friend may seem tempting, if you take off work you are trading the money you would have made from your paycheck. After cooking in the sun for thirty minutes the first thought in my mind after sliding into the air-conditioned backseat of my uncle’s car was: I can’t wait to take a shower. My second thought was: My friends will love hearing about this. My third thought was: How am I going to get to school? And that thought led to the question that would be hanging over us for the next six months: What are we going to do now? Lesson #. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction in other words, our actions have consequences. “Some people need to learn things the hard way,” is a saying I have heard and read numerous times. I have witnessed, firsthand, enough people run into brick walls that I have no desire to collide with one myself. To ensure my list is filled with “do’s” and not “don’ts” I will continue taking what I have learned not to do and learn what to do; using my knowledge to execute the latter.