Horse

I keep seeing so many ads for cut rate car insurance, and I know to avoid these companies. Not everyone has this reaction. I always assume that a hard sell means I'm being sold a bill of goods, a crappy product, a scam in short. The Free Credit Report Dot Com ads were entertaining, obviously expensive, and as it turns out, selling a dishonest service. All that money thrown at me for something aggressively promoted as "free" is so obvious.

We have our insurance through a company with very few ads, if any these days.

This is the one very important lesson that my parents deserve full credit for teaching me. They'd gotten taken a few times, when they could least afford it. Once for an overpriced electro-stim machine that they didn't need in the first place, another time merely having to pay a monthly installment on a TV, car and mortgage at the same time. There may have been another instance, but I was not given details there. I learned suspicion of anyone too glib, too pushy, at my mother's knee. Add to that my own father's preference for lies over truth, given the choice, and I knew not to trust easily.

Not that I haven't bought the odd overpriced, unnecessary item. Or a life insurance policy that sucked up money, and is now long gone. Anyone can get momentarily sucked in. But I know to avoid anything urged too insistently on me. Even if I think I want it, I will, if shoved, walk away.

When we were looking for a car, long ago, knew what we wanted, just had to find it, I took a test drive. And the saleswoman gave me that "What can I do to have you drive this home today" line. I happened to be in my own neighborhood, so I got out of the car, and left, walked home. Never went back to that dealership. We got the exact same car elsewhere.

Anything too easy, good to look at it closely. Always look your gift-horse in the mouth.

Ask the Trojans.