Picture this: A sleek, black Lamborghini cruising down the highway right beside a cherry red Camaro; and then there’s you, borrowing your mom’s old red van that should have been introduced to the junkyard two years ago. The thought of that is all the fuel I need to put in 30 hours a week selling popcorn and movie tickets for a decent ride of my own. I’ve been saving the money I get from working since I was 14, just to experience the freedom of not having to share a vehicle. However, the cons to that idea have postponed my dream quite a bit. With the added expenses of insurance, gas, and any possible repairs or additions it may need – it’s been adding up to a hefty purchase that requires more money than I’d bargained for. A decent vehicle with less than 100,000 miles can be as low as $5,000. On average, car insurance for a teenage driver per six months is $700 to $1,100, depending on state of residence, type of vehicle, and type of insurance company. Gas patterns are a constant roller coaster going as high as $4.04 in June of 2008 and as low as $1.72 the following January. Depending on where the gas prices are in the roller coaster, one may spend about $80 to $110 a month on gas alone. All together, without adding in any repairs or maintenance, that adds up to one pretty penny; in my eyes, that’s a whole lot of hours working just to get some wheels of my own. In the end, the hassle and hard work put into saving anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000 for this new kind of freedom is all going to be worth it. Who wouldn’t love to just leave and visit a friend instead of waiting for mom or dad to come home and hoping they’ll take the risk and hand over the keys? Or being able to drive to school instead of having to take the smelly bus with a handful of seemingly loud, obnoxious kids? I’d save for another year or so just to not have to deal with inconveniences such as that anymore. The money for a vehicle may not come easily, but there is always a chance that mom or dad may throw a couple hundred my way to help out.