I don’t know whether you knew this or not, but I certainly didn’t it and now I feel like a complete moron but if you don’t have a credit card it’s really hard to rent a car… and if you don’t have a credit card you’d better damn well have a credit history or else you’re not going to be renting a car.
This is why I’m writing a blog entry right now instead of being out in the woods without the Internet.
My entire weekend’s plans got derailed by the fact that I’m 28 years old and never managed to get around to things like having loans and credit cards and stuff. (I had a car loan once, that I paid off… but I guess that doesn’t really count)…. So yeah, I might be a little weird for that… and well, I didn’t anticipate that being an issue because apparently it’s cool to rent a box truck without a credit check but a passenger car is a different story.
My boyfriend is currently four hours away doing sound at a small music festival called Cabinfest… which is where my friend Anna and I were supposed to be going.
In years past, this sort of last minute change of plans might have leveled me… I might have decided, “Fuck it. I’m going to sit around home and be miserable and self-loathing because I can’t even rent a car,” and spent the weekend in my unhappy place. But no… after lunch in a Greek diner and a thirty block walk with Anna yesterday, I just went home and sulked for thirty minutes and took a nap before heading back to rejoin her and our bro, Jonathan for drinks in Williamsburg.
After all, there are far worse places to be stuck in that New York City…. no matter what, you can always find something to do here.
To be honest, I feel like it was for the best. As much as I would have liked to be there this weekend, there was a small part of me that wasn’t terribly enthralled with going out of town this weekend. There was a part of me that was wishing I could have had a quiet weekend to myself where I could hang out with my friends.
We spent the evening eating Mexican food and introducing Anna to Louis CK, and I spent the night by her apartment and we watched Dazed and Confused for probably the millionth time.
We walked in the park with Jonathan when he took his dog to the dog park this afternoon… and Anna stopped to take a ride on the swings.
It certainly wasn’t the weekend I was expecting to have, but with good friends? It doesn’t really matter what you do. You can be doing anything and it’ll be a good time.
This is why I applied for a student credit card and started building my credit at age 20! Sorry that your weekend wasn’t what you expected, but Mexican food and Dazed and Confused sounds like a pretty good alternative!
Cherie @ Pink-Nightmare.Com recently posted..Lame things about being an adult
“Party? *I* bring the party”, is how I like thinking about this. Other fun facts: even after you have a credit history, they will want a $3-500 hold on your account as the deposit, which will take about a week to be released.
I keep meaning to get a CC too. I had one once, and screwed it up, then got screwed over, which is why I avoid them, but have been contemplating one for a bit now.
I think its funny that people with bad credit history can still hire items and people with the cash can’t! How does this world work?! Little hint if you do get a credit card. Don’t pay if ott in full every month. Every 3 months pay the minimum and have some interest charged to your account. Otherwise the bank doesn’t make any money out of you and you are still classed as a poor credit risk. Sad but true. Glad you still had a good weekend though! Mine didn’t go to plan but it was still fun and I got to eat cake. Perfect!
Lu recently posted..Friday. At last.
So glad you have awesome “plan b” friends.
Sorry that your plans didn’t work out how you originally wanted, but I’m glad you’re enjoying your weekend anyway! <3 ya!!
Oh how bizarre. I have never tried to rent a car, but I certainly would trade my marred credit for your non credit anyday. Lol. How strange that that’s a requirement. How does having a credit card (which inevitably leads to temptation to spend lots of money you don’t have, wrack up lots of bad debt that won’t go away, etc) mean that you’re responsible enough to drive a rental car? Makes no sense to me…
Have you tried ZipCar? They’re a newish company that I’ve heard of here in Portland (although I moved out of the city before I had a chance to try it). They have them in all major cities now, including NY. You basically rent by the hour, day, etc. The cars live in a parking lot somewhere, you go pick it up, drive to wherever you want to go, then park it back in it’s spot when you’re done. I believe you don’t even need insurance – they take care of all that. http://www.zipcar.com/nyc/find-cars
Jennifer M. recently posted..Sponsors & Swapping. Where to start?
Oh and because it’s not a “normal” car rental place, I don’t believe the normal regulations like credit cards apply. It’s sort of the new generation’s way of doing car ownership without owning a car.
Jennifer M. recently posted..Sponsors & Swapping. Where to start?