I'd been saving up for college throughout high school and before (used to buy stuff like nonworking TV sets, stereo equipment, and collectables at garage sales and then fix and resell them), but as I was about to go into college, my (then) stepfather persuaded me to loan the money to my mother. Unfortunately, I never did get paid back and I ended up working two part-time jobs during college. He did sell me his old car at what was a decent price, but he kept not getting around to actually signing over the title and then after he and my mother split up, he showed up unexpectedly one day, "borrowed" the car, and I never saw him or the car again.