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A person making $250,000/year is better able to afford a $50,000 car than a person making $100,000/year can afford a $20,000 car.. the $250K/yr has more disposable income..
If your income and/or net worth is very high, 50K vs. 20K vs 10K.. they're all pocket change! Doesn't matter if you amassed all of your wealth by being "frugal"..
Y" When in reality no one could really care what car you drive.
I hope so because I have just managed to bump the side of my already modest 7000$ paid-off Hyunday into the garage - as I was pulling in.
Now it is not just a modest car. It is like a beaten ugly duckling. Yet I still love "her" because it is mine and she gives me so much for so little, ...and I have no desire to trade it just because she is now a wee bit ugly.
But we live in one of those "nice" and "prissy" suburban areas (because of the darn school) and I have started to wonder whether neighbors may think I am some kind of "lowly" life because I drive this ugly duckling. Not that I would trade it if I knew this is exactly what they think, but I am just curious...
I could afford to buy a much more expensive one with cash - but I simply don't want to. It's funny though to see my husband justifying my car choice based on my terrible driving skills. "She bumped it as she pulled in...that's why she's driving an old beater".
I hope so because I have just managed to bump the side of my already modest 7000$ paid-off Hyunday into the garage - as I was pulling in.
Now it is not just a modest car. It is like a beaten ugly duckling. Yet I still love "her" because it is mine and she gives me so much for so little, ...and I have no desire to trade it just because she is now a wee bit ugly.
But we live in one of those "nice" and "prissy" suburban areas (because of the darn school) and I have started to wonder whether neighbors may think I am some kind of "lowly" life because I drive this ugly duckling. Not that I would trade it if I knew this is exactly what they think, but I am just curious...
I could afford to buy a much more expensive one with cash - but I simply don't want to. It's funny though to see my husband justifying my car choice based on my terrible driving skills. "She bumped it as she pulled in...that's why she's driving an old beater".
haha! Wow, I am so over the, "keeping up with the jones" mentality. My car is even worse, has 200k miles on it worth less than 3k probably. Someone threw a brick at it and dented the door (probably some punk kids). The insurance company wrote me a check for 300 to fix it but I just pocketed the cash instead and invested it. I plan on driving the car until the engine dies on it or it needs some serious repairs and when that happens I'll just scrap the car and buy another used car for 5k.
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But we live in one of those "nice" and "prissy" suburban areas (because of the darn school) and I have started to wonder whether neighbors may think I am some kind of "lowly" life because I drive this ugly duckling. Not that I would trade it if I knew this is exactly what they think, but I am just curious...
Wow that sucks. Move to a more affordable area and pocket the money for yourself. Its so much better to have financial freedom than live in a castle built on quick sand. For me personally my goal is to never work for another person ever again. Been there done that and definitively don't like it. My investments produce enough income for me to live on without working but I live a modest lifestyle because living in a gated community, drive luxury car, go out all the time simply does not make me happy. I feel sorry for the others who enslave themselves to the banks and their employers just so they can have an ego boost (which is what all those things are). Once the ego boost is gone you realize that those items never really made you happy in the first place because at the end of the day there is someone who always has something better.
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I could afford to buy a much more expensive one with cash - but I simply don't want to.
Waste of money. Plus just because you drive a luxury car doesn't mean you are well off. I heard a BMW ad where it said you can lease a luxury car for 350/month. That's not much. I knew a kid who worked at wal-mart making 9$/hour. He lived at home - paid no rent, no utilities, no food bills. So he had like 1,200$/month to do whatever with. He blew the money on leasing a luxury car, designer clothes, latest electronic gadgets and still had a couple hundred to blow on whatever. I used to go to the club with this guy and he would talk to women and act as if he was a well off guy. Pretty funny. Just goes to show that just because the person appears to be well off doesn't mean it is true. These days everything can be bought with a monthly payment. Car payment, leases, mortgages, credit cards etc. With all these people losing their house, cars etc you can really see how fragile their image is. I hope you are not one of them.
haha! Wow, I am so over the, "keeping up with the jones" mentality. My car is even worse, has 200k miles on it worth less than 3k probably. Someone threw a brick at it and dented the door (probably some punk kids). The insurance company wrote me a check for 300 to fix it but I just pocketed the cash instead and invested it. I plan on driving the car until the engine dies on it or it needs some serious repairs and when that happens I'll just scrap the car and buy another used car for 5k.
Good choices, if you ask me. I've never had the "keep up with the Jones-es" mentality as I tend to not have a very good opinion of the Jones-es, generally speaking ; so I find it hard to identify with them.
I just find it funny at times to observe the Jones-es" game from a distance. I myself intend to drive my ugly duckling into the ground.
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Originally Posted by a34dadsf
Wow that sucks. Move to a more affordable area and pocket the money for yourself. Its so much better to have financial freedom than live in a castle built on quick sand. For me personally my goal is to never work for another person ever again. Been there done that and definitively don't like it. My investments produce enough income for me to live on without working but I live a modest lifestyle because living in a gated community, drive luxury car, go out all the time simply does not make me happy. I feel sorry for the others who enslave themselves to the banks and their employers just so they can have an ego boost (which is what all those things are). Once the ego boost is gone you realize that those items never really made you happy in the first place because at the end of the day there is someone who always has something better.
I relate 100% to what you are saying. Trouble is we have two kids and we're here for the school. Unfortunately, I cannot justify living in a truly affordable area as schools in such areas are simply bad. Private school for 2 kids would cost way more than a decent house in the area we're in right now. We don't live in a gated community - we live in some of the most affordable houses in this school district. Not terrible but not impressive either. It's just a comfortable house, waaaay below what we would qualify for with our family income. There are many literal palaces around here. Driving by... it's funny, creepy and fascinating at the same time to witness the depths of human greed and egomania.
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Originally Posted by a34dadsf
Waste of money. Plus just because you drive a luxury car doesn't mean you are well off. I heard a BMW ad where it said you can lease a luxury car for 350/month. That's not much. I knew a kid who worked at wal-mart making 9$/hour. He lived at home - paid no rent, no utilities, no food bills. So he had like 1,200$/month to do whatever with. He blew the money on leasing a luxury car, designer clothes, latest electronic gadgets and still had a couple hundred to blow on whatever. I used to go to the club with this guy and he would talk to women and act as if he was a well off guy. Pretty funny. Just goes to show that just because the person appears to be well off doesn't mean it is true. These days everything can be bought with a monthly payment. Car payment, leases, mortgages, credit cards etc. With all these people losing their house, cars etc you can really see how fragile their image is. I hope you are not one of them.
Yes, waste of money and no, I am not one of them.
But we do blow some money on something most Americans don't and would deem reckless luxury. We travel to Europe almost every year, sometimes every two years...and stay there for a couple of months. I have my family there and I also have deep roots there. Spending summers in the US, with kids banging their heads against a wall or having to put them in summer "camps" - that's scarier to me than not maximizing my investments.
SOOOO not engaging with you in a debate over this issue. Particularly when you don't seem to have a very accurate view of intelligence and its many facets.
While it would be a bit of a stretch to argue that academics are SMARTER than everyone else, academics, on average, are indeed some of the most intelligent humans you will find. Just because they are not engaged in lucrative, entrepreneurial pursuits does not take away from their generally HIGH TO VERY HIGH intelligence.
SOOOO not engaging with you in a debate over this issue. Particularly when you don't seem to have a very accurate view of intelligence and its many facets.
While it would be a bit of a stretch to argue that academics are SMARTER than everyone else, academics, on average, are indeed some of the most intelligent humans you will find. Just because they are not engaged in lucrative, entrepreneurial pursuits does not take away from their generally HIGH TO VERY HIGH intelligence.
im sure there is variation from subject to subject and whether or not they have real world work experience but as a whole the academic group were too lazy to work for a living so they stayed in college, got a higher degree, and teach.
I agree with you, but I suppose it depends on how one defines "smart." I think most "smart" people do not want to be academics. Smart people are often ambitious and seek prestige, upward mobility, financial freedom, intellectual stimulation, and power. They know these keys to success are within their reach due to their superior intellect. They also know that, although one may be born with a high IQ range, it takes work and drive to acquire knowledge and continue to be "smart" in a field.
"Smart" people understand the game better and paths to succes. They correctly recognize better career opportunities (for both financial and intellectual growth and influence) in fields that are outside academia such as business, law, medicine, computers, engineering, etc.
Also, the "academics in ivory towers" are often sheltered from the "real world" workings of a field which is apparent when comparing e.g. MBA/finance coursework to what it actually takes to be a business success. Many academics (not all) are stuck in a perpetual state of controlled research paradigms and are often unable to recognize and quickly respond to bigger picture market/field changes in the way that a "smart" non-academic may take advantage of such opportunities.
Last edited by GoCUBS1; 09-23-2011 at 11:57 AM..
Reason: typo
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