Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I had a coworker who just recently retired after being laid off> He has 3 pensions, lots of money, throat cancer and is now in hospice just one year after retirement. Yeah saving is nice but life is not a trial run.
I had a neighbor who retired at 65 with $100k+ retirement income and he and his wife were dead before he hit 70. He was feeling pretty confident financially, but cancer doesn't care.
I think driving a pos car is a pretty lame way to get rich, and life is too short to drive a pos anyway.
I think driving a pos car is a pretty lame way to get rich, and life is too short to drive a pos anyway.
As has been said multiple times already, there's a difference between driving a decent, less expensive used car and a POS car. The decent 4 year old used car can save quite a bit over buying a new car.
I had a neighbor who retired at 65 with $100k+ retirement income and he and his wife were dead before he hit 70. He was feeling pretty confident financially, but cancer doesn't care.
I think driving a pos car is a pretty lame way to get rich, and life is too short to drive a pos anyway.
cars and housing are the two areas people tend to spend more than they should .
the problem is spending 30k on a new car vs 20k on a used car is a lot of money or spending 500 a month less on housing is a lot money .. yet the advice you see is stop going to starbucks or bring your own lunch to work instead of buying lunch .
that is backwards ... the is nothing wrong going to starbucks or buying lunch when you watch the big dollar expenses .
when it comes to personal finance most people have it backwards .
they tend to worry about the pennies while the meaningful dollars are neglected.
you have those who spend hours clipping coupons yet never invest the money they do save so it does not stay a penny as well .
saving 10k on a car provides lots of savings to be invested , PLUS IT PAYS FOR STARBUCKS AND EATING OUT .
the name of the game should not be giving up things we like to do . it should be paying more attention to the large dollar expenses.
we had this discussion in another thread about how just living below your means may be a moot point .. spending less then you have coming in may not mean much if that spending does not leave enough money left over for saving both for long term needs and short term emergencies .
so it is really a question of learning what is appropriate spending on certain things .
Last edited by mathjak107; 07-16-2019 at 06:39 AM..
cars and housing are the two areas people tend to spend more than they should .
the problem is spending 30k on a new car vs 20k on a used car is a lot of money or spending 500 a month less on housing is a lot money .. yet the advice you see is stop going to starbucks or bring your own lunch to work instead of buying lunch .
that is backwards ... the is nothing wrong going to starbucks or buying lunch when you watch the big dollar expenses .
when it comes to personal finance most people have it backwards .
they tend to worry about the pennies while the meaningful dollars are neglected.
you have those who spend hours clipping coupons yet never invest the money they do save so it does not stay a penny as well .
saving 10k on a car provides lots of savings to be invested , PLUS IT PAYS FOR STARBUCKS AND EATING OUT .
the name of the game should not be giving up things we like to do . it should be paying more attention to the large dollar expenses.
we had this discussion in another thread about how just living below your means may be a moot point .. spending less then you have coming in may not mean much if that spending does not leave enough money left over for saving both for long term needs and short term emergencies .
so it is really a question of learning what is appropriate spending on certain things .
As has been said multiple times already, there's a difference between driving a decent, less expensive used car and a POS car. The decent 4 year old used car can save quite a bit over buying a new car.
I'm just responding to the thead title - I don't consider a nice used car to be "crappy". When I think of a "crappy" car I think pos.
It’s interesting people seem to focus more on people telling them what they can “afford” when it comes to car payments and house payments that they do focus on advice like save 20% of your income for retirement or whatever other advice there is. I guess it’s just too boring to save money for later, but more exciting to buy a better car or house. I just don’t know how you sleep at night being most people. The whole stat on how many people would be affected by a $500 emergency is mindboggling. In your early 20s? Alright. But by the time you’re 30, $500 shouldn’t even be an amount you’d notice missing from checking frankly.
I'm just responding to the thead title - I don't consider a nice used car to be "crappy". When I think of a "crappy" car I think pos.
I'll grant you the headline is a bit of hyperbole. But some people probably do need to drive a crappy car--at least for a period of time until they can afford something better. But as I've said, that doesn't meant it has to be like that forever.
I'm just responding to the thead title - I don't consider a nice used car to be "crappy". When I think of a "crappy" car I think pos.
I'll grant you the headline is a bit of hyperbole.
Most of us driving used cars didn't take the headline literally.
But some people probably do need to drive a crappy car--at least for a period of time until they can afford something better. But as I've said, that doesn't meant it has to be like that forever.
I'll grant you the headline is a bit of hyperbole. But some people probably do need to drive a crappy car--at least for a period of time until they can afford something better. But as I've said, that doesn't meant it has to be like that forever.
It's all relative. I used to commute in a VW GTI I bought as a leftover for cash at a steep discount. In my high tech universe, my peers all drove much more expensive cars. I'm not going to drive a beater but I can't justify the depreciation hit on a European luxury sedan or a Lexus or a Euro luxury crossover. I buy fairly modest cars new for cash, put a 100k mile extended warranty on them to bound the ownership costs, and repeat the minute I lose confidence in the car. With that VW GTI, that was at 142,000 miles. I sold it and bought another one for cash as a leftover at an even steeper discount. In my tech career, I first maxed out my Social Security contribution in my 5th work year. I've always driven fairly modest cars and normally ran them until they had depreciated to just about zero. My last year or two of ownership, the car is a well-maintained beater with rock chips, door dings, and the other usual signs of lots of use.
I've been driving a Subaru Outback for the last 4 1/2 years. Another modest car with a 100k extended warranty on it. I'll drive it until I've worn it out and don't trust it. I need to have a reliable car. Amortized over all those years and miles, there's not a big spread between new and used.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
