Living within your means........

You sir are deservedly living what used to be called the American dream.

 

People who have 'means' don't usually follow what you laid out. They buy a USED later model car, in good shape. They save the 30% tail light depreciation. People who like to think they have means, follow your recipe.

People who have means don't buy a house at the max end of their budget, they kick that number down another 20%, take a 30 year mortgage, make extra principal payments each month, and if for some reasons things go skinny, they can still make their basic nut. People who like to think they have means, will go to the very max end of what they can get a mortgage for, without consideration of how one tiny problem could knock them over the cliff.

People with means have credit, but they don't max it out every month. They think about what they want, and how to pay for it. Those who think they have means rather satisfy that momentary want, without thinking about the cost down the road, or the long term value of what the purchase is worth.

 

Oh I get it. You seem to need help with the definition of "cause and effect". I can help.

Examples of "cause and effect"

1. Eat 6000 calories a day - gains weight
2. Jumped in a shower - got wet
3. Drank a bottle of whiskey - got drunk

Examples of what "cause and effect" is not:

1. Saw a duck - got cancer
2. Watched TV - ferrarri appears in driveway
3. Walked under a ladder - became a Democrat

 

Her is a quote from Amy.
The hard times start pretty much as soon as winter hits because the heat bill goes up,

Think what is going to happen to her heating bill the day Comrade Bernie takes office and issues his Executive Order banning fracking.

 

Preach, brother!

I could afford a 500k house.

The house I bought was 300k.

 

What you call advertising, I like to call marketing science/mind control. A good read on the subject is:

https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-American-Mind-Corporate-Takeover/dp/1101982586

In a sort of paradox, I find the people most concerned about corporate mind control love the mind control practiced by the Government Media Complex.

 

The last time I bought a "new" care was 1999 and it was a Hyundai Sante Fe but because I am a vendor got a vendor purchase number which basically knocked off the tail-light depreciation. And it was for my X not me. I buy with between 18K - 25K miles and last years model. I only use credit to facilitate online purchases which I don't want going to my debt card which I use for everything else, that extra layer of protection. And pay that card off every month, if I can't that month I don't buy. What I can afford is NOT what is my credit limit.

 

All this common sense in here is going to damage some psyches.

I made almost $1k last year in cash back using my credit card for errything and paying it off every month.

 

This thread is freaking awesome. Youngsters, take note: Do you want to be self-reliant adult, or a nanny-state-reliant child?

 

You would do well to learn how the economy works.

 

I don't think there's a "Government Media Complex." That said, I think the people you're talking about are too quick to see government-run programs as the best solution.

 

Talk about flailing around hoping to accidentally land on something that sounds good.

What are you talking about?

I see you're not trying to explain how "Corporation placed ads - Now I have no money" is a "cause and effect".

 

You're not someone I take seriously.

 

so true, its painfully obvious when someone stretches their income that one mishap can make it all crash down in short order, they know it too, but do it anyway.

 

I've always h!d old cars and honestly I think my vehicles have spent less time in the shop than the newer ones and like 70% less in cost overall, perhaps 80% but I lose some with less fuel efficiency.

this chart is a good example, its reasonably close on the misc, a tad high, but it shows 3700 in depreciation, its impossible for my cars to depreciate that much I rarely pay over 6k and keep them for years.

 

Never bought new but bought a nearly new pontiac grand am back in my 20's and it was a piece of crap, got rid of that and bought a honda accord, 5 years of payments, after I made the last payment I swore i'd never finance another car and I've stuck to that plan for the last 25 years.

spouses car we paid 6K for it back in 2002 and its still poking along but we're eyeballing an upgrade. my current vehicle I had budgeted 7K then stumbled across a nice condo car for $2700, I've had it 3 years now for the cost of a new starter ($140 installed) and some oil changes.

Every month we go w/o upgrading I feel like i'm putting an extra $500 towards retirement, give or take.

I could go out tomorrow and lease two brand new vehicles if we wanted to, but why? Its not like i'm out to impress the ladies.

 

"Think what is going to happen to her heating bill the day Comrade Bernie takes office and issues his Executive Order banning fracking."

The "evil, big oil" corporations will start profiteering?

 

We do the exact same thing. We put almost everything on our CC, pay it off every month and collect the rewards.

 

Gas - yes it cost more be we get double and triple the milage
Maintenance - new cars have very little maintenance compared to older cars that had points and condensers and plugs that only lasted 15K miles, drum brakes BUT when there is maintenance on newer cars it can be expensive
Tires - used to fun bias belted that lasted 15K now I get 40K-60K
Insurance is more how much you self-insure
Depreciation - they cost more so there is more to depreciate but they last longer.

I drive between 38K - 42K a year for work. My current work car is a 2013 Sonata 2.0 Turbo with 200K but Hyundai replaced the engine at 135K. I'll probably put 300K on it.
My 2006 BMW Z4 3.0si is another story.

 

Sorry, flipping Burges or being a deep fry Chef at McDonald's just ain't worth that much.

 

i'm fortunate that we only drive a combined 20K miles on the two cars, so getting 20mpg doesn't impact me much, a 30mpg car would maybe save us about $600 annually on fuel but the upgrade would cost me more. I learned long ago that having a splashy new car only impressed the friends for the first 30 days, as long as I have cold ac and reliability i'm a happy camper (toyota 3.0 6cyl's seem to be bulletproof)

 

That's just your ego protecting you after losing so many debates with me.

 

It is if you own a franchise and need that work done by someone other than yourself

 

Yea Gramps. On a Model T maybe