<div class="bbWrapper">I got to this bit & I was like "man, this dude is <i>really</i> trying to justify getting this new car"<br />
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<blockquote data-attributes="member: 67837" data-quote="kb9nate" data-source="post: 889648"
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1. The car I have now I will likely be paying on for another 2 years at least. Maybe 18 months if I really pay extra on it. (Current payment is about $330 a month). The payment on the car I was going to get today would be about $400 a month. The credit union will let me refinance as often as I want and there is no charge for doing it. So I can put extra money from side hustles toward it and then refinance to get the monthly payment lower. (Not necessarily always refinancing for the same amount of time though. Over time I would shorten it). They also gave me a very good interest rate on it.
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It's <i>only</i> $70 more p/m! And it's a good deal! And <b><u>if </u></b>I do manage to make any extra money in the future, I can make it even cheaper!<br />
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Questions to think about:<br />
How much do you have in emergency savings? (obviously you do not have to answer these on a public forum)<br />
For many months could you cover your necessities with no income?<br />
If $70 p/m more is not significant to you, is $330 p/m less going to make more of an impact? <br />
Or even $400 p/m less (seeing as you could be affording to pay that, why not save that?)<br />
<b><u>If</u></b> you make money at a side hustle, is arranging lower monthly car payments the best use you can think of for that money?<br />
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<blockquote data-attributes="member: 67837" data-quote="kb9nate" data-source="post: 889648"
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2. The warranty on the car I have now ran out last year. So about 2 more years of payments and if something goes wrong then I am footing the bill. The car I almost bought today still has 9 months on the bumper to bumper warranty and 33 months or 49000 miles on the power train warranty. (I really like that safety net).
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<b><u>If</u></b> something goes wrong on my current car, I will have to pay money. Instead, I could <i>guarantee</i> paying more money now & <b><u>if</u></b> certain things go wrong on certain time frames I won't have to worry about paying for them!<br />
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Not berating all instances of this, insurance or guarantees or whatnot can be a smart move. Still, I have questions:<br />
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Oh, you like safety nets? So again, how much do you do have in emergency savings?<br />
Do you have money to pay for when anything goes wrong with your car or would you have to use credit?<br />
If something went wrong on your new car 10 months in & it wasn't the power train, how annoyed would you be? <br />
- "not very" could indicate that this is more an excuse you're making to yourself to help justify the car<br />
- "really, really mad" could indicate that you don't have enough in emergency savings for you to feel unbothered<br />
- other options are available, just trying to help you work out your own mind <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-devious.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":smuggy:" title="Smug Grin :smuggy:" data-shortname=":smuggy:" /> <br />
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On of my main concerns is because of the uncertainty of the economy right now and not knowing what the future will bring (I realize there is always uncertainty though even before these times). But in either case worst case is the bank gets the car back and/or I sell it and buy a cheaper car if I need to. (I do currently have a second vehicle that is in pretty rough shape but it is paid off and primarily my winter vehicle). This just comes down to an ego/pride thing that it would be embarrassing to have to give the vehicle back if a worst case scenario happened.
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Cool cool, you <i>know</i> that slowlane living is always precarious (you only have to be fired by your one job & -bam- all your income disappears) & you've been paying attention to 2020 & know that everything is even more precarious right now, & probably will be for a number of years - who knows how many!?!<br />
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And you want to take out a <i>six-year </i>commitment on a <i>depreciating</i> asset now why?<br />
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I know you want a cooler car. That is not the answer to the question I'm asking. Look again.<br />
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Now correct me if I am wrong but isn't part of the purpose of the fast lane to enable you to live the life you want and get the things you desire? I know the goal is to do it debt free so as to not be a debt slave. But what if the thing you want (in this case the car. I have always been a "car guy" even since a little kid) you can afford to get now at the cost of some interest and if everything works out then you just have it anyways. I was talking it over with my SO tonight and even she is of the opinion that she would rather I buy it now and have it worked into a budget and have a good chunk of it paid off before we potentially get married and have kids. It's something I know for sure I want and is one of my goals anyways.
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You know the slowlane can get you nice things too, right? I mean look at that lawyer or executive or whatever in their fancy house with their sweet-a$$ car, kids in private school, etc. Lots of payments to make - mortgage, car loan/lease, school fees, etc. but they can afford it! I mean sure they have to work a bunch of hours every week, & maybe they even have to ask permission to go on their allotted amount of holiday, but if it all works out <i>(eventually! It is the <u>slow</u>lane after all)</i> then they get to keep everything!<br />
You don't have to choose the fastlane if you don't want to.<br />
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Also - just checking - you do know that you can work stuff into your budget <i>before</i> you buy it, right? <br />
It means you have access to <i>all</i> your capital - for any eventuality - right up to the point where you buy! At which point, you get an <b>even-more-up-to-date & cooler</b> model than the one you would've already gotten bored of!<br />
(might be wrong, just assuming from your comments on your current car & drone hobby)<br />
Could you be paying $400 a month to your current car instead? Could you pay that off sooner? Then you could be socking away $400 a month. How quickly would that rack up?!<br />
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And all these questions so far - ALL THESE QUESTIONS - aren't even taking into account fastlane possibilities. I'd be asking the same damn things to a committed slowlaner friend.<br />
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<blockquote data-attributes="member: 67837" data-quote="kb9nate" data-source="post: 889648"
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I also have the thought of no one knows when their time will be. I have had a few friends or people I went to highschool with that have already died and we aren't even that old! How do you guys find that balance between living life but at the same time not totally ruining your long term future. I am not trying to go full "YOLO" but at the same time it seems to kind of take some of the enjoyment out to just totally be business focused.
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Yes indeedy, no one know when their time will be. But what to do about it?<br />
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Live for the moment (& wake up broke)? Nah, that's sidewalking bs.<br />
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Live only for your long term future (if you get one)? Nah, that's slowlane bs.<br />
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There is balance to be found.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center"><b>It's called the Fastlane.</b>​</div><br />
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I know this sounds like a lot of rationalizing...
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Hell yes.<br />
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...but I am just trying to get some input from those of you that have a better view of the picture. For me the car is one of my hobbies not just a piece of transportation to get me from A to B. I take great joy in it. A few years ago I was big into drones which were also expensive at times.
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Look around this forum. Look at the original book! There's nothing wrong with being passionate about cars & wanting to indulge that. For some people though, the cars in their profile pics are cars they <i>own</i>. Bought outright in cash. They can not only do that, but do it again when they get board. They can buy drones if that's what they're into this year. It's also not the end of the world if something breaks.<br />
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You can sign on the dotted line (easy) & get the car you want (for now)<br />
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Or<br />
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You can succeed at the fastlane (admittedly harder) & get whatever car you want when you want it that no one can take away<br />
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Your choice.<br />
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Ok enough of the long rant. I just wanted to put it out there and appreciate any input.
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Enough of a rant from me too lol. I'm not even get started on how "being able to get a nice thing when you want it" isn't even the biggest prize of fastlane success. If that's all you think it is, then no wonder you think you might not need the fastlane. You're right, you can just take this loan & get that car. I'm guessing you're here though cos you know there's more to it. You're correct. Stick around and stay open to some serious mindset shifting...</div>
