10 Reasons You're still broke

[Iowajes]

$600 isn't even a set of tires these days. I think I have been heavily influenced by working for companies that are cheap, and run fleets of cars. The key is the lowest cost per mile, and the fleet managers don't even blink at spending money to replace a transmission or engine. Collision damage exceeding the value of the cars is just about the only thing that they won't spend money on.

The other thing I look at is how much the tax, and depreciation will be on a replacement car. A typical car today sells for at least $25,000, so that is $2,000 in tax and about $8,000 in value that vaporizes the minute I drive it off the lot. Never replaced an engine yet, but $2,000 for a new transmission that will go another 100,000 miles is alot less than $10,000

Yep, and I'm not going to replace my tires, battery, or engine on this car.
But I did just get new brakes.

I'm not a fleet manager. This is my personal car, and quite honestly- I'd like a fancy new one with heated seats and a USB port. But I'm too frugal to replace what is right now a perfectly okay car (which is one of the reasons I'm not broke. I don't buy new expensive things just because I 'want' them).

It took me 13 years to get 120,000 miles, so I am really not concerned with being able to extend it another 100,000.

 

[mirage0306]

Vacations. That is where we spend our money. 3 planned in the next 7 months. Trip to the beach, Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg and then Disney in January. That's worth driving the 10 year old car to me

Yup, us too. I drive a 2003 forester with almost 140K on it. DH drives a 2002 outback with about 110K. Hope to drive them into the ground.

We've had yearly Disney trips since 2011 and hope to do Hawaii next year.

 

[ilovemk76]

No way to tell for sure on safety. Everything since 1974 has side impact panels. Air bags are good. But it's a Suburban, almost anything is going to bounce off it. I am NOT a fan of crumple zones. Just covered too many crashes where folks in cars that were big enough to protect them, but they had passenger compartment intrusion due to cumple zones.

Keep telling yourself that and pray you never find out.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe you should read up on what a crumple zone is designed to do.

 

[SEA333]

Hrm. Well, it's probably a good thing we rearface the kiddos to the max and harness to the max as well. Means their heads are furthest away from the front and rear points of impact.

I hear you!

 

[tvguy]

I bought mine in 2007 when it was already 10 years old for 3 grand. Does that help vs. an older car bought new?

Supposedly there are 2 ways to get the most transportation for your money.

1) Buy new and keep forever.
2) Buy a 2 year old car and keep it 2 years.

 

[tvguy]

Keep telling yourself that and pray you never find out.

You have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe you should read up on what a crumple zone is designed to do.

Crumple zone is pretty straight forward. The front and rear of the car are designed to give, in an effort to absorb impact energy rather than transfer it to the passengers inside and to prevent the other car from having is transfered to it.

Ridged design deflected energy from the impact, but in doing so could transfer more of the impact energy to the occupants. But given the weight advantage of large SUV has, the other car would almost bounce off.

 

[Colleen27]

My list looks a lot like Eliza's - kids, kids, kids and did I mention the kids? I genuinely wouldn't change a thing, though. We're debt free so if we're broke because we're busy paying tuition and sports/activity fees, traveling to places we want the kids to experience, and feeding the herd of teens that seems to have taken up residence in the living room, I can roll with that.

As usual with these slide shows I thought there were some good points, some "duh" moments, and some that were a little more dubious. The couch potato one really struck me as "chicken or the egg" because if you have financial problems TV is one of the cheapest ways to relax and wind down. There were two times in our married life when DH & I were watching a lot of television - when we were too broke to do much else and when we had very young children keeping us at home (or requiring a sitter for us to go out).

 

[ellochka]

Supposedly there are 2 ways to get the most transportation for your money.

1) Buy new and keep forever.
2) Buy a 2 year old car and keep it 2 years.

Buying and selling are two independent transactions. When you sell, it does not matter what you bought it for because those are sunk costs. The same with buying - it does not matter when and how you are going to sell as long as you get a market value out of it.

So, either buying new or buying 2 year old card is more effective. By the same token, either selling at 4 years or keeping forever is more effective.

We buy 2-3 year old car and keep it forever.

 

[BSmithington]

This one hit me hard as I have recently seen the truth of this. I've been previously focused on trying to have a good retirement etc even though I'm only 39. Balancing needs of today with a lot of planning for the future. Now my opinion on this has totally changed. Not two weeks ago we had the funeral for my Sister-in-law, she died of cancer, she was 43. Diagnosed at stage 4 when she turned 40, fought for 3 hard long years. We were really close, and my husband and her were best friends. So to say it has been hard is an understatement.

So now I believe, be responsible, still plan for the future, but don't focus on it being everything. Enjoy now, plan for something soon to enjoy. It might be all you get. We are saving for our next trip to Disney, and yes there are things we should probably put before that. We have a 97 Buick that we will replace when it has a problem that is too expensive to fix for what the car's worth. But Disney is our happy place, we enjoy it too much truthfully. But we are blessed to have been able to go the times we have, and I don't want to die regretting not doing more of what we loved because we were waiting for the tomorrow that never came.

My wife and I lost both parents when they were in their early 50's. It really does wake you up. I don't advocate spending every dime, but you have to at least live life to the fullest. My great uncle never left the state of NJ. Never went out to eat, never bought a new car, never ever spent $. When he died his son then took that $ and went to Europe and bought a new car. Seems like a waste.

 

[tvguy]

Yep, and I'm not going to replace my tires, battery, or engine on this car.
But I did just get new brakes.

I'm not a fleet manager. This is my personal car, and quite honestly- I'd like a fancy new one with heated seats and a USB port. But I'm too frugal to replace what is right now a perfectly okay car (which is one of the reasons I'm not broke. I don't buy new expensive things just because I 'want' them).

It took me 13 years to get 120,000 miles, so I am really not concerned with being able to extend it another 100,000.

No, I admit I am cheap. But I have been looking to replace the old rig, been shopping around the past year, but there just aren't any vehicles I want out there. I just can't see laying out around $34,000 for a decent used Suburban, or $59,000 to $67,000 for a new one.

 

[tvguy]

Buying and selling are two independent transactions. When you sell, it does not matter what you bought it for because those are sunk costs. The same with buying - it does not matter when and how you are going to sell as long as you get a market value out of it.

So, either buying new or buying 2 year old card is more effective. By the same token, either selling at 4 years or keeping forever is more effective.

We buy 2-3 year old car and keep it forever.

that works

 

[Colleen27]

We will never own a 27 year old car or beater. Why? Safety. New cars have great safety built in. Crumple zones, front air bags, curtain airbags, side impact panels

I know a person who bragged about his old car that he kept fixing. He had an accident that put him into a coma. The other driver walked away because he had a new and safe car. He now says he wished he had bought that new(er) car he could afford.

But most of those safety features have been around long enough that even something that would be considered a "beater" today has them. Mine does - I drive an '05 Venture with no shortage of modern safety features and will keep it until it isn't worth repairing. 27 years is more than you can expect out of most cars but with average driving habits and good maintenance you can easily get 15+ out of a vehicle.

 

[Goldilocks07]

Love this!!! hahaha My top 10: 10.) Sky-high cost of living in our area 9.) Kids activities 8.) Kids extra costs for above activities 7.) High gas and food prices in our area 6.) Kids "NEED" to have what their friends have 5.) DH needs to have the newest phone and $200 worth of cable every month 4.) Wage freezes (we are lucky just to have the jobs we have after relocating from Michigan in 2010) 3.) Kids school costs 2.) Health care 1.) Kids use up just about every available last lovin' dollar I have. Every.Single.Week.

You must live in either New York City, Long Island, or maybe New Jersey. Lol

Me too. Downtown Wall Street here. Cost of living plus all the extras will make your head spin!

 

[ilovemk76]

But most of those safety features have been around long enough that even something that would be considered a "beater" today has them. Mine does - I drive an '05 Venture with no shortage of modern safety features and will keep it until it isn't worth repairing. 27 years is more than you can expect out of most cars but with average driving habits and good maintenance you can easily get 15+ out of a vehicle.

You are talking an 05. He is talking an 87. Huge difference. I really like the curtain airbags hat new cars have.


He thinks all other cars are going to bounce off his vehicle an that makes it safe. This is just laughable except when a family member is really hurt and the car that bounced off's occupants walk away.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

For me it's kids kids kids and kids.

Add in a divorce.

My XH losing his job and his current job being about 40% of what he used to make...or less. Current legal battle over said job.

My CS being cut back because of said job loss and him not being to pick up a lot of the extras he used to means I cover most of their expenses. I know the situation and I'm not taking him to court or being a total witch. I'm just waiting to see. So that means no arrears. I just don't believe in kicking someone while they are down. I know once he's back on his feet he will do everything he used to.

Living in a HCOL area so my kids get a great education.

But I have more than most people. I'm thankful for all that we have.

 

[3CW]

That's my mantra too! I just bought a 2008 Altima to replace my 96 Mustang that needed a new transmission (over $3k). I tend to keep my cars for as long as possible but if it costs more to fix than the car is actually worth it's time to look for another one.

I don't care about the car's market value, but I do look at how often it needs repairs and how much those are costing me. If my average monthly upkeep cost is starting to creep toward a certain threshold (X% of what a monthly payment on a new one would be), that's when I start looking for another one.

My only exception is powertrain issues - those are an immediate "time to start shopping". I've seen too many improperly repaired or replaced engines and transmissions in my time and I just refuse to deal with another.

 

[tvguy]

I don't care about the car's market value, but I do look at how often it needs repairs and how much those are costing me. If my average monthly upkeep cost is starting to creep toward a certain threshold (X% of what a monthly payment on a new one would be), that's when I start looking for another one.

My only exception is powertrain issues - those are an immediate "time to start shopping". I've seen too many improperly repaired or replaced engines and transmissions in my time and I just refuse to deal with another.

I haven't ever replaced an engine, and I doubt I would do that. But I change the oil every 3,000 miles and keep the coolant topped off. I have had transmissions rebuilt. Did the one in my Suburban in 2000. I got a really poorly assembled transmission from the factory...parts discovered to be put in backwards on teardown.and it gave up the ghost after only 13 years. Had a top flight guy rebuilt it and put a shift kit in, going strong after 14 years.

I just plan on about $1,000 in repairs a year on the Suburban, that's about 2 months car payment these days.

 

[tvguy]

You are talking an 05. He is talking an 87. Huge difference. I really like the curtain airbags hat new cars have.


He thinks all other cars are going to bounce off his vehicle an that makes it safe. This is just laughable except when a family member is really hurt and the car that bounced off's occupants walk away.

I agree airbags are a smart move, although there are people I work with that are terrified of airbags. We have 3 cars at work in our fleet with front, side and overhead airbags and some folks refuse to drive them. They just don't like the idea of stuff exploding inside the car around them. Odds are in your favor that they will help, not hurt you.

 

[PlutoPony]

My parents grew up in the depression. The lifestyle their families lived in order to get through that time stayed with them all their lives. I don't remember a time when my mother didn't reuse everything that she could - and then some - and could pinch a penny until it squeaked lol. I did grow up with the things I needed and graduated from college with no debt thanks to them. We lived in a small modest home, paid cash for cars, and stashed away an amazing amount of $ with little income coming in - to this day I don't know how they did it! The Depression made a huge impression on their lives that never left them.

Flash forward to their later years. I'm an only child and the ONE thing they always emphasized was that they didn't want to be a financial burden to me in their old age. I cannot tell you how important it was to them, it was more than a matter of pride. My husband grew up in a home with similar financial thinking, and we have always been in a position to help my parents if needed (they never did). My father died years ago and my mother got to the point where she needed to live in a specialized assisted living facility.... at 91 she has dementia and is blind but still with a quality of life. The type of place she needs - and that I could put her in without losing sleep every night is not cheap at.all. as you would expect. Had my parents NOT saved for their "old age" I honestly don't know what we'd be doing now.

So I guess my long winded message is to please please please for the sake of your children do be concerned about tomorrow. Find a way to have a good quality of life today but please don't make it at the expense of tomorrow.

Your children will thank you. I know I am very fortunate that my parents made the choices they did.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I agree airbags are a smart move, although there are people I work with that are terrified of airbags. We have 3 cars at work in our fleet with front, side and overhead airbags and some folks refuse to drive them. They just don't like the idea of stuff exploding inside the car around them. Odds are in your favor that they will help, not hurt you.

I was nearly blinded in one eye by a 1st gen airbag blasting my cornea. Apparently, 99% of people close their eyes just prior to impact & I was the 1%er who didn't.