Quote:
Originally Posted by Alvinmark12
You know how many people own 100k car and live with their parents. Owning a expensive home to me is a sign of wealth not a car. Mortgage payments,Property taxes and up keep you can't be poor.
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The house is probably a better cue than the car, but even then I know plenty of people who are house broke and can’t really afford anything outside of basic living and the mortgage/taxes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Ice
I don’t see how $100,000 allows a younger person to comfortably purchase a $80,000 car if they have a family and normal living expenses. Sure wouldn’t advise my own kid in that direction.
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Agreed - I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t buy an $80k car on $150-175k a year income.
That said I think this is the biggest take away from this thread - there simply is no rule when you look at the massive range in COL and specific wants/desires out of life across all of America.
I’ll also agree with some enthusiasts on this thread that for some a car is a greater priority. It’s the one item I truly waste my income on (mostly because I know how many additional investments I could make going with a Camry vs a nice car).
Because there’s so many variables for me it comes down to - no credit card debt, some type of property for living (personal aversion to rent), and retirement - are you putting towards adequate retirement income into a 401k or other investments. If you do that then the rest is up to personal choice in my opinion - too many Americans don’t plan for retirement though and I don’t get that when you consider how much longer we are living these days and particularly the younger group will continue to live.