Don't spend too much on 1st car, mine cost me 2 million dollars...

[Leo99]

It's the same argument about people that bought a Dell computer way back when instead of investing that $1500 in Dell stock. My wife wanted a Peloton bike. I bought her a Peloton bike and I also invested in their stock. The stock did very little for 6 months. Then creeped up a little. Then shot up a lot. Made enough on the stock to pay for a bunch of bikes. I don't see the ceiling that Dell or Apple or MS have but who knows.

The people that bought Telsas might wish they invested that money in the stock instead of the car. I remember hearing Amazon radio commercials claiming they're the world's biggest bookstore. Didn't think investing in an online bookstore would be so beneficial. Also, I remember hearing about a guy that paid for a pizza with Bitcoin. Turns out that much Bitcoin would be worth millions dollars today.

May 22, 2018 marks the eight-year anniversary of the first Bitcoin transaction, in which a Florida man paid for two pizzas with the cryptocurrency. The day has become part of folklore, not because of the transaction, but more the price: the man in question paid 10,000 Bitcoins, which today is worth over $80 million, for the two pizzas.

 

[doublebase]

My dad sold his 1970 GTO Judge convertible for $2,500 back in 1974 to buy a dinning room set for our new house.

So, at least you didn’t do that - that car is probably worth over $200,000 dollars now. The dinning room set? He couldn’t give it away for free at a yard sale. Ugh.

 

[y_p_w]

Yes, needing A car is a constant thing for most. I could have gotten a really nice Metro for 2k back then. Or just not modified my 240sx and driven it conservatively and it would have lasted a lot longer.

I also finance all my cars because rates under 2% i am money ahead investing over paying them off.

"Well, i have to have a car." has lead all of us into overspending on a car right? I am 100% guilty of this for 18 years now with no plans to stop.

Well - my first car I probably bought more car than I really needed. It was a 1995 Acura Integra GS-R. I didn't need it more than I needed basic transportation. Some of my coworkers were happy with used Honda Civics. It cost about $19,000 back when I could have gotten a new basic daily driver for about $12,000. But of course I don't regret buying it. It was good transportation for 9 years until it was stolen. Which actually turned out pretty well for me because my insurance company gave me a pretty good settlement once it was recovered stripped and declared a total loss. I got $7,000 out of that, which I didn't consider bad given that it had about 140k miles on the odo and I was thinking of selling it after I bought a WRX. I was bummed for a couple of weeks since I felt violated, but then the money smoothed it over.

 

[y_p_w]

You likely would’ve sold the Apple stock somewhere along the way and never seen it grow to a million dollars. But....I totally understand looking at what was spent on cars in my younger years.

The biggest issue is with many people looking at the absolute peak and absolute dip to think of when it would be the perfect time. I've heard of people investing in the stock market who absolutely couldn't stand to think that they missed out of the peak and then missed out because of a future dip. We don't have crystal balls where we can perfectly see the information. Sometimes it's good enough to cash out in good conscience.

 

[dareo]

My dad sold his 1970 GTO Judge convertible for $2,500 back in 1974 to buy a dinning room set for our new house.

So, at least you didn’t do that - that car is probably worth over $200,000 dollars now. The dinning room set? He couldn’t give it away for free at a yard sale. Ugh.

I sold a 2002 Dodge Cummins 6 speed nearly fully loaded truck with like 50k miles on it for 21,000 in 2010. I wanted to "save money" and eliminate the high payment. I could have put 10 more years on that truck and still got 21k.

I regret selling more cars than i ever regret buying.

 

[Dave Hess]

Even if you invested and had the hypothetical $2M in Apple stock....

Its only money, more important things in life than being a millionaire.

 

[dareo]

Even if you invested and had the hypothetical $2M in Apple stock....

Its only money, more important things in life than being a millionaire.

The more you have the less it means. Jeff Bezos has nearly 200 billion dollars worth of assets, probably not worth his time to pickup a $100 bill in a parking lot. But many out there are struggling hard and a $10 bill means they can feed their family another day.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Says the guy with 8 cars...

Can I get my $$ back?

 

[JeffKeryk]

Even if you invested and had the hypothetical $2M in Apple stock....

Its only money, more important things in life than being a millionaire.

True, but money is a tool; used correctly it can fix a lotta things.

 

[Saabist]

Back in the 80s I had a chance to invest in Microsoft. Decided I couldn't afford it. Kick myself daily over that one.

Back in the 80s I had a chance to work at Microsoft. A friend of mine was on their team of early programmers and he was also a friend of Bill Gates. At the time though I had a great job at a big computer company, so my thought on the matter was why would I want to leave all that to go work for some two-bit outfit making crappy software for toy computers?

Oops. (Needless to say the big computer company no longer exists.)

 

[Snagglefoot]

On the other hand, they might have purchased Exxon Mobil stock in 2014 for $105 per share only to have it drop to $38. I spent most of my money drinking and chasing women..., the rest I wasted.

 

[Wolf359]

Warren Buffet has been known to to say things like Do I really want to spend $300k for this haircut? Basically referring to how a dollar saved now can really compound and be worth a lot more in the future. Although I think it will take a really long time for the price of a haircut to be worth 300k.

Warren Buffett's $300,000 Haircut Reveals a Brutal Truth About Success Few People Are Willing to Admit

How the combination of return and time should influence many of the decisions you make.

www.inc.com

 

[Cujet]

Looking back objectively, as a young man just out of High School, I did not have any extra money to invest, furthermore, transportation costs are what they are. I rode cheap motorcycles for years because I could not afford a car or the associated insurance. The idea that one can avoid the normal and customary expenses of life, simply to invest is not valid. I earned $2.33 per hour at my first job, $4/hr at my next. There were no extra dollars, ever.

I invested immediately when I earned enough to invest. Despite the fact that 30+ years have now gone by since my first investments, when adjusted for inflation, I never made any significant money investing. I made significant money working.

Quote RAH:

“$100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at which time it will be worth absolutely nothing.”
or

"$100 placed at 7% interest compounded quarterly for 200 years will increase to more than $100,000,000--by which time it will be worth nothing."

I find the idea that one’s total investments will grow at far beyond the rate of inflation to be absurd. A $27K home purchased in 1974 is now worth nearly 200K, almost exactly the rate of CPI inflation.

 

[4WD]

My dad sold his 1970 GTO Judge convertible for $2,500 back in 1974 to buy a dinning room set for our new house.

So, at least you didn’t do that - that car is probably worth over $200,000 dollars now. The dinning room set? He couldn’t give it away for free at a yard sale. Ugh.

BiL lost a first year Chrysler 300 in a poker game ... think they only made limited units ... big $ now
Really a stunning car for that era

 

[doublebase]

Warren Buffet has been known to to say things like Do I really want to spend $300k for this haircut? Basically referring to how a dollar saved now can really compound and be worth a lot more in the future. Although I think it will take a really long time for the price of a haircut to be worth 300k.

Warren Buffett's $300,000 Haircut Reveals a Brutal Truth About Success Few People Are Willing to Admit

How the combination of return and time should influence many of the decisions you make.

www.inc.com

Then again a guy like Buffett will take that cost of a haircut and get himself a return of 20% every year for the next 50 years...we won't.

 

[R18Civic]

Depends on how much you like the car. My Lacrosse is only worth about 2k but has 1.5k in bolt ons in it. It's my baby.

 

[dareo]

“$100 invested at 7% interest for 100 years will become $100,000, at which time it will be worth absolutely nothing.”
or

"$100 placed at 7% interest compounded quarterly for 200 years will increase to more than $100,000,000--by which time it will be worth nothing."

I find the idea that one’s total investments will grow at far beyond the rate of inflation to be absurd. A $27K home purchased in 1974 is now worth nearly 200K, almost exactly the rate of CPI inflation.

Real Estate historically has trended along the lines of inflation yes. There will be peaks and valleys that outperform but for the most part real estate is stable in long term inflation adjusted value. I bought in 2008, 2010, 2019 and all those bets destroyed inflation but they were well timed and in Utah where the economy is on steroids.

You have to risk money in the stock market to try to beat inflation. Historical returns of the stock market are near 10% over many decades. Will it continue? I am bearish that we will see forward looking 10% gains but perhaps 7-8% will take place.

The only thing i know for sure, is people who do not invest something will be left with less in the future.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

"Never invest in anything you have to paint or feed."

So, don't buy any makeup for the mistress. Especially since she gets fed twice. Got it, thanks!

 

[JeffKeryk]

Wow, this thread is all over the map.
Investing is the only way I know of to keep up with inflation.
Do you think you are gonna work forever?
Like Cujet, I drove cheap vehicles; used Hondas and Toyota pickups.
Now I can drive any car I want.
I will say that living and working in Silicon Valley has been very rewarding. Unlimited opportunity.
I did not choose to move here; my father did.

Good luck to all.

 

[doitmyself]

Wow, this thread is all over the map.

It's our weekly financial prowless thread. Very predictable.

There will be a number of chest beaters letting everyone know how they retired at 50 and amassed a fortune through rental properties, wise investment strategy, etc..

There will be a fair number espousing the Dave Ramsey generalities of basically spending less than you make combined with proper rainy day saving.

A good number will emphasize that accumulating wealth is the most important aspect of life.

There will be a minority that chime in and say that money isn't everything. It doesn't guarantee happiness. Many die the day after retirement. Enjoy life.

My answer is always attempt to strike a balance, and that is really dependent on your personal situation, depending on your share of bad life experiences (bad divorce, health issues, bad luck, did I say health issues?).

Next week's repeating thread will start, t-minus 7 days, LOL.