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Originally Posted by JSH
Dave Ramsey is a financial adviser popular in many evangelical churches. Dave also says to give 10% off the top to your church so if you aren't one to do that you have 10% extra in your budget.
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Yipes! I kind of wondered why it said 10% for giving... Maybe I should find another financial adviser's list. But I do like having a percentage list with several categories. I put money in free banking accounts and prepaid debit cards for specific purposes, all with the inability to overdraft. When one runs out, it runs out.
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Originally Posted by JSH
A month off a year? Generally people are either paid for vacation and holidays or they don't take them.
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In my own opinion I don't see much point in working every day of my life and not stopping to smell the roses once in a while. Which I guess is why I'm so frugal. I'd rather work hard a few months and then take a week or more off and take the family camping or see their grand parents or cousins or something, then repeat. Saving really helps for that.
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Originally Posted by JSH
Which is the core of the problem that we have discussed before. Your area has gentrified and priced you and anyone making a median income out of it. There are places you could own a 1200 sq ft house for 1/2 of that. Look in the rust belt for reasonably priced homes.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7...67224270_zpid/ |
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Originally Posted by JSH
Sounds like a plan. You have a car, it is running well, why change anything - especially in today's horrible car market? Drive the Avalon, save some money for the next car or to replace the battery in another 7-8 years.
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Thanks!
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Originally Posted by JSH
Yes, and it is expected that every adult in the family will work. Not too long ago the children were expected to work as well. I got my first job at 10 and in the 35 years since then I've had at least a part-time job all but 3 years.
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Not everyone has a wife that can work... The boys are already starting to work though.
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Originally Posted by JSH
How is the economy going to change for the better? Unemployment is 3.5% - that is the reason that places like Taco Bell are paying people $18 an hour. Unemployment has only been lower than 3.5% for 1 month since the 60s.
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I was referring to used, 5-year-old car prices being about 10% less than brand new car prices (of course of new cars that also have a waiting list for who knows how long).
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Originally Posted by JSH
Nobody is saying that having a continuous car payment is going to save money. What I'm saying (and redpoint says below) is that there comes a point where it is cheaper to find a new car than to keep dumping money into an old car.
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Sounds good! I've done that before, spending lots on an old clunker. But I think things can be different case by case rather than average blanket statements that sound like cars have some sort of expiration date on them. I think there can be fairly new lemons that could cost an arm and a leg tomorrow, and an occasional old clunker that just won't die with a little TLC. The boys are starting to work. What car should they drive?
The beginning of this conversation began with the question of what would happen if every car were a hybrid. Well, all the older cars would eventually need a fairly expensive battery, or you throw in a cheaper one and sell it asap before that one dies. I think that's what would happen. Definitely not an end-of-the-world scenario, but different than now where you can have a car occasionally get 300K or 400K miles and live +20 years without ever needing a repair over $500.
My first couple of cars were cheap, $250 and then $600, and didn't hardly need any work I couldn't do for cheap. I drove the first car 3 years and the second for 7 years, and both got over 30mpg. My most expensive purchases were tires.
The Avalon's battery is $ 3,098.50 if I drive to Denver for it. (Assuming I install it).
If the Avalon's battery dies the same time the Prius' battery did (similar driving conditions, same battery type, similar mileage), it will happen in about 4 years and 4 months from now at the end of 2026. I have the tools though I could just put a $30 used module in it and either keep playing whack-a-mole with the battery modules or sell it at that point. Saving for whatever seems like the best option then is good advice.