Small / economy car deathwatch: we've passed "peak econobox" again

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by JSH

Kiyasaki is basically to yin to Dave Ramsey's yang who says to never borrow money because the debtor is slave to the lender. The reality (at least for me) is somewhere in the middle.

Exactly. This is why I'm not devoted to either strategy. Dave over-leveraged (borrowed too much) and his house of cards crumbled, resulting in his insistence that debt should be avoided whenever possible. Credit card fine print reads the same way; that if you miss a single payment they may call the whole debt, and if you don't pay other creditors may have some clause that causes them to also call the entire debt... a cascading failure. Basically, a bank run on your credit worthiness. Nobody wants to be the last one to get off a sinking ship.

Robert has a podcast even now, and it's somewhat gimmicky, but his overall strategy of minimizing liabilities and maximizing assets is sound.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by JSH

The basics are to know the difference between assets and liabilities and to spend money on assets. Don't buy expensive toys (like a Porsche) but instead invest in an asset - like real estate - that with time will pay for the toys.

Sounds reasonable, although in the end all money either is lost to liabilities or your heirs or the government inherits it.

Basically, it's good to understand the difference between assets and liabilities and to have a priority list of what's most important to an individual. I've been thinking about getting that ice skating rink pass for this season, which is a loss of money, I don't benefit financially from it, but we like ice skating.

Originally Posted by JSH

Kiyasaki is basically to yin to Dave Ramsey's yang who says to never borrow money because the debtor is slave to the lender. The reality (at least for me) is somewhere in the middle.

I must say that I don't like owning money because I know it could go wrong or because it could be an indication that I'm not using my money wisely (spending more than I should). But I will get a mortgage some day as long as it's something I'm pretty sure I can pay off.

[Bicycle Bob]

I think there's more happiness to be found by focussing on minimizing expenses without discomfort than in maximizing assets that need protection. Life is more about how you do it than what your stuff is worth on the market.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Bob

I think there's more happiness to be found by focussing on minimizing expenses without discomfort than in maximizing assets that need protection. Life is more about how you do it than what your stuff is worth on the market.

I read in one report that in a certain country that suffered a major economic recession that after a while studies found that people on average were happier there. The conclussion was that before the recession the majority of parents worked up to 7 days a week and long days. The recession caused there to be less work, so people ended up staying more at home, more time with family. Apparently this was before the smartphone boom.

Back to the future.

With the way things are, we don't know when the used car market will return to normal. Hopefully soon, but it could be years and may never be the same again. After all, industries try to maximize profits, not give out cheap or free products to the masses.

If it does take over 5 years, 10 years, 15 years to go back to normal, what would be a good economy car?

[Piotrsko]

More than 10 years that econo car hadn't been made yet. For what I have seen, prediction about that is statistically meaningless.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

More than 10 years that econo car hadn't been made yet. For what I have seen, prediction about that is statistically meaningless.

You had to ruin it just when I was getting my hopes up that in 10 years I'd be driving that steam powered flying saucer station wagon with spinner rims.

[freebeard]

I was getting my hopes up that in 10 years I'd be driving that steam powered flying saucer station wagon with spinner rims

That I'd like to see. Pure steam has lift equivalent to Helium.

I'd settle for a stainless steel origami hot hatch amphibian.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

I read in one report that in a certain country that suffered a major economic recession that after a while studies found that people on average were happier there.

With the way things are, we don't know when the used car market will return to normal.

What country and what study? Being poorer than before usually isn't positively associated with happiness. Locally, everyone is more depressed than pre-pandemic. I'm still waiting for everything to be as great as it was in 2019, and have had very mild depression ever since.

The used car market will never return to what it was before (inflation doesn't reverse), but we will have a new normal. My guess is used car prices are nearing the new normal price; perhaps in a year. It could take up to 3 years though for lease returns on new cars to supply the used market. So, 1-3 years tops to achieve the new equilibrium, whatever that is.

I'm kicking myself for holding on to so much cash since our policies don't favor savers. I'm 20% poorer in the last 3 years, and the things I considered buying I won't because I'm still fixated on the 2020 pricing of things.

Maybe AI and continued automation will make things very inexpensive and I'll forget about the "good old days".

[freebeard]

What country and what study?

Can't manage what you don't measure:

Gross National Happiness
Gross National Happiness, sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness, is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. Gross National Happiness Index is instituted as the goal of the government of Bhutan in the Constitution of Bhutan, enacted on 18 July 2008. Wikipedia

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

What country and what study? Being poorer than before usually isn't positively associated with happiness. Locally, everyone is more depressed than pre-pandemic. I'm still waiting for everything to be as great as it was in 2019, and have had very mild depression ever since.

I can't remember where. The point of the article was that going from dying of starvation to eating a meal a day greatly improves happiness. Going from eating a meal a day to having three a day and a roof and clothing improves happiness quite a bit. Going from that to having TV, radio, internet, a car, etc. can slightly improve happiness, but it soon tapers off from there. A millionaire isn't going to be millions of times happier than a guy that makes a median wage in the USA.