Tesla Model 3

[jcp123]

If there were an EV which fit into my budget and use, I'd do it just out of curiosity.

They do neither, so yeah, I sorta feel the "rich man's hobby" thing.

[Xist]

You ignored the part where I spend the time cleaning my windshield and back window. So, ten seconds a day would be on top of cleaning my windows every week.

I have USAA, but I do not know anything about financing vehicles, because I never finance anything. Like I said, if I needed to replace my car, I would pay cash.

3% interest may not be much, but unless I am earning more on the same amount, I am still losing money.

I may be able to get a better deal than 8%, but that is $692 in interest, out of a total of $7,812, or 8.9%.

At 3% it is $12 less a month, $528 less in total, and 6.8% less than my original figure.

Would this McDonald's scenario be on top of your full-time job?

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I have USAA for insurance and a local credit union for finance.

I had all my money in Iowa once because I did a nationwide search for the best rewards checking account, and it was West Bank (Iowa). No problem because I do all my banking online, and have my pay direct deposited. I've never even written a check (except in high school in a life skills class).

When the rates were no longer the best, I online bill paid myself and they sent my money via a check that I then deposited into a different credit union. My current credit union can accept paper checks by using a phone to take a photo to deposit. I then just tear up the check.

My favorite credit union simply for the comedy factor is Redneck Bank. Not bad rates either. I've never held an account with them, but I have a friend that does.

https://redneck.bank/

Originally Posted by Xist

You ignored the part where I spend the time cleaning my windshield and back window. So, ten seconds a day would be on top of cleaning my windows every week.

I have USAA, but I do not know anything about financing vehicles, because I never finance anything. Like I said, if I needed to replace my car, I would pay cash.

3% interest may not be much, but unless I am earning more on the same amount, I am still losing money.

I may be able to get a better deal than 8%, but that is $692 in interest, out of a total of $7,812, or 8.9%.

At 3% it is $12 less a month, $528 less in total, and 6.8% less than my original figure.

Would this McDonald's scenario be on top of your full-time job?

That Dave Ramsey mentality is too simplistic. It's a great way to think about money if you've got low discipline, but wealthy people make credit work for them to make more. 3% interest to finance a vehicle is lower than 7% you can make in an index fund. In other words, you make more money paying the 3% interest on a vehicle loan when you factor in the money not spent on the vehicle sitting in an index fund.

Not only that, but you need credit to get a mortgage. Why not finance a car at low rates, invest the money not spent on the car in an IRA, and build credit? I've financed cars before even though I could pay cash. The only reason I paid it off early is that financing a vehicle requires comprehensive and collision coverage, which is much more than liability only. I like to run minimum liability coverage.

Give me any scenario and I can probably save money, including McDonalds as my only full time job. I made $30/mo in prison working 40hr weeks, and I came out with an extra $200. I had to pay for my own shoes, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, radio, toothpaste, postage paid envelopes (lopes), ...

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Xist

3% interest may not be much, but unless I am earning more on the same amount, I am still losing money.

A car that you don't have enough cash to buy outright... is probably more reliable than the tax return-mobiles that my wife and I used to get every year (take the check to the crappy used car lot and see what we'd be driving for the next year).

Going into debt, overall, isn't a good thing. But if you're living paycheck to paycheck, it's almost impossible to buy something bigger than one of your paychecks. I'm pretty thrilled to own my house, which the bank now owns a little less than half of. I'm pretty happy about my car too: it's got 115k and looks a bit ragged, but it's got at least that much more life left in it and it's paid for. I didn't finance it so I could finance something else the moment the payments stopped, I bought it to run a long time, and financing it helped me do it.

[freebeard]

I had all my money in Iowa once because I did a nationwide search for the best rewards checking account, and it was West Bank (Iowa). No problem because I do all my banking online, and have my pay direct deposited. I've never even written a check (except in high school in a life skills class).

The interesting case is North Dakota

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_North_Dakota

Organization
Under state law, the bank is the State of North Dakota doing business as the Bank of North Dakota. The state and its agencies are required to place their funds in the bank, but local governments are not required to do so.

History
The Bank of North Dakota was established by legislative action in 1919 to promote agriculture, commerce and industry in North Dakota. Though initially conceived by populists in the Non-Partisan League, or NPL, as a credit union-style institution to free the farmers of the state from predatory lenders, the bank's functions were largely blocked by out-of-state financial actors refusing to buy the bonds the bank issued to finance its lending, lending that would have provided competition to the commercial banks. The business-backed Independent Voters Association then pursued shutting down the bank politically. The recall of NPL Governor Lynn Frazier effectively ended the initial plan, with BND taking a more conservative central banking role in state finance.

They tried.

[Xist]

I do not think that I have ever heard anything good about Buy Here Pay Here places, although when my sister sold her 2000 Civic, she bought a 1993 Accord from one. She bragged about the great deal she got, but she declared bankruptcy when she still owed a third.

When I was in Page I did a balance transfer to a new USAA card with a 0% introductory rate and I used that card wherever possible while I saved up for a new checking account that would have paid interest, but the job did not work out, and I spent that money on bills.

The nice thing is that they only charge interest on new balances, so I can continue paying down my student loans without paying interest on my credit cards.

I forget what my credit score is. USAA used to tell me each time I logged in, but that is currently off-line. I believe that it was 735.

I was chatting with a woman on-line several months ago. Things seemed to be going well enough. She said something about the brilliant way that she used her credit cards, I asked what she thought of Dave Ramsey, and she went on such a rant that I completely stopped talking to her.

I forget what I have mentioned about him, that his investment advice seems to be completely wrong, and that his snowball method is not ideal. As I recall, I created a thread called "People who do math don't have credit cards."

My math said that I would have fines and fees if I did not use my credit card.

[redpoint5]

... and people that like free money and a good credit score do use credit cards.

Some cards offer 2% cash back on all purchases. I actually paid my wife's tuition with credit cards, which seemed silly that they would accept them, but at $10k every 3 months, I was getting a lot back in rewards and paid off the balance every month, so incurred no interest. To this day, I have never paid any interest on a credit card.

My fallback plan is always a HELOC. If there is a debt that needs to be paid, best to use the equity in my home as the interest rates are the lowest, and also tax deductible.

[RedDevil]

Meanwhile in Norway...

The Model 3 sold 5.315 times in March. That is 1 for every 1,000 Norwegians... At this rate all Norwegian could buy one in their lifetime. Almost 30% of all cars sold this month was a Tesla Model 3. Every single Norwegian monthly EV sales record got broken.
Diesel down from almost 80% 8 years ago to just 10%!!!

Over here in the Netherlands sales were less extreme - the Model 3 was 'only' the best selling car model of the month. Like 'Now you don't see them - now you do'.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I was getting a lot back in rewards and paid off the balance every month, so incurred no interest. To this day, I have never paid any interest on a credit card.

+1

Credit is a tool. If you're going to live beyond your means, it'll help you do that and make sure you keep doing it. If you're going to live within your means, it'll help you do that, too.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by roflwaffle

I'd like for the world to switch from ICEs to EVs overall. Profits are great, but they aren't everything. Amazon's done fairly well with little profit.

Amazon made $10.1 Billion in 2018.

Originally Posted by Xist

II asked what she thought of Dave Ramsey...

Dave Ramsey has some good basic advice for someone looking to dig out of debt. It is a very basic and low risk way to live. However, He isn't the prophet that some make him out to be.

My wife and I used his "Baby Steps" to get out of debt. We started at 25 and it was a very tight 7 years. (I also but my wife through 5 years of school in that time without taking on any new debt). However, the two biggest keys are 1. Making the goal to get your finances in order. 2. Creating a budget so you know where your money is going. Set a goal, make a plan, work the plan.

We never made it to debt free stage because it makes absolutely no sense to pay off our 3.25% mortgage when we have been making many times more than that investing in the index funds. So I still have a mortgage but I also have many multiplies of that mortgage balance in investments accounts. We will pay it off before we retire in a few years but that is simply for peace of mind.

Ramsey and Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Day) are the two poles. One says almost all debt is bad and the other that you should always be leveraged and using other people's money. The best result is likely somewhere in the middle.