going to be a tough convo tomorrow when i have to explain to my parents that they are bad because i like cars.

ac04's dad…

14 years with 07 Land cruiser and 8 years with Mazda Mx5 RF. Haven't found anything to trade for that appears to be a net gain.

ac04 said:

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going to be a tough convo tomorrow when i have to explain to my parents that they are bad because i like cars.

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Churning through cars often, and only buying new, is a waste of money. Keeping up with the Joneses and trying to impress others with your possessions is as well.

But as many have noted, people have other hobbies and toys and diversions that are huge wastes of money.

Assuming that you are taking care of your family, saving for retirement, giving to your church or charity, and generally being a good person….no one here truly cares or condemns you for wasting excess money on cars.

It's just TexAgs tradition to state our opinions and ways of doing things as THE way do things, and give you crap if you disagree.

I replace the wife's car about 100-150k. Driving 25-35k/yr

My truck I shoot for 200-300k driving 40-50k/yr or until I'm not confident it will start when I turn the key.

Made a rule 10 years ago I would never sell a car I owed money on so always shoot to pay off in 2-3yrs.

Bonfire97 said:

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Quote:

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I don't replace often. It's a waste of money to me. We buy out of necessity.

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You have good parents.

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Yes, but…..

I had parents that were very well off in the 80's from oil money and then went completely broke during the early 90's followed by my mother getting cancer and dying by the time I was 26.

I watched my dad make 6 figures and my mom make damn good money as a secretary at the same company. New Cadillac, nice stuff, retirement, savings, money to go around. Then my mom quit her job to raise my sister. Then my dad got laid off and never found meaningful work afterward. Then my mom got a crappy low paying job and got cancer because she couldn't afford decent insurance and never got checkups. My dad is still alive but never paid for 6 years of cancer treatments, had to sell half his property, owed the government money, is generally completely broke financially and physically. He is an alcoholic and pushed everyone in the family away.

My desire to be cheap is purely from watching things go from top of the world to destitute over a few decades from bad decisions and a little bad luck. I'm basically fearful of being broke and live by the idea that "we are all one situation away from poverty." So we take our earnings and invest it all.