The words written here are true, but imagine if you will, you are living on 80% of your net income for expenses, you are saving 10%, it takes 24 months to set aside 3 months worth of expenses. All goes well, except for that morning ambulance ride and several thousand dollars of deductible and uncovered medical bills. Good thing you had all that money set aside, right? However, your immediately available emergency reserve is now severely depleted, it will take many months of savings to get it back to safe level
So the car loses value? I’m missing the significance. I don’t plan on trading it or selling it, so I don’t know why the value is important to me. I don’t hesitate to take out a loan on one- or two-year-old late model with the remaining factory warranty every eight or nine years. I then drive it until it either dies or the repairs will cost more than the equivalent of three months payments on another one.
You know, the advice in this strip sounds GREAT – until you actually think about it. I had to pay for 2 funerals in one year, and then my late brother’s cat got sick. Thank goodness for credit. I still haven’t been able to build my emergency fund back up yet.
Plus, I bought a year old minivan with a loan back in 1994 – kept it until we were rear-ended by a hit-and-run, twenty years later. What difference does depreciation make?
I’m treating this as “Here’s some generally good advice. Use the parts that work for you.”
For instance, I drive a wheelchair-equipped minivan. Without it, I couldn’t get to my job. So this piece of advice doesn’t work for me, but others might.
I wish I had access to this info back when I was just graduating from college! Keeping to a budget back then would have made things a LOT better for me now!
Brian G Premium Member over 7 years ago
The words written here are true, but imagine if you will, you are living on 80% of your net income for expenses, you are saving 10%, it takes 24 months to set aside 3 months worth of expenses. All goes well, except for that morning ambulance ride and several thousand dollars of deductible and uncovered medical bills. Good thing you had all that money set aside, right? However, your immediately available emergency reserve is now severely depleted, it will take many months of savings to get it back to safe level
Neo Stryder over 7 years ago
Well, that’s about cars, but what about a house?
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 7 years ago
I could never afford a house. Car is too expensive now so I ride buses.
radarhead over 7 years ago
GET IN THE BOX!
Charles Spencer Premium Member over 7 years ago
So the car loses value? I’m missing the significance. I don’t plan on trading it or selling it, so I don’t know why the value is important to me. I don’t hesitate to take out a loan on one- or two-year-old late model with the remaining factory warranty every eight or nine years. I then drive it until it either dies or the repairs will cost more than the equivalent of three months payments on another one.
sew-so over 7 years ago
You know, the advice in this strip sounds GREAT – until you actually think about it. I had to pay for 2 funerals in one year, and then my late brother’s cat got sick. Thank goodness for credit. I still haven’t been able to build my emergency fund back up yet.
Plus, I bought a year old minivan with a loan back in 1994 – kept it until we were rear-ended by a hit-and-run, twenty years later. What difference does depreciation make?
Jayneknox over 7 years ago
I’m treating this as “Here’s some generally good advice. Use the parts that work for you.”
For instance, I drive a wheelchair-equipped minivan. Without it, I couldn’t get to my job. So this piece of advice doesn’t work for me, but others might.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 7 years ago
At least in Houston most buses accommodate wheel chairs.
roberta.forbes.pyle over 6 years ago
I wish I had access to this info back when I was just graduating from college! Keeping to a budget back then would have made things a LOT better for me now!