How to balance having fun while being smart?

[Smokey1226]

Ok ok ok, i know i have made a few posts about which car option should i go but yet i am still in a pickle. Here is my reasoning...im young (19) but have been taught well from my parents that saving and investing can be very very rewarding and it has allowed them to do things most people cant at their age 42. Now i am a HUGE car buff but am also a big money saver/investor.
I dont know what i should do. I would like to buy a performance car like a c5, c5 z06, cobra, supra, ect. but i would be throwing a lot of money away for the fun i would be having....

Reason being 25K for a car, then another 3k in mods...and i will enjoy that for awhile, then ill want more 2K in mods. After all of that i have a car that is now worth 21k (3k loss on the car itself and ill get nothing for the mods so really im out 5-8k).

vs

If i keep my car that is paid for i wouldnt have the fun i wish i would be having but in the end save me a ton and allow me to do other more important things. Like buy a house sooner, buy investment real estate, ect. ect. ????
I have the rest of my life to buy and mod cars but how do i balance fun/saving?

 

[hydroshutter]

You're off to a great start at a young age. I'm 21, and have realized the joy of delayed gratification like your parents have. Listen to your parents, drive the car that's paid off, and save whatever you can. Save the money you've saved into either 401k, an IRA, or a diversified stock portfolio. Hell, emigrantdirect.com offers 5.05% return every month (I use them) on money you have with their online savings account.

In 2-3 years, with the money you've saved up, you'll be 22 or so, have a nice sized down payment for a house, and you should be near graduation or graduated with at least an AS/AA. (If college is the route you're taking)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[Smokey1226]

You're off to a great start at a young age. I'm 21, and have realized the joy of delayed gratification like your parents have. Listen to your parents, drive the car that's paid off, and save whatever you can. Save the money you've saved into either 401k, an IRA, or a diversified stock portfolio. Hell, emigrantdirect.com offers 5.05% return every month (I use them) on money you have with their online savings account.

In 2-3 years, with the money you've saved up, you'll be 22 or so, have a nice sized down payment for a house, and you should be near graduation or graduated with at least an AS/AA. (If college is the route you're taking)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

actully, i already have a roth IRA, also have a few stocks which are diversified, and im opening an self employed 401k (i sell real estate and also run/manage my parents business).

Its just tough being with friends that have some nice cars and what not but in the end i know they have nothing to show for. Tied up in loans, no money saved, no investments, and loseing money on their vehicles. I dont want to be one of them but i do like to have fun?

 

[RDJ]

Sounds to me that you already have a plan .. and from the view of one who has been there but didn't do that ... I would say man up .. and stick to your plan .. you are spot on ... and while in the near term you will feel you are missing out .. in the long term you will never regret what you have planned now. Stray too far from your plan and you will regret that decision for the rest of your life

 

[DomesticAbuse]

sounds like to me you dont need advice, you should be giving it to your friends

 

[Smokey1226]

sounds like to me you dont need advice, you should be giving it to your friends

i try but it just doesnt work. I sit back and watch them do what some of their parents did when they were younger and now they will be working till they are 60, still dont own their house and are driving POS cars. I dont want to be like that, and thats kinda how i live my life.

 

[mblgjr]

Sounds like you're already off to a fine start.

You really have to prioritize what matters to you most.

Would you be just as happy with a small handful of boltons to the car you have now? Then just keep it a while.

Saving money is sometimes hard to do, but it always feels good to be paid up and not in debt. I'd rather have a house and a nice piece of land to call my own, rather than spending a bunch more money on my car.

Find happiness and have fun with the small things in life.

 

[RDJ]

You're off to a great start at a young age. I'm 21, and have realized the joy of delayed gratification like your parents have. Listen to your parents, drive the car that's paid off, and save whatever you can. Save the money you've saved into either 401k, an IRA, or a diversified stock portfolio. Hell, emigrantdirect.com offers 5.05% return every month (I use them) on money you have with their online savings account.

In 2-3 years, with the money you've saved up, you'll be 22 or so, have a nice sized down payment for a house, and you should be near graduation or graduated with at least an AS/AA. (If college is the route you're taking)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Not to start an arguement here but they don't "offer 5.05% return every month" The correct statement is they offer 5.05% APY that is directly from their website. a 5.05% return every month would amount to over 60% per year return ... and you and I both know that aint happening

I did a web search .. and the other reviews are mixed .. I hope you didn't really mean the return quite the way you said it

 

[hydroshutter]

Not to start an arguement here but they don't "offer 5.05% return every month" The correct statement is they offer 5.05% APY that is directly from their website. a 5.05% return every month would amount to over 60% per year return ... and you and I both know that aint happening

I did a web search .. and the other reviews are mixed .. I hope you didn't really mean the return quite the way you said it

Let me rephrase that, my bad. I get 5.05% APY, but I get 4.93% interest credited to my account monthly depending on my balance. I've been doing this for almost 2 years now and my money is credited on the 1st of every month.

 

[Smokey1226]

are most money market accounts setup with a 2k or 5k minimum in the account?

 

[hydroshutter]

Some are, some aren't. It really depends on the bank/lender you go with.

 

[Adower]

Work hard now and ball later. Yes a nice car would be great right now but ask yourself how does that help with your future? You can never replace wasted time and compound interest!! You can almost always replace a car.

 

[swoosh_stang]

Buy a 3 year old sport bike, it's still cool, fast and you should be able to get it for 5k or less, plus since it's already gone through the bulk of its depreciation, you won't lose as much money on it.

Keep your paid off car as a daily driver.

 

[SteveChris]

no matter what you do get the money you have saved out of site. even if you put it in some cd for 5%, 6 months to a year, get it away. I'm in a situation at work where for a year i get per diem every day, so once a month they give me a tax free lump sum. it's SO hard not to blow it away. i got rid of my apartment in ny so all i have is small cc bills and my car which is a waste i know but i want to keep her. I have a cd maturing soon and the first thing im doing is getting that cd money and the money i save here and locking it up again. you'll be way too tempted to spend it. every week i either pm or get close to pming someone on buying their terminator..but reality sets in. if i lock my cash away i wont be in that situation. learn early on that being able to afford something doesnt mean that you have the money to buy it.

 

[Smokey1226]

^^ Thats exactly why im where i am right now. My Parents helped me get everything started when i was young and then they give me fun run of my money about 3 years ago. Its hard seeing it there knowing i can pay cash for the cars i want to buy but that same cash could go towards a down payment on a house and save me a few hundred dollars a month. Its all about SELF DISIPLINE. So far i have been great with it but im getting to tempted so i think ill ask my dad to take it away from me for good reason.