Money Matters
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I am looking to buy a new car about mid year once my 2 credit cards really paid. I am or king on doing all my research now, I am focusing my savings money towards a decent down payment for the car. I want a Honda CRV preferably certified with under 40k in mileage. I am going over my budget and I think my cap should be around $400 for a monthly payment. Here is my break down
$1700 take home no overtime
$725 rent
$46 cable
$79 electric (budget plan so this won't change)
$25 water (monthly cost billed quarterly)
$279 car insurance (paid biannual) I know this will change
$230 renters insurance (paid annual)
$200 grocery
$120 gas
Left over goes to savings and wants
7% contribution to 401k
$600 in regular savings
$500 in e fund (putting deposits on hold til I get new car)
I plan on making extra payments with overtime (made about $12k in overtime hours last year)
I think I am just over analyzing everything which is why I won't buy a house until my ducks are in perfectly lined rows (year e fund, 5% down payment, car paid off)
Note about my car ownership this is my 3rd car in 11 years of driving I keep until it is not economically smart to fix it any more which is why I feel like I can invest in a higher priced car. I have had my honda civic for 8 years.
So what do you guys think? Budget is with cards paid off.
Re: New Car
Excuse me if my math is wrong-bad case of Sunday brain.
One thing to add into your calculations is any state taxes that will be added on. They really add up in our state!
From your previous posts, it seems like you're just now getting your financial footing. I think you need to have more savings and stability before getting yourself tied to a car payment that takes up proportionally so much of your income.
I'd recommend you bump your retirement up to 15% and save up significantly more than $1,000 to put down before heading to the dealership.
My employer matches 4% so it technically is 11, but I only put in 7. And to be honest I don't plan on getting a car at 400, I was using that at a ceiling. I used a payment calculator and a 18.3k car with a 1k down payment was a $333 monthly payment.
My concern is that if that number is $1000, even with your OT, then if an emergency of over $1000 came along and wiped out your savings you'd be in "bad" debt again really quickly. That's the last thing you want after working so hard to pay off your CCs.
My mechanic says she is a good little car and her sticker is good through June 2016 so that is my absolute deadline. I will probably want another honda, as I have had this one for 8 years with mostly no big issues minus a year or two of bad luck.
My original 5 year plan had me saving up 5k for a down payment on a car. Just need to change the plan a little.
And the references you've made about your dad make it sound like you have a lot of growing up to do.
We're only trying to help you with our advice. Some of the things you say make it sound like you care more about looking like you have money and impressing others than being in a good place with your finances.
Also, I don't think your budget is really complete. Do you have a cell phone, for example? I don't see that included, nor do I see the expensive gym membership I think it was you I've seen include in past posts. And when you're back in school, will you be working full time and taking a full load of classes?
You can absolutely get to where you want to be, it just takes sacrifices to get there. And now is not the time to buy a bright shiny new car.
My dad doesn't think I can handle repairs on my own. I have been on my own completely since April, prior to that I lived at home or with a s/o. I feel like I can learn how to handle simple repairs. He stated since I am not going to be married and he is not going to be around forever I should buy a condo so I do not have to deal with the repairs. I personally would love a fixer upper.