What do you do?

[DCShelby]

I always make sure I’m never upside down on a car or bike, if it’s got a loan on it. I got an engineering degree since I knew as a kid they seemed to make good money and I liked science, and it would allow me to buy fun stuff. I was encouraged to get into medicine by doctors when I was an orthopedic orderly a few summers, but I was getting tired of school and a bit lazy. So as an engineer I’m not at the earnings level of a lawyer or doctor....but I’m not burned out or jaded while going to AA meetings like lots of them seem to do at times. They have new GT3RS and other high level toys, but never seem to be able to enjoy them.

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[Tomster]

I always make sure I’m never upside down on a car or bike, if it’s got a loan on it. I got an engineering degree since I knew as a kid they seemed to make good money and I liked science, and it would allow me to buy fun stuff. I was encouraged to get into medicine by doctors when I was an orthopedic orderly a few summers, but I was getting tired of school and a bit lazy. So as an engineer I’m not at the earnings level of a lawyer or doctor....but I’m not burned out or jaded while going to AA meetings like lots of them seem to do at times. They have new GT3RS and other high level toys, but never seem to be able to enjoy them.

You should have been a pilot.

 

[DCShelby]

I tried and took the test to go to the AF via OTS, but it was very competitive back in 1986 and I did not score high enough on the test to be offered a slot. Navy wanted engineers like me for nuclear sub officers, but I’m not into being underwater. They really offered up huge signing bonus and even more after 5 years if you stayed in. They would come to my school and give us all the beer and pizza we wanted.

 

[datadatum]

LOL - Rob, you missed Tom's joke.

 

[matthewr87]

I am in biotech R&D and so is my wife. We have a house and no kids yet (at least not in the next couple of years) so it seemed like the right time to buy. When kids come along it is going to be the equivalent of a Ferrari car payment a month for daycare.

 

[oldbmwfan]

I am in biotech R&D and so is my wife. We have a house and no kids yet (at least not in the next couple of years) so it seemed like the right time to buy. When kids come along it is going to be the equivalent of a Ferrari car payment a month for daycare.

Yep, friends in the DC area who have high demand jobs and a kid spend about $70k/year for childcare support. It's insane. By the way cool career. I have a biophysics research background but left the bench and do consulting work in healthcare now. My wife is also a "reformed scientist," now in patent law. I'm waiting for her to fund my early retirement. ;-)

 

[matthewr87]

Yep, friends in the DC area who have high demand jobs and a kid spend about $70k/year for childcare support. It's insane. By the way cool career. I have a biophysics research background but left the bench and do consulting work in healthcare now. My wife is also a "reformed scientist," now in patent law. I'm waiting for her to fund my early retirement. ;-)

Cool! How did you find the transition?

And yeah, most of my colleagues have kids and even though they send them to the company subsidized daycare on campus, it is still around $2500/month/kid. Insanity!

 

[irmoviper]

Your first thing you need to do is get the wife on board. If your in a city that has car meetups and such, take your wife, get her into the scene and it'll be that much easier to convince her.
If you do get this car, don't worry about others moving it the 2-3 times you may move before you retire, they all are required to carry insurance.
A 3 car garage isn't necessary, if you can park one in the driveway to park this car in the garage. Always be willing to compromise.
I won't beat a dead horse on what others have already said regarding the fiances. However, I can chime in that I started a business while pursuing a college education while working full time at a decent paying job, solely to be able to enjoy the car that I own now and to pay for vacations and such for the family.
Now it's possible that your not able to do a side gig depending on your MOS, but if the wife is on board, between the two of you, you can find a way to make things work.
I wish you the best of luck and remember, don't let life slip by!

 

[oldbmwfan]

Cool! How did you find the transition?

Overall good. It's always good to be aware of your transferable skill set. There are times I miss doing research, but the delayed gratification of that work was always tough for me to deal with. Now I do get to feel like I've made tangible progress on something every day, and that is rewarding. The downside is feeling less differentiated as the barrier to becoming "expert" in anything is lower once you're not in a field that is technically deep.

 

[302@12psi]

Most folks are money dumb so the fact that you are thinking before buying is already a good sign.

To make yourself feel a bit more comfortable if you have any debt besides a house payment pay it off. School loans, credit card balance, medical bills, etc. Then save 6-10 months worth of living expenses and set it aside in a savings. Then start to set aside 10-14% for retirement. Then start to save for a down payment on your Mustang. Taking on any kind of car payment is "money dumb" regardless of what folks on a car forum want to tell you. For most it is a balance between having fun in life and planning down the road.

You are 100% better off putting any car payment into a mutual fund as opposed to handing it over to your bank for a car. You are a 1,000% better off taking a down payment and opening up an account with Vanguard then putting it towards a car. But life is about balance.

 

[Hack]

You are 100% better off putting any car payment into a mutual fund as opposed to handing it over to your bank for a car. You are a 1,000% better off taking a down payment and opening up an account with Vanguard then putting it towards a car. But life is about balance.

Agree with balance. If someone is thinking about buying a brand new car and they haven't been putting money into retirement for many years - how can I say this nicely - it's more financial risk than I would recommend.

The other thing about balance is not cutting yourself short in other areas. Home improvement, kids, vacations, etc.

 

[Nomnom]

The comments about life balance and planning things correctly to allow for comfort and fun will definitely help keep my impulsive side in check and to remain focused on the end goal (but not too focused that I miss out on life experiences). I very much enjoy driving cars and doing anything car related so that is my fun. I was recommended to go out to the tracks where you can drive super cars pretty quickly for a little bit and that might help satisfy the motorsport craving (maybe).

All of this experience and knowledge has been super helpful and I hope it helps anyone else on here that are in my position or contemplating an upgrade, etc. The 15 minutes I had with the GT350 sold me on it, I drove many different mustangs before it and it's a whole different beast. My next car will be a GT350, it's just a matter of when.

 

[CCasey]

The comments about life balance and planning things correctly to allow for comfort and fun will definitely help keep my impulsive side in check and to remain focused on the end goal (but not too focused that I miss out on life experiences). I very much enjoy driving cars and doing anything car related so that is my fun. I was recommended to go out to the tracks where you can drive super cars pretty quickly for a little bit and that might help satisfy the motorsport craving (maybe).

All of this experience and knowledge has been super helpful and I hope it helps anyone else on here that are in my position or contemplating an upgrade, etc. The 15 minutes I had with the GT350 sold me on it, I drove many different mustangs before it and it's a whole different beast. My next car will be a GT350, it's just a matter of when.

Hopefully sooner than later!

 

[Hack]

The comments about life balance and planning things correctly to allow for comfort and fun will definitely help keep my impulsive side in check and to remain focused on the end goal (but not too focused that I miss out on life experiences). I very much enjoy driving cars and doing anything car related so that is my fun. I was recommended to go out to the tracks where you can drive super cars pretty quickly for a little bit and that might help satisfy the motorsport craving (maybe).

All of this experience and knowledge has been super helpful and I hope it helps anyone else on here that are in my position or contemplating an upgrade, etc. The 15 minutes I had with the GT350 sold me on it, I drove many different mustangs before it and it's a whole different beast. My next car will be a GT350, it's just a matter of when.

There will be nice, low miles garage kept GT350s around for many years. The Corvette I just bought is 15 years old and only has 70,000 miles on it. They are still making GT350s.

Plenty of time.

 

[madlag]

No it won’t that is a completely false statement that many people tell themselves - and spread around. The 350 will depreciate by about the cost of a new base GT.

LMFAO

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