New cars and the true cost.

I am sure you have all heard of sticker shock in relationship to any given item. I experienced a bit of sticker shock today when I saw the statistic that Americans have over 1 Trillion dollars of car debt. You read that correctly, Trillion with a T. In a society where debt is passed out like candy, think about these two things before you take your next credit plunge: Face the reality of what we need vs what we want and face the truth of what will happen if you by a cheap used car and pay cash.

• To start with you need to face reality and consider the cost of buying things like a new car that will lose 11% of its value the moment you drive it off the lot. Ask yourself WHY, why do I really need a new car. The key word there is need, we have very few things in America that are truly a "need". We need food and water to live, we want a new car and nice things. So I ask again why do you NEED a new car and how much is it really going to cost you? 

• There are few things that depreciate faster than cars yet people continue to spend massive amounts of money on them. Now don't get me wrong, I like having a nice car as much as the next person and there is something to be said about reliable transportation. I have been there I paid $22,000 for my last car and sold it for $7,000 after I paid it off. It was the worst investment I have ever made. I now drive an 8 year old truck that I paid cash for, it is clean and reliable which is all anyone really needs in a vehicle. 

• There is a psychological side to having a nice car. Society has conditioned us that having a nice car is equated with success. Just stop and think about that for a second, you paid 20, 30 or 40 thousand dollars for a car. A car that you could not afford to buy so you financed it for five to seven years. This is a sign of a successful person in America today and one that millions of people buy into.  

Call a car what it is. Plain and simple, a car is a tool and like anything else it is there for a purpose. A car is nothing more than a method of getting us from point A to point B, nothing more nothing less. A car doesn’t better your quality of life, it doesn’t improve your health and it doesn’t make you more successful (no matter what society says). So break the cycle, if you have a car payment throw a little extra every month and pay it off. Drive it till it becomes more expensive to fix than to keep. When it does become more expensive to fix than to get rid of pay cash for your next car. It may not be the nicest car in your friend group but it will likely be one of the few paid for cars amongst you all. 

The biggest problem with money is...

How much do you value money over happiness? 

According to a pew research poll men are more likely than not to put earning over enjoyment when it comes to work. Why is it that men put money over enjoyment of their job? I want to examine a few questions below that I and I am sure some of you have struggled with.

How much is enough money to make me happy? 

• While the answer to this may vary from person to person it is probably along the lines of "enough so I don't have to worry about it". This is an understandable and reasonable response to the question but is it true? If you didn't have to worry about money would you really consider it enough. Maybe, maybe not, people tend to adapt to their circumstances whether they be good or bad. 

• If you had enough money that you didn't have to worry about it and could maintain your current lifestyle would you really be happy? I tend to think not, the fact that you didn't have to worry about money would satisfy until you tired of not working or got tired of your current lifestyle. 

Why we work...

• I believe that people work for a purpose, even if that purpose is not something that satisfies them. You are working because you love or enjoy what you do or you are working for the money. You really cant have it both way though. If you are working because you enjoy what you do then money is a bonus. If you are working for the money then you are not working because you enjoy what you do. Most people that take a job for money over enjoyment (which is most men) are doing it because they value money or something that money can bring more than they value job satisfaction. There is nothing wrong with this, I have had more jobs that I hated and did for the money than I did jobs that I enjoyed. 

Do you want something different

• I am a fan of changing things that I don’t like. I have had numerous different career paths since I was 18 and it took me a while to get it right. I knew I didn’t like a job so i went back to school to get a different specialty. I did this numerous times making progressively more with each job change. What I didn’t get with any of them was more job satisfaction. I had convinced myself that if I could make enough money than my job would be worth it.

•  I can say after 12 years of searching that this is not true. It is not an easy thing to take a job strictly because you love doing it. It may seem like a luxury that you can’t afford but I would challenge that you can’t afford not to. Money can’t buy happiness and when you spend 40 hours a week doing something you deserve to enjoy it.  

The How to 

• For me I had to reach a tipping point where I was going to make a change or likely be stuck where I was forever. There will never be a perfect point at which to do this and it will likely be very uncomfortable. But picture yourself at your job till you are in your 60's, does that really sound like a full life to you? If not then ask yourself one question, if I could do anything and money was not a factor what would I be doing? If you can honestly answer that question then you are likely well on your way to finding a job that you will enjoy going to every day till your in you 60’s and beyond . 

Communication, money and the heartache that both can cause

The two biggest issues that can plague even the best marriages are communication and finances. I will cover three aspects of both that can save you endless trouble.

If you have ever heard of the book "men are from Mars women are from Venus" then you know that while the name sounds wacky there is a lot of truth in it. The fact that Men and women don't operate the same way goes without saying, but guys often wonder what makes women tick? While the answer to that is going to vary, it has been my experience that women thrive on stability. A lack of stability or a perceived lack of stability is going to be an issue in any marriage. 

Common Goal

• As Men it is our duty to be the provider for our families. If asked most men would say that being able to provide for their family is one of the single most important things they can do. That being said the needs of women for stability and the needs for the man to be able to provide are actually much more closely related than they might otherwise appear. This is a point I never understood until I got married and one that took many arguments to truly sink in. 

Communication is key

• I as the leader of my family was in control of the finances. I had things in control a majority of the time but I didn’t always keep my wife in the loop. We had large amounts of debt when we first got married and while we got by every month there were many fight over money. I did not take the time to explain our situation to my wife and involve her in the weekly and monthly budgets. It was not that I was trying to keep things from her I honestly didn’t think she cared and I didn't want to stress her out. My intentions, good as they were, completely backfired on me and left my wife feeling neglected and controlled. 

What is a budget if not a plan for your money? 

• I am a spender by nature and saving does not come easy to me. My idea of budgeting was spend money till it’s gone then go without till I got paid again. It was my responsibility as the leader to manage the budget. Unfortunately this was something that I never bothered to do when I was single so naturally it didn't happen easily when I got married. 

If you are single then start living on a budget now because the longer you wait the harder it will be. If you are married and don’t live on a budget then sit down with your wife and go over the budget together. Create a weekly or bi-weekly budget depending on how often you get paid and keep each other accountable. My wife and I have budget meeting every week to go over how we are doing and see where we stand. I manage the budget but by communicating with her she knows where we stand every week and can take solace in that fact.