Northern MI Cucklyfe: Floating Garage Edition

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Well SHE wants the Ram. So if that happens, it's hers...which is fine because I don't want to drive a big vehicle.

A side by side would be epic, but nowhere to drive it regularly. I'd have a thing that takes up a car's worth of space in the garage that's driven maybe 5% of the time.

A Sport JL 2-door with no options is basically a street-legal side by side. I've considered that as my commuter/ option.

I mean that sounds good, no? Ram lease for her, she's happy. You have a pickup bed for house stuff. Leaves it open to get whatever you want for yourself in that case.

The ZR2 has to go back anyway. Nobody seems to care about the Volt now that the koolaid flavor has changed. So no sense in keeping it around.

It's probably the ideal scenario.

But there's a side of me getting in the way a bit. The Volt is "free" and worthless, so keeping that thing around prevents lighting money on fire for another transaction.

The ZR2 is $32k to buy out, which is probably the cheapest way into a vehicle like that...and I really really enjoy the thing. Buying out the ZR2 and calling it quits would work the best financially, but neither of us care for the Volt, so it all goes to hell.

At least the cheapest 10k/year Ram lease would be fine since she doesn't drive.

[dubshow]

She works too right? If its her car and she's over it, tell her to go get something else. Lisa bought her car. I provided a bit of input but she picked it out and financed it and all.

That's how I ended the conversation last night. You want something else, go get it. Thing is, she'll need my help because she'll just go somewhere and pay MSRP for something ZFG.

mine did this on the fukus before we were officially together.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

That's how I ended the conversation last night. You want something else, go get it. Thing is, she'll need my help because she'll just go somewhere and pay MSRP for something ZFG.

I mean. I'd make her go get it. Loan or financing or whatever and all. Buying a car is a monumental pain in the ass but she's a grown ass woman. Give her a target % off or lease payment to shoot for and see if she comes back with something.

I should...but I know at the end I'll end up doing it all.

[troyguitar]

Didn't you spend like $25k on the Volt?

[Johnny_P]

I mean that sounds good, no? Ram lease for her, she's happy. You have a pickup bed for house stuff. Leaves it open to get whatever you want for yourself in that case.

The ZR2 has to go back anyway. Nobody seems to care about the Volt now that the koolaid flavor has changed. So no sense in keeping it around.

It's probably the ideal scenario.

But there's a side of me getting in the way a bit. The Volt is "free" and worthless, so keeping that thing around prevents lighting money on fire for another transaction.

The ZR2 is $32k to buy out, which is probably the cheapest way into a vehicle like that...and I really really enjoy the thing. Buying out the ZR2 and calling it quits would work the best financially, but neither of us care for the Volt, so it all goes to hell.

At least the cheapest 10k/year Ram lease would be fine since she doesn't drive.

Alright. Volt's gone. Nobody cares about it and you have no mfr obligation to keep that badge around. Gone. Adios. You guys make enough to float a different vehicle and V6 trucks are given away for chump change you know this.

ZR2, well it's a logical thing to keep it but if you want the Jeep, again, it won't ruin you to get it. You have no kids and never will, that monstrous money suck is not a thing. You're like you can afford to just go get whatever the hell you want to.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Didn't you spend like $25k on the Volt?

$21k after the tax rebate.

It might be worth $15k private party, $11k trade. If I'm lucky.

[Johnny_P]

I mean. I'd make her go get it. Loan or financing or whatever and all. Buying a car is a monumental pain in the ass but she's a grown ass woman. Give her a target % off or lease payment to shoot for and see if she comes back with something.

I should...but I know at the end I'll end up doing it all.

If she buys it she's got skin in the game. It's hers, it's not something that was gifted to her. And if she wants out its her doing all the work to get out of it.

[Johnny_P]

Didn't you spend like $25k on the Volt?

$21k after the tax rebate.

It might be worth $15k private party, $11k trade. If I'm lucky.

How old is it? 3 years? Honestly thats not bad, considering it cost you nothing to fuel it over those years.

[dubshow]

the level of in this

its really

[ChrisoftheNorth]

It's probably the ideal scenario.

But there's a side of me getting in the way a bit. The Volt is "free" and worthless, so keeping that thing around prevents lighting money on fire for another transaction.

The ZR2 is $32k to buy out, which is probably the cheapest way into a vehicle like that...and I really really enjoy the thing. Buying out the ZR2 and calling it quits would work the best financially, but neither of us care for the Volt, so it all goes to hell.

At least the cheapest 10k/year Ram lease would be fine since she doesn't drive.

Alright. Volt's gone. Nobody cares about it and you have no mfr obligation to keep that badge around. Gone. Adios. You guys make enough to float a different vehicle and V6 trucks are given away for chump change you know this.

ZR2, well it's a logical thing to keep it but if you want the Jeep, again, it won't ruin you to get it. You have no kids and never will, that monstrous money suck is not a thing. You're like you can afford to just go get whatever the hell you want to.

OK, now you're getting into the existential dilemma I hinted at earlier.

I'm really struggling with the thought of corp life for the next 30 years. If we keep our spending down and funnel gobs of money to the mortgage, we could have the house paid off by the time we're 40. That would be a $500k+ asset owned outright. Only bills would be taxes, insurance, and utilities, maybe $1k/mo. Since we're not reproducing, massive future cashflow is less necessary, so we have a real shot at some sort of simplified life or almost retirement at an "early" age. Since what I do is highly specialized in a dying industry, having a quick way out backup plan is appealing.

With a mortgage this fresh, even $20k toward it makes a huge difference in interest overall. Never mind $40k+ in car bs. Is it worth it? That I'm struggling to answer.

I'm caring less and less about cars. Not doom and gloom shit, just shifting priorities. I just want to camp, ride my bike, and be outside.

[troyguitar]

Do you have a high interest mortgage or something? Why throw money at that vs getting an easy 10% return with at the helm of your investment plan?

[ChrisoftheNorth]

$21k after the tax rebate.

It might be worth $15k private party, $11k trade. If I'm lucky.

How old is it? 3 years? Honestly thats not bad, considering it cost you nothing to fuel it over those years.

Yep, 3 years. Spent next to nothing on fuel (easily under $1k), $25 on maintenance (one oil change), $400 on winter tires and another $200 on replacement tires that got blown out. It's been a great car that needs very little to keep going, it just doesn't do anything for either of us anymore.

Still, $10k in depreciation is $277/mo. Which I guess isn't horrible overall.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Do you have a high interest mortgage or something? Why throw money at that vs getting an easy 10% return with at the helm of your investment plan?

4.75% , we got our mortgage when we the interest rates ticked up a bit last year.

And I have luck with finances. There's no such thing as an "easy 10% return" for me. Ally pays 2.2% in my savings account, and that's good enough for me. The house will always be worth more than we paid because we bought the right house, so treating that as my main investment is more appealing.

It's really more about planning an exit strategy to not be a fucking hamster on the corporate wheel forever...or worse an unemployed 50 year old corporate shill with outdated skills in an industry nobody cares about anymore.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

I should...but I know at the end I'll end up doing it all.

If she buys it she's got skin in the game. It's hers, it's not something that was gifted to her. And if she wants out its her doing all the work to get out of it.

Ohhhh she paid for the Volt. She felt the pain of the money coming out as much as I did. It's just amazing how quickly she forgets/doesn't care.

[Desertbreh]

Do you have a high interest mortgage or something? Why throw money at that vs getting an easy 10% return with at the helm of your investment plan?

4.75% , we got our mortgage when we the interest rates ticked up a bit last year.

And I have luck with finances. There's no such thing as an "easy 10% return" for me. Ally pays 2.2% in my savings account, and that's good enough for me. The house will always be worth more than we paid because we bought the right house, so treating that as my main investment is more appealing.

It's really more about planning an exit strategy to not be a fucking hamster on the corporate wheel forever...or worse an unemployed 50 year old corporate shill with outdated skills in an industry nobody cares about anymore.

If you pay off your house you can fight off the zombie hordes while managing a McDoe. Baseline security.

[troyguitar]

Do you have a high interest mortgage or something? Why throw money at that vs getting an easy 10% return with at the helm of your investment plan?

4.75% , we got our mortgage when we the interest rates ticked up a bit last year.

And I have luck with finances. There's no such thing as an "easy 10% return" for me. Ally pays 2.2% in my savings account, and that's good enough for me. The house will always be worth more than we paid because we bought the right house, so treating that as my main investment is more appealing.

It's really more about planning an exit strategy to not be a fucking hamster on the corporate wheel forever...or worse an unemployed 50 year old corporate shill with outdated skills in an industry nobody cares about anymore.

I thought I was the only one with shit returns.

That's pretty much what we're doing, but with half the income and 1/4 the assets you have - so maybe we'll get there by age 60 if we don't buy $20k+ cars.

[Johnny_P]

How old is it? 3 years? Honestly thats not bad, considering it cost you nothing to fuel it over those years.

Yep, 3 years. Spent next to nothing on fuel (easily under $1k), $25 on maintenance (one oil change), $400 on winter tires and another $200 on replacement tires that got blown out. It's been a great car that needs very little to keep going, it just doesn't do anything for either of us anymore.

Still, $10k in depreciation is $277/mo. Which I guess isn't horrible overall.

That's roughly what my car is at, depreciation wise.

[Johnny_P]

Do you have a high interest mortgage or something? Why throw money at that vs getting an easy 10% return with at the helm of your investment plan?

4.75% , we got our mortgage when we the interest rates ticked up a bit last year.

And I have luck with finances. There's no such thing as an "easy 10% return" for me. Ally pays 2.2% in my savings account, and that's good enough for me. The house will always be worth more than we paid because we bought the right house, so treating that as my main investment is more appealing.

It's really more about planning an exit strategy to not be a fucking hamster on the corporate wheel forever...or worse an unemployed 50 year old corporate shill with outdated skills in an industry nobody cares about anymore.

So the question then is buy the ZR2 at $32k or whatever, or spend a tad more on a JL?
I fail to see how monstrous of a financial dilemma this is.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

4.75% , we got our mortgage when we the interest rates ticked up a bit last year.

And I have luck with finances. There's no such thing as an "easy 10% return" for me. Ally pays 2.2% in my savings account, and that's good enough for me. The house will always be worth more than we paid because we bought the right house, so treating that as my main investment is more appealing.

It's really more about planning an exit strategy to not be a fucking hamster on the corporate wheel forever...or worse an unemployed 50 year old corporate shill with outdated skills in an industry nobody cares about anymore.

If you pay off your house you can fight off the zombie hordes while managing a McDoe. Baseline security.

Exactly.

And we're not talking starter home "good enough for now" house, we're talking the house we've always wanted and could easily stay in for decades. Moving paying it off as the main priority is growing in appeal.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Ohhhh she paid for the Volt. She felt the pain of the money coming out as much as I did. It's just amazing how quickly she forgets/doesn't care.

So let her pay for the next vehicle that's significantly more expensive.

She just wants a cheap truck lease as close to 1SMP as possible because the "payment is cheap". I guess I can just let her go that route.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

4.75% , we got our mortgage when we the interest rates ticked up a bit last year.

And I have luck with finances. There's no such thing as an "easy 10% return" for me. Ally pays 2.2% in my savings account, and that's good enough for me. The house will always be worth more than we paid because we bought the right house, so treating that as my main investment is more appealing.

It's really more about planning an exit strategy to not be a fucking hamster on the corporate wheel forever...or worse an unemployed 50 year old corporate shill with outdated skills in an industry nobody cares about anymore.

So the question then is buy the ZR2 at $32k or whatever, or spend a tad more on a JL?
I fail to see how monstrous of a financial dilemma this is.

If only it was a "tad more" for a JL.

If I went comparably equipped JL to ZR2...that's a $50k JL. Might be able to snag it for $45k OTD, so that's $13k lit on fire that could have gone to the house aka freedumbs.

I could get a Sport S JL, which with my "must have" features is ~$40k OTD, so $8k lit on fire. I doubt I'd leave a Sport S alone, so there's more lit on fire after that.

Or just buy a $20k JK or some sort and put the rest toward freedumbs.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

She just wants a cheap truck lease as close to 1SMP as possible because the "payment is cheap". I guess I can just let her go that route.

Does 1SMP even exist anymore?

No idea. Probably could get close with employee pricing on a 10k/year lease on a V6 Ram at the right time. I haven't even shopped around. Probably should, just don't want to.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Maybe I'll just got full-blast with a new street legal side by side...

https://www.northolmstedcjdr.com/new-No ... G9JW289006

[max225]

Alright. Volt's gone. Nobody cares about it and you have no mfr obligation to keep that badge around. Gone. Adios. You guys make enough to float a different vehicle and V6 trucks are given away for chump change you know this.

ZR2, well it's a logical thing to keep it but if you want the Jeep, again, it won't ruin you to get it. You have no kids and never will, that monstrous money suck is not a thing. You're like you can afford to just go get whatever the hell you want to.

OK, now you're getting into the existential dilemma I hinted at earlier.

I'm really struggling with the thought of corp life for the next 30 years. If we keep our spending down and funnel gobs of money to the mortgage, we could have the house paid off by the time we're 40. That would be a $500k+ asset owned outright. Only bills would be taxes, insurance, and utilities, maybe $1k/mo. Since we're not reproducing, massive future cashflow is less necessary, so we have a real shot at some sort of simplified life or almost retirement at an "early" age. Since what I do is highly specialized in a dying industry, having a quick way out backup plan is appealing.

With a mortgage this fresh, even $20k toward it makes a huge difference in interest overall. Never mind $40k+ in car bs. Is it worth it? That I'm struggling to answer.

I'm caring less and less about cars. Not doom and gloom shit, just shifting priorities. I just want to camp, ride my bike, and be outside.

Considering you're at 4.75% the opportunity cost of a vehicle is quite expensive for you. You should try and throw nearly everything into the house.... However that may be a risky proposition... 500k for detroit is a substantial sum of money... things could fall.... and if you want to move at some point into another area, dumping all cash into the house may not make financial sense.

But it also isn't that bad. I'd just try to pay off as much of the house as possible while maintaining a cash fund of 25-30k for emergencies and getting around 2.25 compound interest or 2.75 in a CD.

It depends on what you'd like to do... To me the concerning part is the fact that you moved 3 times while I moved 0 and I am too scared to dump more money into the house due to future doom and gloom scenario... Life is really unpredictable mang... you can't gauge it all at this very moment. You're very likely to move so paying off the house seems counterproductive, you're exposing yourself to more risk

[max225]

Do you have a high interest mortgage or something? Why throw money at that vs getting an easy 10% return with at the helm of your investment plan?

There is no such thing as a 10% as of the last 18 months. The markets have turned incredibly volatile. I have been pulling out substantial investments out of the market.... nothing has made any money ever since you started getting to the market! Thanks

The best and safest thing to do at this point in time is a high yield CD. I think there is nothing better at this moment in time. Everything else is a huge risk unless you have insider info.