How did you save for your Tacoma?

You eat a pizza each day? I could get behind that. And when did those things get to $7? I used to buy them for $5. Although I think I would only get 2 meals out of it and no I'm not a fat ass.

I was trying to use numbers that don't require the extremes and still offer nutrition and such. I was managing to keep a household of 2 around $500 a month including the occasional going out, but I work out a lot and eat a lot. I'm also a fairly accomplished cheap ass and don't know sale I don't like.

 

We bought inexpensive used reliable vehicles for 30 years, many with cash, until we were financially secure and then bought my Tacoma and then Tundra new. Probably not what you wanted to hear lol.

When we upgrade our ES it will probably be low mileage used. We just like to let others take the huge depreciation hit buying new.

 

Don’t know when they went up. That’s actually a pretty reasonable food budget, even allows for some better quality stuff.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZIJNlPEWa8

 

So many absolutes here, but really everyone's situation is different.
I can tell you some here will never make it to retirement and some here that do will be in such poor health they won't be able to enjoy it. You can live in a box for now and lay up for the future, but just know you have no guarantee you'll ever see that future.

Depending on your situation, some debt is fine. I'd rather use my available cash to pay for my daughters education, which to this date has included 2 years of medical school and undergrad in New Zealand with zero student debt. If I have to have a car payment to do that, I'm fine with that. As it is, I haven't had a car payment in years, but someday I'll decide I want a new truck and will go get one. I'll make payments. I'd rather spend my cash on other things. My retirement was fully funded by the time I was in my early 40s. I still put max amount in 401K, but really it's money I'll just have to find a way to spend later. My cash now goes to vacations, hunts, flying, etc.

If you have a good job and good income, debt to a certain limit is OK. Enjoy life. It's not all about work. Don't over extend yourself, but don't live in a box either. If you can afford a truck payment, have a truck payment. If you can't, don't.

Back in the day when I was much younger, my wife and I bought a house and a car the month after graduating college. Don't regret the payments at all, as it was still more money after making payments than we'd ever had before.

 

I'd say try to find a reasonably priced second gen in your area. When it comes to 3rd gens the used are going for as much as a new one

 

You could always enlist in the service and get a fat check!

 

I sold all my small toys for a bigger toy!

 

Best advice I can give is beware of TW's advice.

What fat check? Did I miss out on something during my enlistment?

 

Did not read every page so maybe someone suggested this but a popular rubric for buying cars is the 20-4-10 rule. Put at least 20% down on the car, don't get a loan longer than 4 years, and don't let the payment go above 10% of your gross (pre-tax) income. Everyone has a different situation and only you know yours; some people say car expenses TOTAL should not exceed 10% (including gas and insurance). Some people say it should not go above 10% of NET income. It really is up to you though because budgeting is personal.

If you're a car guy who just loves new cars and that really brings you joy in life, then you can prioritize it a bit higher and screw people telling you that only suckers buy new.

Obviously you should still have some discipline and responsibility so everyone telling you to pay off all other debts (student, credit card, etc) first and then max out your company 401k match then put away 6 months in savings is correct. Saving for a house is great too. Do some deep thinking here too: if you want to retire early, put an extra 5-10% in your retirement and live on less today for a better tomorrow. If you're comfortable taking a risk that your future income will really go up, just put in what your company will match.

But yeah long story long, I'd advise you to stick to the 20-4-10 rule and really think hard about whether you need a new truck. I have a kid on the way so I'm personally in the market for a 3rd gen double cab soon to fit a car seat (putting about 35% down, paid off my student loans and live frugally), but if I wasn't soon to be a father I'd keep my first gen forever and just get a Prius to commute in and still save money over buying a new Tacoma.

Best of luck and congrats on finishing school with a useful degree.

 

It was a typo. He meant fat chick.

 

Thos dependaopotamuses

 

The cool thing is they all sell in home products that will help you make that car payment, unless they spend it all on food.

 

FIFY

 

Yeah, but that's usually the tax free money you're making on deployment that you thought was going to your car payment.
Y'all are almost making me miss my 11B days.

 

Had to be a lot more fun then being a 67E, although I’m sure the view wasn’t bad in the hospital.

 

Whole different world that took some getting used to at first. Fatter chicks too.

 

I had a HQ co in a BSTB, I feel your pain.

 

Lots of different advise from lots of different lifestyles, so here's some more for ya.

Sit down and write out a budget, put your bills on paper in front of you vs. your income.
Figure out what you do and don't need...
I don't have cable t.v.
I have a cheap cell phone plan and no land line.
I buy cheap phones from a second hand business and only when mine completely dies every 4 or 5 years.
I don't buy $5 coffees from starbucks and I don't eat fast food.
Find where you can cut un-needed expenses.
Track every dollar you make and spend.

I am married, have 2 kids still at home, 1 who is moved out, own my 2 cars out right and rent a home. My total bills are just over $1400 a month including groceries and gas.
I log every dollar in a cash ledger book.

I had $16k cash ready when i bought my truck.

Once you figure out what you have coming in and going out, it's easy to set money aside and know what to prepare/save for.

Now... some of you will strongly disagree with this but... don't dump all your money into a 401k... when i quit my office job after 10years I took a huge loss with the taxes when i withdrew it.
Why did I withdraw it? Because the last 401k I let sit between office jobs I lost, the market went down severely and it was just gone after a few years.
Be careful about buying a house right now... Housing prices are way over inflated in alot of areas and your paying a premium for a dump. I personally would wait a few years until the market crashes, then have the cash on hand for a huge down payment. Also don't forget that once you buy it, your responsible for ALL the repairs. That includes the $8k heat pump to the $3k leaky plumbing and everything else unexpected. You think saving for a Tacoma is hard? Wait until your roof fails and I hand you a proposal for $17,500 to re-roof it lol.
And don't forget that maybe the economy takes a dive and you can no longer afford that $2000 house payment every month when you get laid off or loose some of your income.

Life's short. You never know when it will be time to check out.
If you want a truck, budget it out and get one that you can afford, then upgrade in the future to a newer model.

That's my bad advise for the day... Your welcome

 

Keep in mind that this is a tacoma forum and not a financial planning forum. Go ask the “right” people for financial guidance.

Congrats on finishing school.