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Works for me, I stash some cash in my car fund each month, havent had a car loan for many years.
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the landlady down the road looks after all my spare cash
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I love your spirit :). Even though I only get out once a week I still spend more on nights out than my motor car, however my saturday nights are a complete break from reality and keeps me sane :).
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>>however my saturday nights are a complete break from reality and keeps me sane :). >>
Are you trying to pull the wool over our eyes, Rattle?
..:-))
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However you wrap it up, the basic principle is sound in my view. Only buy cars you can very easily afford and don't borrow money against anything which depreciates. Save for the next one while you drive the current one. Invest the savings as smartly as you can.
You would have to have a catastrophically bad run of luck to have to pay out more in repairs on your budget car over 48 months than that which you would have to pay in loan repayments for a newer one over the same period. It's a good gamble and what's more you automatically provide yourself with a rainy day fund into the bargain.
Works for me. Been doing it that way for years. So far so good.
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snipDon't spend money you don't have = financial security!
***NEWSFLASH***NEWSFLASH***NEWSFLASH***
but seriously, I think if you follow the principle of "Micawber's Law" (Google it if you don't know what it is!) you can't go far wrong with your financial health.
Keeping up with the Jones's by living outside your means = paying interest for the rest of your days.
Edited by Pugugly on 24/08/2009 at 23:38
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Spot on Lygonos -
I work to the system of "If you cant pay cash for it you cant afford it". House exepted, but thats paid for. I think I preceded the "must have it now" generation.
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A very readable book about the life of a used car salesman in the USA is "California Dreaming" by a Scot, Lawrence Donegan. ISBN10 - 0140291660. ISBN13 - 978 0140291667.
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>>> Robert Peston<<<
Robert Preston :)
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Preston & California - from the ridiculous to the sublime in one posting !
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>>> Robert Peston>>
Robert Preston :)>>
Peston is perfectly correct. He's the BBC News business editor.
Man of many big scoops, but extremely irritating vocal delivery.
Edited by Stuartli on 25/08/2009 at 12:10
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Put more prosaically,, the live-now-pay-later (..and forever..) lifestyle yeilds a one-off 'benefit' of getting that 1st car (or washing machine, plasma TV, whatever..) a few months early - but for once only - the 1st time.
If you'd initally saved those 'payments' (and so delayed the instant gratification impulse) you'd forever be in credit, not debit. Life can really be simple sometimes.
Thanks goodness people do though - where would my bank share dividends be otherwise?
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I always thought it was Preston too :).
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12% investment return year on year is not possible, frankly, so his sums don't stack. Do the sums at 5%, and allow for tax on the income, and it's closer to reality.
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12% investment return year on year is not possible, frankly, >>
Depends on how actively you can manage your ISA tax-free portfolio. Take a contrarian approach, drip feed your portfolio (pound-cost-averaging), don't trade daily, etc. Don't follow the herd and you can do well.
eg. all the below have done exceptionally well, and they pay good dividends:
Chinese tracker up 75% since November 2008
www.advfn.com/p.php?pid=qkquote&cb=1196443261&symb...c
Indian tracker up 70% since November 2008
www.advfn.com/p.php?pid=qkquote&btn=s_ok&symbol=LN...K
BP up 33% since March 2009, and at today's price still yielding 6.16%
shares.telegraph.co.uk/quote/?epic=BP.
You may well ask for my tips for the best contrarian investment today, and here are two [note that the first URL needs the "dot" at the end of the string ]:
shares.telegraph.co.uk/quote/?epic=UU. yield 6.75% and at a year low.
shares.telegraph.co.uk/quote/?epic=SVT yield 6.8% and again at a year low.
Purely my own opinion, not advice, not a recommendation. Take professional advice before gambling on the stock market as you may easily lose the lot.
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jbif - sure, there are good returns to be made, but the suggestion was to put $xxx into a mutual (US version of investment/unit trust) and get 12% year in, year out, for ever.
I don't think that's realistic, from here.
I note that the Chinese tracker lost about 50% of its value from Sep 08 - Nov 08, by the way....
Edited by oldnotbold on 25/08/2009 at 14:25
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I note that the Chinese tracker lost about 50% of its value from Sep 08 - Nov 08, by the way.... >>
I refer the hon. gentleman to this bit of my post, and especially the emboldened section:
"Depends on how actively you can manage your ISA tax-free portfolio. Take a contrarian approach, drip feed your portfolio (pound-cost-averaging), don't trade daily, etc. Don't follow the herd and you can do well."
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I read it 'Preston' too. My 85 year old dad corrected me. HJ >>
Talking about dads, it is strange that nobody (try asking amongst your friends or at the pub quiz) seems to know who Robert Peston's dad is:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Peston,_Baron_Peston
Peston was created a life peer as Baron Peston, of Mile End, in London on 24 March 1987. He immediately became Opposition Spokesperson for Energy (until 1997) and Education & Science (until 1997). He also served as Opposition Spokesperson on the Treasury (1990-92) and Trade & Industry (1992-97). He chaired the House of Lords Offices Refreshments Sub-committee from 1993 to 1997.
When Labour took over government, he chaired the influential House of Lords Committee on Economic Affairs from 1998 until 2005. Since then he has worked on the Lords Constitution Committee, and on the committee reviewing the BBC Charter.
www.qmul.ac.uk/news/newsrelease.php?news_id=1213
"Professor the Lord (Maurice) Peston was the founding Professor of Economics at Queen Mary, University of London. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Princeton University, he has combined a distinguished academic career with a prominent career in Whitehall and Westminster. After lecturing at LSE, he joined Queen Mary College - as it then was - in 1965 to found the Department of Economics, where he remains as Emeritus Professor. He combined his academic work as a researcher, teacher and leader of this department with spells in Whitehall advising on economic policy. He was made a peer in 1987, and during his time in the House of Lords he has chaired the House of Lords Committees on Monetary Policy, and on Economic Affairs. Maurice Peston has published widely in the field of economic theory and economic policy."
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Wikipedia knows, and so did I:
" Early life and education
Peston is the son of economist and later Labour peer Maurice Peston and his NHS-employee wife. The couple believed passionately in state education, and sent Robert to the local comprehensive school, Highgate Wood Secondary School, in Crouch End, North London.[1] Peston graduated from Balliol College, Oxford in 1982, and then studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles after winning a scholarship
"
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I dread to think what I've lost in depreciation over the years. My cars have always been changed after about 18 months of ownership. I like cars and enjoyed getting something different.
However, hitting 40 must have flicked an internal switch. I'm just fed up at losing thousands and cars don't 'excite' me lie they once did. The next car I buy will have to suit the family (but still be a little exciting..hence wanting a 'sport' version of whatever I buy) and will be a reasonably long term proposition
Despite this, I haven't regretted my choices over the years one bit.
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So jbif, what's your contrarian view today.
The market is raging away.
Yet every commentator is as bearing as they come. The contrarian view is therefore to follow the market up. Or is it to sell?
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It's not driving free anyway, it's using the income from hard-earned savings. Free means that it's not cost you money, which is patently untrue!
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>>..hence wanting a 'sport' version..>>
Saw a Mazda 6 Sport today in burgundy - quite impressed.
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The next car I buy will have to suit the family (but still be a little exciting..hence wanting a 'sport' version of whatever I buy) and will be a reasonably long term proposition
Always being aware, of course, that the term "Sport" is often applied to cars these days in the same way that "go-faster" stripes were in days of yore. e.g. "Estate" cars now are more likely to be labelled as "Sports Tourer", like the Insignia and Megane.
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But estates called Sport Tourer or Avant is because they do not have that much space. You'd be annoyed buying an "estate" with less space in the boot (under the cover) than in a saloon. The Alfa Romeo 156 "estate" failed this test - the saloon had more space unless you piled up the contents.
So the use of other terms is not always what it might seem. The Mondeo Mk III had around 1700 litres of space which is still huge by todays standards.
My tip for this thread... don't have children ;-) Or cats.... and avoid houses with a badger problem.
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>>.. don't have children ;-)>>
Don't have a wife in the first place. You'll not only have more luggage space, but be able to afford a far, far superior car....:-)
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I agree with everything you say. It's a good idea to use the terms "Avant" or "Tourer" instead of "Estate" for such cars for exactly the reasons that you give.
My point was that the word "Sport" gets added to give them a faux glamour. To be fair, manufacturers try this naughtiness with saloons as well.
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We've just replaced our 12 year old Polo with an i10. The Polo was bought nearly new in 1997 (3 months old) and was starting to raise mechanical problems. We intend to keep the i10 until it gets to at least 12 years.
Our Nissan Almera Tino MPV was bought at 3 years old for 6k. Again, we intend to keep this until it gets to 12 years old (at least)
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