The only name brand I buy ( because my wife and daughter gave me so much grief over it ) is Miracle Whip. I PROUDLY admit that I buy the items on sale with a coupon and save an average of 40% each trip. With the savings, I go to the dollar store and Aldi and purchase the items not on sale that I need.
I buy used cars, never paying more than $1000.00. If they last 6 months, I am ahead of the game.
My current vehicle is a used Ford Explorer that I paid $700.00 . It was sitting in a backyard for a year, had 2 flat tires, bird mess and tree sap all over the outside, the interior looked like a storage shed...
My mechanic test drove it and said " If you don't buy it, I will ". I bought it, spent a couple hundred on minor repairs, detailed it and have put 15,000 miles on it in the past 14 months. My neighbors ( I live in a upper middle class neighborhood with excellent schools ), all have a payment book on their Acura's, Lexus', Volvo's, etc. Funny thing though, they ALL ask how I locate these deals. My wife's
last car was a Pontiac Trans Sport Van ( looked like a dustbuster ). Bought it for $650.00, spent $500.00 in repairs, she put 51,000 miles on it in 4 years. When it broke down and my mechanic said it was not worth fixing, my wife actually cried and begged me to find her another one. Couldn't
find one, so I moved her into a Chrysler 5th Ave I bought from an estate for $600.00. 1 year later, $100.00 in repairs, she is still driving it and LOVING the fact WE HAVE NO CAR PAYMENTS.
When we go away, I rent a car. If the rental breaks down, I call them and they give me a replacement car. If you are a gold card member with certain rental companies, you can get free upgrades.... I once rented a compact and with my gold status, ended up in a full size Buick and paid the compact car price.
I am responsible with my money, and if my wife wishes to purchase something ( she knows not to buy real estate or cars.... car salesmen would have her for breakfast and she knows that ), she can.
So far, 3 years of my daughters COLLEGE education with NO LOANS. If all goes right, she will leave school with a Bachelors Degree and NO LOANS or debt..... My daughter is learning the value of credit... Being a full time student and working 25-30 hours a week, her credit score is HIGHER than many people I know..... She sets the money aside and when the bill comes in, it is paid in full. It's like getting a loan with 0% interest. She too buys used cars. I located her a Ford Mustang that we purchased for $1000.00. In the past 18 months,she has spent $300.00 in repairs and driven it almost 20,000 miles. She has many friends who are buying cars with payment books. She laughs because she understands that you don't finance a depreciating asset.
You finance an appreciating asset like real estate, and enjoy the tax benefits that it brings.
No McMansion for me, my house in today's market is $275,000 that I paid $128,000 10 years ago, never took out any home equity loans, no fancy cars that are depreciating assets, credit card debt of under $2000.00 which is nothing in comparison to most of America......
It is all how you look at things. I NEVER had to impress anyone, and as I age, I still don't.
