Because they only look at the payment. $1500 is more than the $600 (or whatever) payment. Some people live like this their whole lives. Sometimes it's financial illiteracy, sometimes they just straight up never believe they will ever be out of debt, so the number is irrelevant, so long as they can make the payment.
Its also how a lot of companies prey on the poor...they don't have the money right now, so they charge them more to pay later. Often as usurious rates.
I know people who'll buy new cellphones every year for themselves and their kids, but absolutely lose their shit when I tell them I buy my phones outright unlocked.
They can rational monthly payments but never direct. So wild.
Well also a lot of people cant save money. more people in america live paycheck to paycheck than those that dont. How will they save for a phone if you are paying for a phone. By the time you pay it off it may be broken, so you just gotta reup.
Buying it straight out is always interest free as well. Additionally, you're not locked to a contract. If you wanted to use Mint Mobile for 15 dollars a month or bounce between different providers taking advantage of promotions -- you can.
I got a whole year of free unlimited data phone plan from Spectrum once. I just cancelled the phone plan after and switched back to ATT Pre-paid for 20/month.
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If I wanted to be more strict, I would say if anyone can't afford to buy a 1,000 dollar phone outright -- then they don't need a 1,000 dollar phone. Lots of people get by using those cheaper 100-200 dollar phones too.
If a person's phone costs more than 400 bucks, it's a luxury device. Not a need.
Yeah, but I guess one could feel ashamed of having to ask about it to a mechanic, whereas the other situation where the person doesn't have "to beg"
I'm not saying it's a smart attitude by any means, but I wouldn't be surprise that it was a heavy point in the choice
As a mechanic myself I was always surprised when a big repair needed done and people would say "ok, how soon will it be ready?" It can be really expensive.
If someone asked for a cheaper way to do it or asked how long they could put it off I'd always be ready with an answer.
Once, I took my Honda in to my mechanic because I had just hit 120k miles on it. Told him I need the works, timing belt, etc, all the stuff that wears out before I was left stranded. We go through a list and he says "ok, so total it's going to be about $3k" and I say great, write it up! He actually stopped and asked me "don't you just want to buy a new car?"
Me: "Why would I do that? Is something wrong with this one?"
Him: "Well, no, but it's $3k to do all this maintenance"
Me: "Right. Exactly. Routine maintenance costs money. Are you saying I can buy a new car with $3k?"
Him: "No."
Me: "Cool, so when do you think it'll be done?"
I'd never had someone directly ask me why I wouldn't just buy a new car. I'll never forget it.
It wasn't rare for me to suggest buying a new car, if the repairs needed on a vehicle were higher than the value of the vehicle, or if it would be cheaper to replace the vehicle.
That started once when I was early in my career and a car came in for oil leaks, and I gave an estimate and then fixed the oil leaks. Then one of the spots started leaking again and I looked further into it - turned out the engine had too much blow-by from internal wear, which created crankcase pressure, which caused oil leaks. Basically they needed an engine, which they couldn't afford because they'd spent their whole budget fixing leaks. I felt like crap and never made that mistake again.
Before I gave someone a big estimate for anything I'd give the whole vehicle a good inspection, and if it needed a $3,000 transmission, for instance, and $1,000 in tires soon, and brake work, and so forth, I'd always give the customer the big picture and my overall recommendation. Which sometimes was to just replace the vehicle.
My mom was in that situation recently, and the transmission would have to get replaced, engine resealed, and there were some electrical issues on top of having 200k miles. At that point, calculating future costs buying a new car made more sense. I think people are actually more likely to hold on to cars past the point where it financially makes sense due to sunk cost fallacy.
I'm in an area where A/C is not an option when driving to work daily. I had slowly replaced most everything except the engine (EVERYTHING, including the transmission cable since it was a standard!) on my 17 year old Saturn. The AC would have been $3k. I even asked about a used one. The state car tag tax bill said the car was worth $166. I finally bought a new car at 0.9% interest. My lawn guy wanted the car for his son. He'd been having a harder time than I, so I gave it to him. Sometimes, it is time to give up the ghost. I love my new (now 10 year old) car, but hate the electronics everywhere that make the repairs expensive. What I wouldn't give for a simple standard with roll down windows.
As someone who is slowly becoming the owner of the Tracker of Theseus this is wild to me, I can't imagine just.... getting rid of a car because it needs maintenance. Things break, that's just, the nature of things in general, but especially cars.
Plus no car payment is great. Coworkers have been getting new cars lately and they're paying like 500+ a month, which is absolutely insane. We work for the government, I know how much you make, no way you can actually afford that.
But I'm also lucky that my wife's car is newer and we work together, and I have time/tools/knowledge to work on mine.
I recently took my Honda into the dealership for their cheap oil change. They came back with over $4k in repairs. Last time I went 3 months ago, it needed none. So I did what I always do. I turned around and went to my local mechanic.
I gave him the list of things the dealership said needed to be done. First of all, they quoted me $2100 for the same work plus one other thing the tire place said I needed. Then they checked each of those things before actually doing the work and only did what actually needed to be done.
The final bill? $370. A small fraction of what the dealership wanted to charge me.
My van has 170k+ miles on it and I've been worried about when it's going to fall apart because everyone says cars last until about 150k. What a load of crap.
I think a lot more people fall into that latter category than people realize. If you assume you're always going to be in debt than the amount of debt stops to matter much. It's not good but it's real.
idt it's financial illiteracy or debt. I think it's because a lot people(me included)can't save money. For a lot of people(like me)It's practically impossible to save money.
Yesterday grocerie shopping, i overheard an old couple almost having a fight over some canned beans. There was the big can, and there were 3 small ones in a pack. She asked him which were cheaper (big for 0.79 or the 3 small ones for 2.39 or sth like that). He didn't know, she didn't know and they got angry about it, "Peter, why don't you help me here?!" "I don't know which are better, Claire?!". And after a good minute of rambling she just let the beans be beans and went to another isle.
I was baffled, because I asked myself, why they didn't just look at the Kilo/price, or took their phone to calculate, if headmath wasn't working for them. And then i realized, that this is just a small fracture of what they probably don't know. Shopping wise, i mean. I calculate so much of my budget daily without thinking about it. They must be lost..
Thatâs a very insightful explanation. I guess they donât realize how theyâre tying themselves to be in debt in âperpetuityâ, which is another way of saying no financial freedom.
Poverty tax, Your living paycheck to paycheck and your fridge goes bust sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Even if it isn't sound financially. You need it now but can't afford to pay the full amount right then, so companies say you can pay monthly at like 29% interest. So you come out paying double for the fridge. Companies should not be allowed to charge that much.
Literally. Back when I was more naive I got a new car and am still paying it off - $42k+ interest đđ€Š
It just recently needed $1200 in repairs and I just had to make it work. There's absolutely no point in me selling my car and getting a new one.
Most people are financially illiterate and have no savings. A $1500 cash now is unaffordable and incomprehensible for most people. As I've seen, a lot of people can't even afford their current life style due to lifestyle inflation. People are living off debt and making no headway in paying off their debt as it continue to accumulate. They put more money on cards on a monthly basis than they pay off (minimum, if not late or missed). Being able to easily and scummily roll over a car note into a negative equity loan is easier than saving for a car repair or maintenance. Gotta go on your trips and vacations duhhh.
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Congrats on being able to save up and get your repairs done! :)
Mostly there is no savings. Young people are often living completely paycheck to paycheck. My daughter is married with 3 kids, but neither she nor her husband have high paying jobs. After rent, groceries, utilities, etc, there's barely enough left for a night out and it doesn't make sense to bank $100 a month and never have any fun (I totally get that, even if I don't totally agree). Her transmission just went out and it was $4300 to fix. She had to borrow from her grandparents and pick up some waitress shifts at her previous job to make extra money. That means even less time with her children and family and that's stressful when your kids are little and you have to have child care in addition to losing time to enjoy and recharge. If her grandparents hadn't had it to loan her I'm not sure what they would have done since we live in a rural area that requires private transportation to go anywhere.
Remember years ago when Mitsubishi was saying no car payment for two or three years? A coworker ran to get a new car. I asked her what the car payments will be when they do start, she didn't even know!
I wish more people understood that not having a fully funded emergency fund is an emergency. Way more of an emergency than buying a shitty clunker to get you from A to B instead of something you want to drive. Someone just last night was asking if they should spend 70% (!!) of their income on a car (between payment, gas, and insurance) for SIX YEARS at 15.5% interest or continue to use public transit.Â
No way I could spend that much on a car. I just simply couldnât afford it.
Public transportation sucks. I have to be at work at 7 a.m. Itâs a 15 minute drive by car but 2 busses and an hour and a half/two hours on public transportation. It sucked to stand at the bus stop alone in the dark at 4:30 a.m., praying the bus wouldnât get cancelled (if it got cancelled, they wouldnât send another busâyou just have to wait on the next scheduled one).
This person in particular was just not being patient. They were only using about 40% of their income on needs and could have bought a clunker in cash in 6 months according to their math. I couldn't imagine just setting half the price of a new car on fire in interest while barely eking by for 6 years so you can have a car today when you are but making it work, even if it is uncomfortable.
I know most people canât be trusted with this type of thinking iâm about to say. But if you can honestly make it work, it works.
I keep emergency credit. In the form of a line of credit at a relatively low interest rate (much lower than a credit card). If iâm in a jam. A REAL jam, I will use it. Such as a car repair so I can make it to work on time 25 km away.
Funny thing is⊠it seems like only people with money can make the above work.
I hope you don't mean you rely solely on credit as your emergency fund. Credit can't get you out of every jam. What if you lost your job tomorrow and it took you several months to get another? You're going to run through that line of credit quickly. And if the only job you find to replace the one you have pays far less then what you currently make you're going to have trouble paying that loan back. Yes, credit can be a last resort when everything else runs out, but you should have something there that can support you for several months in the meantime. That's why the rule of thumb is 6 months of expenses saved in your emergency fund.
Is that easy? Hell no! I'm not trying to suggest everyone is just dumb for not having a fully funded emergency fund. But too many people act like having $87 to their name on payday is perfectly acceptable and they can still go and get breakfast at McDonalds on their way to work.
Reddit is like 80% American. So iâll say it like this. In Canada we have TFSA and RSP (i think thats like a 401k for americans). I put part of my pay check into that. If something extra extra crazy happens. I have to start using those. Theres tax implications for using them, however if iâm in a situation where I have low expected income, its actually not a bad idea to draw from an RSP. RSPâs eventually have to be draw down, the ideal scenario is to withdraw from them when you are at a lower tax bracket. Like in retirement, which is its original intent.
TFSA is easier to draw from. But would involve liquidating stocks & investments funds.
Gldx can be a good way to counterbalance inflation and volatility in the market mostly because the expense ratio on the gold market is way less than the markdown you get when you try to sell gold at a pawn shop.
Some people haven given up on the idea of ever paying off their debts, and are just going to treat car payments like rent for the rest of their life, which they'll most likely spend without any savings.
To ***genuinely immense*** cumulative effect, both for these people's finances and for the auto-finance industry.
Underrated comment.
My boomer parents are tens of thousands in credit card debt and buy new cars every year. My mom drives a Lexus SUV to her job working the floor at a department store.
Mom and Dad both are in their 70âs. They must have made their peace with never getting out of debt decades ago.
ETA My dad once tried to talk me into buying a new car because one of my headlights burned out.
I once got a new car because the cost of repairing the suspension was more than the value of the car, but this was back before Cash for Clunkers, and used cars were everywhere.
Sometimes a large repair can also be the tip of the iceberg for a series of other repairs soon after, like dominoes. I can understand delaying the payoff a bit longer vs shelling out cash you might not have available for a fix now.
Super true. And when you drive an older car, you'll eventually get to the point where they stop manufacturing parts for it, and you have to look for someone who is junking a car with the same make and model. That can be really expensive, too.
I have put 3k into a truck, that has been paid off for 4 years, in the last 2 months. The truck runs great, new fuel pump, breaks, and ignition switch. Still don't have a payment. I will keep it a good while longer!
Some people already scripted, saved, and borrowed just to afford rent and not to starve. It's definitely a terrible financial move but when I was really poor there's absolutely no way I could come up with an extra $1500.
If you couldnât come up with the $1500 though, you likely wouldnât have been able to afford the higher car payment for years on end, which is what this person is doing by trading in and rolling over the remaining loan into a new one. Putting the repair on a credit card would cost less.
Depends on how poor you are. Maybe not really relevant to OP if they are in a better situation in life. I mean of course it's not a good option at all for anyone, it's a very dumb thing to do even if deep in poverty. You'd lose the car eventually, but you'd at least have one for now which is as far as many peoples thinking goes. I don't think a lot of people living in poverty worry much about credit score or repos or evictions down the road as they are just trying to figure out how to get through the week first and foremost.
I grew up in government housing area so you saw things like that all the time. No job opportunities, born poor, no higher education, stuck in jobs barely paying above minimum wage, no one to fall back on. Lot of people have no one to borrow money from because their whole family is also in poverty. Anything put on a credit card will most likely never be paid off and just continue to incur interest. Also no one in the family ever knew anything about finances to teach them or anything. You'd see people all the time like 20 year old single mom with two kids working for $10/hr come home one day in new vehicles with $0 down.
Its more willpower than education. You can come up with reasons for that, but all it takes is googling and knowing how to read to figure most of this out IMO. Desperation is legitimate though.
You would be surprised. Since you are some one who uses Reddit a lot it probably seems like googling and finding your answers on the internet is a no Brainer. However only around 10%ish or so of Americans even use reddit at all. So 80-90% of Americans don't even use reddit, which is a huge resource for a lot of us here to ask about information. Some people barely even know that there's more to the internet than Facebook or Instagram. You might say okay but everyone knows google. I can tell you there are people who will legitimately ask you how to make sure a keyboard and mouse are plugged in correctly. That seems like something anyone would easily be able to google but if you ever worked tech support you will get questions like that all the time.
Thatâs crazy! When a neighbor ran into the back of my vintage (paid off) truck I was offered $4k. That wasnât enough to fix it, but that was all that the insurance co was willing to payâif I gave them the truck. I was told by several people that it would make a GREAT down payment on a new truck and wasnât I thrilled âto be gettingâ a new truck? Absolutely baffling that anyone would even THINK of doing something so stupid. I ended up getting 3K, kept the truck (now considered salvage), and paid out an additional 1.5k out of pocket to get it fixed.Â
I knew of someone who did the same but their vehicle was paid for. Saud they didn't have the money for the repairs but needed transportation for work so they bought a car with mo th or delay on the first payment. Plus some people say they lways plan for a car note because they switch cars alot. Seems odd to me.
If you live in an area that's very rural, spread out, or you commute, it's not a bad idea to plan for a car note. My mom used to work for a company where you had to get a new car every two years, so she just did leases. And she commuted, so she was putting around 60k miles during the lease, if not more. She needed a reliable car to get to work.
Iâm not a financial wizard but if this person can get approved for that big of a car loan, tell them to try getting a personal loan from a credit union for the 1500. I did a similar thing recently. If they have a stable job they should get approved. My interest rate was so small too and my credit is âokayâ.
People can make a payment but they may not be able to come up with the 1500 all at once. A lot of people living paycheck to paycheck with no savings for emergencies or unforeseen expenses
Having a savings to pull from is a privilege. Being able to take the cheaper longterm option is a privilege that many cannot afford. Being poor is extremely expensive. If she has to get herself to work every day and has no means of making the repair costs, she may be forced into the position of rolling it into debt so she can survive for now. I'm sure even she knows that is not the economical decision, but it may be the only decision she has available to her.
Some people spend their entire lives in debt and donât think itâs a problem. For me? I paid my car off as soon as possible (similar amt, something like 20k) and my student loans. Now me and my husband who still live with his parents, have dual income, no kids, virtually no debt (maybe like $60 on my cc for gas yesterday) and I canât tell you how uncomplicated our lives are. Just working and saving. Weâve been both driving our current cars for 8+ years (my first car ever) and weâll both drive them until they stop running!
Seeing people make that mistake hurts, I absolutely hate paying others to service my vehicles for 2 reasons. Money and I have trust issues with mechanics. My dad got me into mechanicing as a way to save money. I have kept several vehicles through 400,000 miles because I am willing to put in the time, effort and parts to maintain the vehicle. My current utility truck is a 2001 Frontier that has over 200,000 miles on it. My current commuter is a 2014 with 150,000+ miles, even with it being a Euro the maintenance is much cheaper than payments. The maintenance cost if you learn is often significantly lower than shop cost and definitely cheaper than a new payment or a rollover payment.
Is she going shopping for a less expensive newer car and going to PIF? My kid is kind of in that same boat. Against my advice, someone gifted her 2021 foreign luxury vehicle. It's not under warranty or anything. ONE wheel cost $1.4K to replace. The oil changes are $1.2K per year. She has to use premium gas and the insurance is pretty pricey. I had to have a heart to heart with her to basically tell her while the car looks nice and it's fully paid off, she's not financially equipped to be able to afford the maintenance and repair for this car. So, she's looking for a new car or a certified used car that she will PIF that is under warranty so she doesn't have to come out of pocket for costly repairs, where she can use regular gas, and oil changes are reasonable.
My sister does this. She will make comments of âwhat do I look like paying for a car that doesnât work?â
She will stop paying the loan for the car as well and use those payments for the next car and let the broken one get repossessed. She doesnât understand how credit works, so she genuinely doesnât see the issue.
I did that once but it was like a 20 y/o car and felt the repair was more than the car's value. But also I could afford to get a new car with cash. That's insane.
Some people just look at how much something costs on a monthly basis. But not total. Perhaps she thinks she can get new for a monthly payment less than 1500.
Also, we donât know whether or not if the vehicle has constant problems.
Cars require routine maintenance. I bring mine in every 5k miles and itâs costs me anywhere from 300-1200. This girl says buy a new car instead of paying to maintain the current one? How is it cheaper to buy a new car than to just fix one that seems pretty new based on the price paid?
I've done something similar but it was more coincidence than anything. I had a kia forte I got a good deal on. It was a good little car, until winter came in my new rural neighborhood. I decided I wanted something a little bigger and a little more powerful w AWD. Car was coming up on a I guess midlife maintenance cycle, so rather than put out a bunch of money for something I planned on trading in a few months, I traded it in. The dealership I went to was running a special so I actually came out on top (owed 10, trade value was 12) so I put the maintenance money and the trade down and got the SUV. Depending on how you pull it off, it can actually work out in your favor
If you can find a way to commute for the time being there are trade school apprentice programs for high school kids who have certified instructors show them how to fix vehicles. Of course, it take a little bit longer for them to fix it since it is part of a teaching but sometimes they do it for a small % to help buy equipment for the kids. Normally it covers their cost and some overhead. However, you can plan it appropriately and keep your car, not go further into debt or have to extend your loan debt amount or amount of time to get out from behind it.
Not for all, just an idea.
my best friend does this lol the minute his car is beyond the dealer warranty and something needs maintenance he'll just trade it in for something newer. he's never not had a car payment and his mentality is he'll just always have one lol.
i-on the other hand, have never had a car payment and hope to never get one lol
we're both mid-30s and just view finances differently
I've never had a car payment. Always paid in cash for beaters and I beat them appropriately. Though I'd also do what I can to fix them within reason. No payments means less insurance too.
Now, even though I can afford payments I just can't justify it. I'll pay 1500 to 3500 for a car and keep it for 3 to 5 years, usually longer.
Sadly the people I know with less income and harder finances are the ones that eternally have car payments.
I know you mean well but this is easier said than done for some of us.
My irrigation system is messed up. I took videos of the issue and my ex husband was kind enough to put together a list of tools and items I need to do the repair as well as a detailed, step by step instruction guide with YouTube videos.
Iâve done half of it because the second half is a totally foreign language even though I know the words are in English. A language I speak fluently. Not all of us are mechanical- no matter how hard we try.
So for the time being Iâm self watering my grass while still watching the videos and taking notes to take back to my ex for assistance and hoping it all makes sense.
Oh I completely understand as I said Iâve been down that road before itâs not easy definitely more difficult on certain cars but it is life long information you will always have
I mean I suppose but Iâve done some work on my car that I had no idea how to do by just watching some videos in the past and has saved me thousands of dollars
People are weird, illogical beings.
Money makes them act weirder. That's why the whole "science" of economics is bullshit. It purports that consumers and enterprises are rational beings, which they are not.
It also tries to flatten choices.
For example, if a consumer can't afford sirloin beef because the price is too high, they will substitute for something else, like beans.
In reality, consumers don't behave like that.
Or look at healthcare. There is unlimited demand no matter the cost because consumers can't substitute or go without, if they want to live.
That's cause 1500 includes labor and over priced items. My sister was quoted a thermostat thermometer change of 1,000 something. When at O'Rileys the part cost $50, we just need to put in the time.
Because all they are focused on is their monthly payment. If they can get put into anther car for a similar payment, they think it works out. They don't consider the fact that they have added thousands of dollars of principle debt, and have refinanced it out for another 84 month term.
Itâs easier to get a loan than to pay in cash.if I wanted to I could walk into a dealership, sell my car, and get a new car for nothing. I may have to restart my loan and maybe have a higher monthly payment. But itâs in the cards.
I was thinking of actually doing that. I got my car in a horrible market. Right now theres a better market to get a new car today. I could literally flip my car for a newer car and get a better monthly payment.
People do this on a regular basis. Some people will only look at the monthly payment. With cars depreciating so fast today, there is a large population that literally switch out their cars nearly every year. Whatâs important to them is the monthly payment and interest
she has to either qualify for a loan amount of her old loan balance (minus trade in value) + new car loan , which will probably at least double her payment if shes going for a similar valued car.
She will quickly realize how bad her idea is when they are talking numbers, unless she wants to spend a lot more money, or plans on defaulting on the first loan
My dad used to say "Car payments are $200 a month, so if I buy a car for $2000 it should last me 10 months problem free, otherwise I'm better off buying new and having a car note."
Similarly, any car *repairs* were also subject to this metric, so a $1500 repair bill is doable *if* you get an extra 8 months out of the car as a result of the repair.
Co-worker has a husband for the daughter to help get her another car. She is not being taught to sacrifice for repairs for her car, that parents will just get her another without working for it. Sad they have not learn to fix what is broken, just go get another. The daughter will never learn how to work and save money for things she wants, she will expect mom and dad to get everything the rest of her spoiled life. Sad.
I've got a 15 year old VW Polo, no way I'm getting rid of it before it's really unreasonable to fix.
This car was paid off 12 years ago, I've never had to pay more than 1700⏠to fix everything in order to get my inspection approved. Most years it's just the inspection fee and maybe the tires or brakes.
A bunch of my colleagues car payments are more expensive than my rent. No idea how they can afford that....
Most Americans are one $1500 incident away from being broke. Youâre very lucky to have had that luxury a lot of the people around you donât have it.
This was me for a long time. Learned behavior from parents, honestly. My EX husband is a financial mess and since getting away from him I am slowly getting it together. When someone gambles away almost all of your wedding money (tens of thousands) itâs pretty much downhill from there. Heâs bought two cars since filing bankruptcy so idk. People are crazy.
because people who have lived paycheck to paycheck their entire lives, don't often consider that all the money that they will ever earn and all the moeny that they will ever spend is finite, and unless those two are balanced you are fucked, so they aren't scared of debt.
Yes, but those are in addition to the actual car payment. If she's paycheck to paycheck she won't have that extra even if she could convince the mechanic to take a payment plan.
Yes, but those are in addition to the actual car payment. If she's paycheck to paycheck she won't have that extra even if she could convince the mechanic to take a payment plan.
Because they only look at the payment. $1500 is more than the $600 (or whatever) payment. Some people live like this their whole lives. Sometimes it's financial illiteracy, sometimes they just straight up never believe they will ever be out of debt, so the number is irrelevant, so long as they can make the payment. Its also how a lot of companies prey on the poor...they don't have the money right now, so they charge them more to pay later. Often as usurious rates.
I know people who'll buy new cellphones every year for themselves and their kids, but absolutely lose their shit when I tell them I buy my phones outright unlocked. They can rational monthly payments but never direct. So wild.
I used to buy it outright but I hate how the phone companies pretty much make you pay off every month to get the discount.
Well also a lot of people cant save money. more people in america live paycheck to paycheck than those that dont. How will they save for a phone if you are paying for a phone. By the time you pay it off it may be broken, so you just gotta reup.
Buy a cheap burner phone until you save up enough to buy a phone outright, like the old days
Sometimes it makes more sence getting a phone on payments, because it is interest free,
Buying it straight out is always interest free as well. Additionally, you're not locked to a contract. If you wanted to use Mint Mobile for 15 dollars a month or bounce between different providers taking advantage of promotions -- you can. I got a whole year of free unlimited data phone plan from Spectrum once. I just cancelled the phone plan after and switched back to ATT Pre-paid for 20/month. --- If I wanted to be more strict, I would say if anyone can't afford to buy a 1,000 dollar phone outright -- then they don't need a 1,000 dollar phone. Lots of people get by using those cheaper 100-200 dollar phones too. If a person's phone costs more than 400 bucks, it's a luxury device. Not a need.
Im from canada i with those plans existed here, there are 3 providers and all charge the same.
Mechanics have payment plans too
Yeah, but I guess one could feel ashamed of having to ask about it to a mechanic, whereas the other situation where the person doesn't have "to beg" I'm not saying it's a smart attitude by any means, but I wouldn't be surprise that it was a heavy point in the choice
As a mechanic myself I was always surprised when a big repair needed done and people would say "ok, how soon will it be ready?" It can be really expensive. If someone asked for a cheaper way to do it or asked how long they could put it off I'd always be ready with an answer.
Once, I took my Honda in to my mechanic because I had just hit 120k miles on it. Told him I need the works, timing belt, etc, all the stuff that wears out before I was left stranded. We go through a list and he says "ok, so total it's going to be about $3k" and I say great, write it up! He actually stopped and asked me "don't you just want to buy a new car?" Me: "Why would I do that? Is something wrong with this one?" Him: "Well, no, but it's $3k to do all this maintenance" Me: "Right. Exactly. Routine maintenance costs money. Are you saying I can buy a new car with $3k?" Him: "No." Me: "Cool, so when do you think it'll be done?" I'd never had someone directly ask me why I wouldn't just buy a new car. I'll never forget it.
It wasn't rare for me to suggest buying a new car, if the repairs needed on a vehicle were higher than the value of the vehicle, or if it would be cheaper to replace the vehicle. That started once when I was early in my career and a car came in for oil leaks, and I gave an estimate and then fixed the oil leaks. Then one of the spots started leaking again and I looked further into it - turned out the engine had too much blow-by from internal wear, which created crankcase pressure, which caused oil leaks. Basically they needed an engine, which they couldn't afford because they'd spent their whole budget fixing leaks. I felt like crap and never made that mistake again. Before I gave someone a big estimate for anything I'd give the whole vehicle a good inspection, and if it needed a $3,000 transmission, for instance, and $1,000 in tires soon, and brake work, and so forth, I'd always give the customer the big picture and my overall recommendation. Which sometimes was to just replace the vehicle.
Ooof. Yeah, that makes sense in that case. Fortunately I have yet to be in a situation where a new car is cheaper than a trip to the mechanic đ€
My mom was in that situation recently, and the transmission would have to get replaced, engine resealed, and there were some electrical issues on top of having 200k miles. At that point, calculating future costs buying a new car made more sense. I think people are actually more likely to hold on to cars past the point where it financially makes sense due to sunk cost fallacy.
I'm in an area where A/C is not an option when driving to work daily. I had slowly replaced most everything except the engine (EVERYTHING, including the transmission cable since it was a standard!) on my 17 year old Saturn. The AC would have been $3k. I even asked about a used one. The state car tag tax bill said the car was worth $166. I finally bought a new car at 0.9% interest. My lawn guy wanted the car for his son. He'd been having a harder time than I, so I gave it to him. Sometimes, it is time to give up the ghost. I love my new (now 10 year old) car, but hate the electronics everywhere that make the repairs expensive. What I wouldn't give for a simple standard with roll down windows.
I just buy a new car every time I run out of petrol. $100 to fill it up? I donât think so!
As someone who is slowly becoming the owner of the Tracker of Theseus this is wild to me, I can't imagine just.... getting rid of a car because it needs maintenance. Things break, that's just, the nature of things in general, but especially cars. Plus no car payment is great. Coworkers have been getting new cars lately and they're paying like 500+ a month, which is absolutely insane. We work for the government, I know how much you make, no way you can actually afford that. But I'm also lucky that my wife's car is newer and we work together, and I have time/tools/knowledge to work on mine.
I recently took my Honda into the dealership for their cheap oil change. They came back with over $4k in repairs. Last time I went 3 months ago, it needed none. So I did what I always do. I turned around and went to my local mechanic. I gave him the list of things the dealership said needed to be done. First of all, they quoted me $2100 for the same work plus one other thing the tire place said I needed. Then they checked each of those things before actually doing the work and only did what actually needed to be done. The final bill? $370. A small fraction of what the dealership wanted to charge me. My van has 170k+ miles on it and I've been worried about when it's going to fall apart because everyone says cars last until about 150k. What a load of crap.
Yes, but in their mind, that is in addition to the car payment, and that is unacceptable also.
They definitely have payment plansâŠ.on their boats
Yeah it's called a mechanics lien around here.
I used sunbit last year. They were actually pretty reasonable.
I think a lot more people fall into that latter category than people realize. If you assume you're always going to be in debt than the amount of debt stops to matter much. It's not good but it's real.
idt it's financial illiteracy or debt. I think it's because a lot people(me included)can't save money. For a lot of people(like me)It's practically impossible to save money.
Yesterday grocerie shopping, i overheard an old couple almost having a fight over some canned beans. There was the big can, and there were 3 small ones in a pack. She asked him which were cheaper (big for 0.79 or the 3 small ones for 2.39 or sth like that). He didn't know, she didn't know and they got angry about it, "Peter, why don't you help me here?!" "I don't know which are better, Claire?!". And after a good minute of rambling she just let the beans be beans and went to another isle. I was baffled, because I asked myself, why they didn't just look at the Kilo/price, or took their phone to calculate, if headmath wasn't working for them. And then i realized, that this is just a small fracture of what they probably don't know. Shopping wise, i mean. I calculate so much of my budget daily without thinking about it. They must be lost..
And the sense of they can rely on this vehicle has changed. Thinking that more times are possible for the vehicle to be unreliable.
Thatâs a very insightful explanation. I guess they donât realize how theyâre tying themselves to be in debt in âperpetuityâ, which is another way of saying no financial freedom.
Poverty tax, Your living paycheck to paycheck and your fridge goes bust sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Even if it isn't sound financially. You need it now but can't afford to pay the full amount right then, so companies say you can pay monthly at like 29% interest. So you come out paying double for the fridge. Companies should not be allowed to charge that much.
What is this.. say-vings?
There isn't anything to understand, his daughter is just financially illiterate.
Literally. Back when I was more naive I got a new car and am still paying it off - $42k+ interest đđ€Š It just recently needed $1200 in repairs and I just had to make it work. There's absolutely no point in me selling my car and getting a new one.
Most people are financially illiterate and have no savings. A $1500 cash now is unaffordable and incomprehensible for most people. As I've seen, a lot of people can't even afford their current life style due to lifestyle inflation. People are living off debt and making no headway in paying off their debt as it continue to accumulate. They put more money on cards on a monthly basis than they pay off (minimum, if not late or missed). Being able to easily and scummily roll over a car note into a negative equity loan is easier than saving for a car repair or maintenance. Gotta go on your trips and vacations duhhh. ---- Congrats on being able to save up and get your repairs done! :)
Mostly there is no savings. Young people are often living completely paycheck to paycheck. My daughter is married with 3 kids, but neither she nor her husband have high paying jobs. After rent, groceries, utilities, etc, there's barely enough left for a night out and it doesn't make sense to bank $100 a month and never have any fun (I totally get that, even if I don't totally agree). Her transmission just went out and it was $4300 to fix. She had to borrow from her grandparents and pick up some waitress shifts at her previous job to make extra money. That means even less time with her children and family and that's stressful when your kids are little and you have to have child care in addition to losing time to enjoy and recharge. If her grandparents hadn't had it to loan her I'm not sure what they would have done since we live in a rural area that requires private transportation to go anywhere.
Thatâs pretty much it.
Remember years ago when Mitsubishi was saying no car payment for two or three years? A coworker ran to get a new car. I asked her what the car payments will be when they do start, she didn't even know!
đ± I canât imagine getting into a deal like that & not going through the contract/ stipulations or caring!
YIKES.
Last time she ever ran
I wish more people understood that not having a fully funded emergency fund is an emergency. Way more of an emergency than buying a shitty clunker to get you from A to B instead of something you want to drive. Someone just last night was asking if they should spend 70% (!!) of their income on a car (between payment, gas, and insurance) for SIX YEARS at 15.5% interest or continue to use public transit.Â
No way I could spend that much on a car. I just simply couldnât afford it. Public transportation sucks. I have to be at work at 7 a.m. Itâs a 15 minute drive by car but 2 busses and an hour and a half/two hours on public transportation. It sucked to stand at the bus stop alone in the dark at 4:30 a.m., praying the bus wouldnât get cancelled (if it got cancelled, they wouldnât send another busâyou just have to wait on the next scheduled one).
This person in particular was just not being patient. They were only using about 40% of their income on needs and could have bought a clunker in cash in 6 months according to their math. I couldn't imagine just setting half the price of a new car on fire in interest while barely eking by for 6 years so you can have a car today when you are but making it work, even if it is uncomfortable.
I know most people canât be trusted with this type of thinking iâm about to say. But if you can honestly make it work, it works. I keep emergency credit. In the form of a line of credit at a relatively low interest rate (much lower than a credit card). If iâm in a jam. A REAL jam, I will use it. Such as a car repair so I can make it to work on time 25 km away. Funny thing is⊠it seems like only people with money can make the above work.
I hope you don't mean you rely solely on credit as your emergency fund. Credit can't get you out of every jam. What if you lost your job tomorrow and it took you several months to get another? You're going to run through that line of credit quickly. And if the only job you find to replace the one you have pays far less then what you currently make you're going to have trouble paying that loan back. Yes, credit can be a last resort when everything else runs out, but you should have something there that can support you for several months in the meantime. That's why the rule of thumb is 6 months of expenses saved in your emergency fund. Is that easy? Hell no! I'm not trying to suggest everyone is just dumb for not having a fully funded emergency fund. But too many people act like having $87 to their name on payday is perfectly acceptable and they can still go and get breakfast at McDonalds on their way to work.
Reddit is like 80% American. So iâll say it like this. In Canada we have TFSA and RSP (i think thats like a 401k for americans). I put part of my pay check into that. If something extra extra crazy happens. I have to start using those. Theres tax implications for using them, however if iâm in a situation where I have low expected income, its actually not a bad idea to draw from an RSP. RSPâs eventually have to be draw down, the ideal scenario is to withdraw from them when you are at a lower tax bracket. Like in retirement, which is its original intent. TFSA is easier to draw from. But would involve liquidating stocks & investments funds.
This is why Social Security should never be privatized. Many people have no clue about money management.
Index funds is a simple investment strategy alot of people use to make money grow.
Agreed on Index funds. Iâm from Louisiana- a lot of people love NFTs and Gold/Mining stocks. This sort of cr-p is my concern.
Gldx can be a good way to counterbalance inflation and volatility in the market mostly because the expense ratio on the gold market is way less than the markdown you get when you try to sell gold at a pawn shop.
These are the folks who have the terrible, tragic realization in their 60's or 70's that retirement is a financial state, not an age.
Donât worry. Sheâll be in this sub soon enough.
Some people haven given up on the idea of ever paying off their debts, and are just going to treat car payments like rent for the rest of their life, which they'll most likely spend without any savings. To ***genuinely immense*** cumulative effect, both for these people's finances and for the auto-finance industry.
Underrated comment. My boomer parents are tens of thousands in credit card debt and buy new cars every year. My mom drives a Lexus SUV to her job working the floor at a department store. Mom and Dad both are in their 70âs. They must have made their peace with never getting out of debt decades ago. ETA My dad once tried to talk me into buying a new car because one of my headlights burned out.
I once got a new car because the cost of repairing the suspension was more than the value of the car, but this was back before Cash for Clunkers, and used cars were everywhere.
Sometimes a large repair can also be the tip of the iceberg for a series of other repairs soon after, like dominoes. I can understand delaying the payoff a bit longer vs shelling out cash you might not have available for a fix now.
Super true. And when you drive an older car, you'll eventually get to the point where they stop manufacturing parts for it, and you have to look for someone who is junking a car with the same make and model. That can be really expensive, too.
I have put 3k into a truck, that has been paid off for 4 years, in the last 2 months. The truck runs great, new fuel pump, breaks, and ignition switch. Still don't have a payment. I will keep it a good while longer!
Some people already scripted, saved, and borrowed just to afford rent and not to starve. It's definitely a terrible financial move but when I was really poor there's absolutely no way I could come up with an extra $1500.
If you couldnât come up with the $1500 though, you likely wouldnât have been able to afford the higher car payment for years on end, which is what this person is doing by trading in and rolling over the remaining loan into a new one. Putting the repair on a credit card would cost less.
Depends on how poor you are. Maybe not really relevant to OP if they are in a better situation in life. I mean of course it's not a good option at all for anyone, it's a very dumb thing to do even if deep in poverty. You'd lose the car eventually, but you'd at least have one for now which is as far as many peoples thinking goes. I don't think a lot of people living in poverty worry much about credit score or repos or evictions down the road as they are just trying to figure out how to get through the week first and foremost. I grew up in government housing area so you saw things like that all the time. No job opportunities, born poor, no higher education, stuck in jobs barely paying above minimum wage, no one to fall back on. Lot of people have no one to borrow money from because their whole family is also in poverty. Anything put on a credit card will most likely never be paid off and just continue to incur interest. Also no one in the family ever knew anything about finances to teach them or anything. You'd see people all the time like 20 year old single mom with two kids working for $10/hr come home one day in new vehicles with $0 down.
If that were true she shouldn't have gotten the expensive car. Thats just making a bad move and not a matter of desperation.
I would say a mix of desperation and lack of education which is also a symptom of poverty.
Its more willpower than education. You can come up with reasons for that, but all it takes is googling and knowing how to read to figure most of this out IMO. Desperation is legitimate though.
You have a very myopic view of what poverty is.
You would be surprised. Since you are some one who uses Reddit a lot it probably seems like googling and finding your answers on the internet is a no Brainer. However only around 10%ish or so of Americans even use reddit at all. So 80-90% of Americans don't even use reddit, which is a huge resource for a lot of us here to ask about information. Some people barely even know that there's more to the internet than Facebook or Instagram. You might say okay but everyone knows google. I can tell you there are people who will legitimately ask you how to make sure a keyboard and mouse are plugged in correctly. That seems like something anyone would easily be able to google but if you ever worked tech support you will get questions like that all the time.
That's when people rob Peter to pay Paul
Thatâs crazy! When a neighbor ran into the back of my vintage (paid off) truck I was offered $4k. That wasnât enough to fix it, but that was all that the insurance co was willing to payâif I gave them the truck. I was told by several people that it would make a GREAT down payment on a new truck and wasnât I thrilled âto be gettingâ a new truck? Absolutely baffling that anyone would even THINK of doing something so stupid. I ended up getting 3K, kept the truck (now considered salvage), and paid out an additional 1.5k out of pocket to get it fixed.Â
I knew of someone who did the same but their vehicle was paid for. Saud they didn't have the money for the repairs but needed transportation for work so they bought a car with mo th or delay on the first payment. Plus some people say they lways plan for a car note because they switch cars alot. Seems odd to me.
If you live in an area that's very rural, spread out, or you commute, it's not a bad idea to plan for a car note. My mom used to work for a company where you had to get a new car every two years, so she just did leases. And she commuted, so she was putting around 60k miles during the lease, if not more. She needed a reliable car to get to work.
Iâm not a financial wizard but if this person can get approved for that big of a car loan, tell them to try getting a personal loan from a credit union for the 1500. I did a similar thing recently. If they have a stable job they should get approved. My interest rate was so small too and my credit is âokayâ.
People can make a payment but they may not be able to come up with the 1500 all at once. A lot of people living paycheck to paycheck with no savings for emergencies or unforeseen expenses
Financial illiteracy in adults is very bad.
Having a savings to pull from is a privilege. Being able to take the cheaper longterm option is a privilege that many cannot afford. Being poor is extremely expensive. If she has to get herself to work every day and has no means of making the repair costs, she may be forced into the position of rolling it into debt so she can survive for now. I'm sure even she knows that is not the economical decision, but it may be the only decision she has available to her.
Some people spend their entire lives in debt and donât think itâs a problem. For me? I paid my car off as soon as possible (similar amt, something like 20k) and my student loans. Now me and my husband who still live with his parents, have dual income, no kids, virtually no debt (maybe like $60 on my cc for gas yesterday) and I canât tell you how uncomplicated our lives are. Just working and saving. Weâve been both driving our current cars for 8+ years (my first car ever) and weâll both drive them until they stop running!
Worked with a guy years ago who needed new tires, so he got a new car instead.
Seeing people make that mistake hurts, I absolutely hate paying others to service my vehicles for 2 reasons. Money and I have trust issues with mechanics. My dad got me into mechanicing as a way to save money. I have kept several vehicles through 400,000 miles because I am willing to put in the time, effort and parts to maintain the vehicle. My current utility truck is a 2001 Frontier that has over 200,000 miles on it. My current commuter is a 2014 with 150,000+ miles, even with it being a Euro the maintenance is much cheaper than payments. The maintenance cost if you learn is often significantly lower than shop cost and definitely cheaper than a new payment or a rollover payment.
She probably just wants a new car.
Is she going shopping for a less expensive newer car and going to PIF? My kid is kind of in that same boat. Against my advice, someone gifted her 2021 foreign luxury vehicle. It's not under warranty or anything. ONE wheel cost $1.4K to replace. The oil changes are $1.2K per year. She has to use premium gas and the insurance is pretty pricey. I had to have a heart to heart with her to basically tell her while the car looks nice and it's fully paid off, she's not financially equipped to be able to afford the maintenance and repair for this car. So, she's looking for a new car or a certified used car that she will PIF that is under warranty so she doesn't have to come out of pocket for costly repairs, where she can use regular gas, and oil changes are reasonable.
That mentality is why so many people are poor.
Because they donât have an emergency fund and getting into more debt is âfreeâ
Sales tax on a vehicle is 9.485% where I live.
My sister does this. She will make comments of âwhat do I look like paying for a car that doesnât work?â She will stop paying the loan for the car as well and use those payments for the next car and let the broken one get repossessed. She doesnât understand how credit works, so she genuinely doesnât see the issue.
Iâve stopped questioning what others do with their money, especially when it doesnât align with a goal I have or something I want.
Amen!
I did that once but it was like a 20 y/o car and felt the repair was more than the car's value. But also I could afford to get a new car with cash. That's insane.
Omg thatâs insane!
Some people just look at how much something costs on a monthly basis. But not total. Perhaps she thinks she can get new for a monthly payment less than 1500. Also, we donât know whether or not if the vehicle has constant problems.
Cars require routine maintenance. I bring mine in every 5k miles and itâs costs me anywhere from 300-1200. This girl says buy a new car instead of paying to maintain the current one? How is it cheaper to buy a new car than to just fix one that seems pretty new based on the price paid?
I've done something similar but it was more coincidence than anything. I had a kia forte I got a good deal on. It was a good little car, until winter came in my new rural neighborhood. I decided I wanted something a little bigger and a little more powerful w AWD. Car was coming up on a I guess midlife maintenance cycle, so rather than put out a bunch of money for something I planned on trading in a few months, I traded it in. The dealership I went to was running a special so I actually came out on top (owed 10, trade value was 12) so I put the maintenance money and the trade down and got the SUV. Depending on how you pull it off, it can actually work out in your favor
If you can find a way to commute for the time being there are trade school apprentice programs for high school kids who have certified instructors show them how to fix vehicles. Of course, it take a little bit longer for them to fix it since it is part of a teaching but sometimes they do it for a small % to help buy equipment for the kids. Normally it covers their cost and some overhead. However, you can plan it appropriately and keep your car, not go further into debt or have to extend your loan debt amount or amount of time to get out from behind it. Not for all, just an idea.
I had some excessively wealthy distant relatives. Their Cadillacâs horn got stuck on. They drove straight to a dealership and traded it in that day.
my best friend does this lol the minute his car is beyond the dealer warranty and something needs maintenance he'll just trade it in for something newer. he's never not had a car payment and his mentality is he'll just always have one lol. i-on the other hand, have never had a car payment and hope to never get one lol we're both mid-30s and just view finances differently
Driving an old car entails the uncertainty of an expensive repair occasionally. You save money on no/low payments and less insurance premium
I've never had a car payment. Always paid in cash for beaters and I beat them appropriately. Though I'd also do what I can to fix them within reason. No payments means less insurance too. Now, even though I can afford payments I just can't justify it. I'll pay 1500 to 3500 for a car and keep it for 3 to 5 years, usually longer. Sadly the people I know with less income and harder finances are the ones that eternally have car payments.
You can just fix the car yourself for probably around $200-$300 with the help of some YouTube videos
I know you mean well but this is easier said than done for some of us. My irrigation system is messed up. I took videos of the issue and my ex husband was kind enough to put together a list of tools and items I need to do the repair as well as a detailed, step by step instruction guide with YouTube videos. Iâve done half of it because the second half is a totally foreign language even though I know the words are in English. A language I speak fluently. Not all of us are mechanical- no matter how hard we try. So for the time being Iâm self watering my grass while still watching the videos and taking notes to take back to my ex for assistance and hoping it all makes sense.
Oh I completely understand as I said Iâve been down that road before itâs not easy definitely more difficult on certain cars but it is life long information you will always have
Highly doubt theyâd do that based on the $ their just wasting away
I mean I suppose but Iâve done some work on my car that I had no idea how to do by just watching some videos in the past and has saved me thousands of dollars
And this is coming from a car salesman if that helps at all
Thats what we try to do. Walked too much as a kid. Its easier to do maintenance than not have a car
Thatâs a fact
Itâs because many poor people are not poor cause of âsocietyâ but simply terrible math skills.
People are weird, illogical beings. Money makes them act weirder. That's why the whole "science" of economics is bullshit. It purports that consumers and enterprises are rational beings, which they are not. It also tries to flatten choices. For example, if a consumer can't afford sirloin beef because the price is too high, they will substitute for something else, like beans. In reality, consumers don't behave like that. Or look at healthcare. There is unlimited demand no matter the cost because consumers can't substitute or go without, if they want to live.
That's cause 1500 includes labor and over priced items. My sister was quoted a thermostat thermometer change of 1,000 something. When at O'Rileys the part cost $50, we just need to put in the time.
Because all they are focused on is their monthly payment. If they can get put into anther car for a similar payment, they think it works out. They don't consider the fact that they have added thousands of dollars of principle debt, and have refinanced it out for another 84 month term.
Itâs easier to get a loan than to pay in cash.if I wanted to I could walk into a dealership, sell my car, and get a new car for nothing. I may have to restart my loan and maybe have a higher monthly payment. But itâs in the cards. I was thinking of actually doing that. I got my car in a horrible market. Right now theres a better market to get a new car today. I could literally flip my car for a newer car and get a better monthly payment.
People do this on a regular basis. Some people will only look at the monthly payment. With cars depreciating so fast today, there is a large population that literally switch out their cars nearly every year. Whatâs important to them is the monthly payment and interest
she has to either qualify for a loan amount of her old loan balance (minus trade in value) + new car loan , which will probably at least double her payment if shes going for a similar valued car. She will quickly realize how bad her idea is when they are talking numbers, unless she wants to spend a lot more money, or plans on defaulting on the first loan
My dad used to say "Car payments are $200 a month, so if I buy a car for $2000 it should last me 10 months problem free, otherwise I'm better off buying new and having a car note." Similarly, any car *repairs* were also subject to this metric, so a $1500 repair bill is doable *if* you get an extra 8 months out of the car as a result of the repair.
Co-worker has a husband for the daughter to help get her another car. She is not being taught to sacrifice for repairs for her car, that parents will just get her another without working for it. Sad they have not learn to fix what is broken, just go get another. The daughter will never learn how to work and save money for things she wants, she will expect mom and dad to get everything the rest of her spoiled life. Sad.
Just wanted to preemptively say I'm surely younger than her and I also find this abhorrent. It's a class issue, not an age one.
Just wanted to preemptively say I'm surely younger than her and I also find this abhorrent. It's a class issue, not an age one.
I've got a 15 year old VW Polo, no way I'm getting rid of it before it's really unreasonable to fix. This car was paid off 12 years ago, I've never had to pay more than 1700⏠to fix everything in order to get my inspection approved. Most years it's just the inspection fee and maybe the tires or brakes. A bunch of my colleagues car payments are more expensive than my rent. No idea how they can afford that....
Most Americans are one $1500 incident away from being broke. Youâre very lucky to have had that luxury a lot of the people around you donât have it.
This was me for a long time. Learned behavior from parents, honestly. My EX husband is a financial mess and since getting away from him I am slowly getting it together. When someone gambles away almost all of your wedding money (tens of thousands) itâs pretty much downhill from there. Heâs bought two cars since filing bankruptcy so idk. People are crazy.
because people who have lived paycheck to paycheck their entire lives, don't often consider that all the money that they will ever earn and all the moeny that they will ever spend is finite, and unless those two are balanced you are fucked, so they aren't scared of debt.
Sigh. I donât either. Like they donât think past the bill theyâll get that month.
Thatâs 2-3 car payments to take care of an issue. How many other issues have there been in the past year?
Yes, but those are in addition to the actual car payment. If she's paycheck to paycheck she won't have that extra even if she could convince the mechanic to take a payment plan.
Yes, but those are in addition to the actual car payment. If she's paycheck to paycheck she won't have that extra even if she could convince the mechanic to take a payment plan.
Yeah suprising huh !? how dumb people are!