Are you happy? Over/Under $75k

[the keifer]

My wife & I decided when we got married,16 yrs ago, that we wanted 1 kid so we could spoil him & that's exactly what we have done! I say that because we made a conscious decision plan our lifestyle & finances around our long term goals. The key, IMO, is to not try and live beyond your means of income and cut corners. Examples: We have always had 2 nice vehicles(not expensive). Buy a vehicle that is a year or two old with low miles; just as good yet thousands cheaper. When we took advantage of low interest rates & built our house, we were tempted with more square footage, but quickly decided that for only 3 people heck no too much to maintain. Don't let your eyes write a check that your bank account can't cash. $75,000 or $18,000(C&R salaries) can be manageable!!!

I'm with ya Eddie. I could probably afford to buy a new car but I don't need one. In fact I drive an older low mileage car that I paid cash for.

I hear ya K, I drive a 2003 Trailblazer that is paid for and has 84,000mi. It runs like a new one and why do I need to be driving 15 min to work in an Mercedes or Escalade that just stays parked at work all day!? I just got my wife a 2008 Yukon with just 32,000 mi. You can't tell it from a 2010. That is our "going out" vehicle for travel & leisure. It's not my steez, but my wife looks good in it & I feel better when she travels for her work; nom sayin???

93 ford tempo for me. And it's got around 84,000 miles on it as well. Not the best lookin car out there but it gets me where I need to go. And I pay a lot less to fix it than what a payment would cost on a newer one. I also got a 97 T-bird with less than 20,000 on it. Looks and runs like new too. Got it when I still lived at home, and payed it off a year before I moved out. I plan to keep that one as a classic.