| I cannot help but notice that many working class people spend so much money on purchasing new expensive vehicles with payments that are exceeding more than 30-40% of their net income. In my hometown this scenario is not uncommon and I too got caught up in the nice, new, and expensive car charade in my twenties. Between movies, music videos, and friends my thought process at that time was that a nice car was a sign of success and status. It never occurred to me that my car was depreciating rapidly in value over time and by financing my cars I was doing the opposite of what “WEALTHY” people do. According to an article entitled "Knowing The Deal On Auto Depreciation" by Lucy Lazarony on average a vehicle loses about 12-15% of it's value per year and for a brand new car the depreciating value is huge. This happens because as soon as the person drives off the lot the car's value goes from retail to a wholesale price. When I started becoming what I call "financially focused" I made sure I paid cash for my car after I sold my home in 2004. Sure it wasn't a brand new car with that great luxury never touched smell, but I immediately became the owner and the title came directly to me. It was truly an accomplishment as well as a great empowering feeling. So now when I return home to visit family and friends I am always amazed at how many beautiful new luxury cars I see in the parking stalls of apartment buildings. I wonder to myself if the drivers of these beautiful cars realize that their monthly payments over time could have went towards the down payment of a home instead of being thrown away by what some call “dummy depreciation”?Warm regards, Dina Harbour, Extraordinaire Stay Connected to W.O.W. download our customized toolbar today!CEO & Host of Women Obtaining Wealth Women Obtaining Wealth Organization W.O.W. Conversations on Internet Radio, Sundays @ 9p EST Call-In # for show: (646) 478-5836 Recommend Me! |
No comments:
Post a Comment