Let’s Talk… Fancy Cars!

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with my wife about some of the bad financial moves we made early on in our marriage. Every couple makes them and I write this blog post to save you from making the same mistakes we made. 

One of the biggest mistakes we made early on is buying / leasing luxury cars. We had a BMW, a Hummer, and a Lexus. At 44, I look back and ask why I did that. Luxury cars depreciate rapidly and end up costing a ton of money. For example, the Hummer got 10 miles to the gallon and cost $120 to fill up because gas was almost $4 a gallon. 

If I had it to do all over again, I’d buy a nice reliable car/suv and save the extra money. I can then use the extra money to add to my kids college fund or pay down my mortgage. What kind of growth did I miss out on? How much mortgage interest could I have saved by paying down my mortgage early? 

When you see that Lexus Christmas commercial, think about how much a decision today can cost you in the long run.