I mean.... do you go by how much money you have left after you pay your mothly bills. Do you spend your income tax return or maybe even work some overtime to cover your modding habits? As sad as it may sound, i think i plan for my car better than i do any thing else.

Do they have a rehab center for this ****? Or a patch?

 

Well, as I live at home, and dont do too much, its mostly by how many hours I worked and after I pay the car payment. Lately though, its been very little that Ive bought as I am trying to pay about 100 dollars more per car payment. I WILL PAY THIS THING OFF THIS YEAR!

 

Well, since I have bought my car I changed my direct deposit to put and extra $125 a week in my second checking account. That is my car play money!

 

In your case that definately makes sense. Just think if you could spend the car payments on mods every month.

 

Sounds good. But how do you control the modding bug, when you do have the money? I mean, like an extra 500 bucks.

 

This might sound gay, but I put any extra I have every week from my check plus money from odd jobs and put it in a culligan bottle. Pick my mod, when I have enough, MT makes money off of me.

 

Im 22 years old working full time and full time college student still living at home. I always say im going to take it easy after every mod I buy but that doesnt seem to work.

 

OMG dont tease me. Id have a blower in 6 months...:wallbash:

 

While its a novel idea, it is throwing money away. Have it set up so that you can deposit into a high interest savings account straight from your checking account. Free money is free money.

 

I have a list on my computer of everything I want (and I mean everything 56 things as of now). I pick something from that list and save for it. Like now, I am saving for an o/r h, and either shorties or LT's.

There really is no control for the bug, the only way I can control it is to not buy little odds and ends stuff like I have been doing (paint for interior, steering wheel, etc). I have to stop doing this and pick one thing and save for it instead of trying to do 3-4 different things at a time!

I do sortof the same thing. Every time I spend cash I only use bills >$10. I take the $1's and $5's and put them in a jar. I have been doing this for quite some time and I easily have over $100 a month saved. It's easy too, because you really don't miss the money when you buy something, and really helps you save money too. Kindof like if I want a cd that is $11.99 I think ok that's really going to cost me $20 by putting the change in a jar, so I don't buy the CD. The cad thing about this is I spend $10 on every pack of cigarettes I smoke (unless I buy a carton or use my debit card!)

Also, another way to save money if anyone uses Bank of America. Open a Keep the change savings account. Every time you use you're debit card they round up to the nearest dollar. I have had one for just over a month and already have added $45 to my account! PLUS, for the first 3 months BOA matches you're debit depoists 100% and 5% annualy after that!


With all these things going I should easily be able to save up for a blower or 5.4 swap in no time!

 

Pick what I want, save up for it, buy it. Easy to do.

Got $ in the bank now for wheels, slicks, custom tune(&xcal2) and a few other goodies.

Next up, save for built shortblock. Tough since we're stashing cash to spend 2 weeks in Europe. :helpsmili

The only control I have for the bug is my wife. She does a pretty good job at that too. But, the wife let me buy a KB, can't complain

 

Wait wait, BOA DOUBLES how much you deposit? Explain that. I must be reading that wrong...

 

Not exactly. Here's how it works. You have to have $300 minimum to not get charged a monthly maintenance fee (or auto deposit at least $25 a month).


Heres what I did: I opened an account with $1k. In February my total Keep the change transfers were a little over $23. BOA matches the $23 not the $1k initial deposit. So far this month I have a little over $18 at the end of this month they will match that. They just match the Keep the Change transfers for the first 3 months then do a 5% annual after that. I'm using my debit card for everything for these first 3 months to get every penny I can out of them! lol

 

Thats what i mean right there. Most of you guys dont have to factor in the misses and kids. You get to the point where you are spending so much on your car......you feel like you are neglecting your family. Its a big difference fellas.

But the wife doesnt trip on my modding habits because i take care of home first.

 

That's why I factored how much I could take out to put in the other check book. That is our House payment and play money checkbook. I did some number crunching and cam up with how much I could put into the other account. I was putting $475 a week in there that covered house and gave us a few hundred a month to play with, after rebudgeting I figured we could spare the extra $125 so I started doing that. I made sure for the first couple of months that this wouldn't interfere with family costs and it didn't. If the situatuion arrises that the family needs the extra $$$ 1. I have it in an account (interest bearing checking, chyeah!) ready to use, and 2. If we don't need the money that month my car gets modded!

 

Well, as a server I make all cash, and I have a grand total of all the bills each month(pretend it's $1000, including gas, ins, internet, cell, etc) and once I've accumulated that much in a month(usually takes about 2 weeks) all the extra money the rest of the month that I make goes to fun stuff, be it food, movies, or whatever. In my case with the LT's, tune, and short shifter, I didnt spend any free money for jan OR feb and then went crazy late feb.

Next up gears(some time next month, I've definitely met my quota for fun stuff this month), and then I dont plan on spending until I have a good sum of money for some forced induction..

 

I basically make a list of things I want to do, last year it was performance this year visual. Im not living at home and only have to pay 85 dollars a month for car insurance, the rest is mine:clap: :clap:
I make good money in the summer (actually starting right about now) I'm a cart boy/bag boy at my local golf course and make good amount of tips plus a good hourly wage.

This summer my plans consist of
1) little things - badges, taillight tint, etc.
2) repaint all bumpers and side scoops
3) Saleen rims and tires
4) Saleen wing and a professional detail
5) 4.10s, 75mmtb/plenum, JLT RAI, retune
total cost 4,500K (parents will pay for rims so it's more like 3,800K

After that I really will be done until I'm out of college. Me and my gf have decided its smart to start saving, and after listening to some of you guys, I'm gonna stick it out and live at my house until I grad (March of 2008). Then once I have a full time Job as a Master Tech I'll get an apt until I move to SC

 

Ya I just usually save and just spend it whenever I find something I want...
sometimes spent without not saving...

 

I just find a mod I really really want and then I pay all my bills and see what I have left, if it's not enough I have to wait another month :\ lol

 

i just pay my bills, (car payment,insurance,cellphone,credit card) and what I have left goes into savings. Which is normally around $~250 a month. I have been buying little things here and there so its hard for me to keep saving. Oh yeah and I live at home. I think im gonna retune my car to 87 instead of the 91+ to help save $ on gas, and just tune it back up when I go to the track.

 

Sct Big Air Mass air $275.00
60lb inject $394.95
Jlt CAI painted Comp Orange $100.00
ORh-pipe with Flows $150.00
Mgw Shifter $180.00 plus $30.00 for handle
KB Subframe con Don't remember
QA1s $400.00
Pinion Snuber(JDM) $165.00
Diff Brace(JDM) $100.00
Raptor shift light $90.00
SLP line Lock $125.00
Afco Heat exchanger $325.00
Accu-Fab Single blade Thottle body $350.00
Auto Meter Lunar gauges Boost, Fuel pressure, Air-fuel(Air fuel gauge is crap) $400.00
Eibach Drag kit $225.00
CFDF Clutch $250.0
26 spline Liberty gears Input Shaft $240.00
Antenna delete UPR $10.00
Whipple w/3.0 pulley $2800.00
SCT XCalibrator W/JDM tune $500.00
Soon to have a solid rear w/Maximum Motorsports lower control arms (jackers)3.73 gears,Eaton posi and 31 spline axles.Just waiting on install. $1145.00

And that is not including the install charges

 

Financial advisors generally say that you should spend no more then 15% of your gross income on transportation expenses. That would mean that if you spend $500 per month on your car, you would need to earn $3,333 per month. This of course assumes that you are paying rent/mortgage and having other normal living expenses.

For you young stallions out there living at home with the rents, well then I guess you can spend the whole shooting match. But if I had a kid making a car payment, I would not allow it to be more then about 25% of what they were earning. I simply don't see the point of working for no other reason then paying for a car.

 

well getting parts at my house is like getting something passed through congress....

i have to take care of other things 1st
wife, 2 girls (5-6), house, normal house bills, day care for 1 and school supplies for the other, blah blah blah.....

if i want something i have to "BUTTER UP" the wife 1st (wash dishes, clothes, be super nice, that stuff) then she says "how much is it?"

i give her $900 of my check to pay all the bills, what ever is left (which aint much on 40 hrs) i get to keep...so all my $$$ for mods comes from OT!!!!

so right now its 6 days a week 10hrs a day...double sunday's if they let me, i made nearly $9000 in OT last year but only managed about $1000 in parts?
that aint right!!!