At least that is how it seems.

So im probably gonna sound a bit like WaterDr here, with all his housing market threads and whatnot.

Learn from my mistakes!

So. I bought my Mustang back in October of 2004. It is now July of 2008. I bought it new for a cool clean $28,000. My payments were $530 a month

I put in a total of 23 payments. That is a total of $12,190 paid out.

My payments were at first approx 530 a month. In September of 2006 I was looking at what i could do to lower my payments, i refinanced the mustang and brought the payments down to 480 a month. THIS WAS A STUPID MOVE because i basically reset my loan to 60 months.

I paid out another 22 months. That is an additional of 10,560.

So, i have currently doled out a grand spanking total of $22,750

I STILL owe 19,000, so that means of all that 22,750 i have paid out, there is a GRAND TOTAL of 13,750 that i have bascially THROWN AWAY. Ford diddnt get it. I dont have it. The financing company has it.

That is approximatly $286.45 dollars a month i have graciously handed over to Wells Fargo Financial over the past 4 years.

I recently refinanced again to get out of a payment and to lower my payments to 420 a month, this time i had expected i would be selling the car and i made sure there are no early out penalties, and no refinance charges. I did this to free up as much as i can cause diapers arent cheap, and the wife only works part time and i pay ALL of the bills. My loan is now set out to another 60 months. This was a gamble, because if i cant sell the car (which i thought would be easy) i am stuck with the car.

Luckily all of the sudden i have 3 people expressing interest all very hopeful to get financed to buy this car.

If not, and worst case scenario i would end up paying out another 25,200 to add on top of the 22,750 i have paid,

resulting in a grand total of paying 48,000 for a 28,000 car. That is throwing away $20,000



The problem with america is that the finance companys who used to be somewhat reserved in loaning money are just BEGGING you to take thier money, YOU DESERVE THIS CAR! You DESERVE this bedroom set! You DESERVE all this stuff that without them you can not afford.

If i would have just tucked that 500 a month away i would have 24,000 in the bank and could damn near buy a brand new mustang GT and have no payments.

Remember, Yes, it is nice that you can achieve such easy spending power, but there really is a cost involved. And when somone puts things in perspective, especially when you have a family, it seems almost retarded to sign up for a 20,000 loan that will cost you 35,000 in the end for something that wont be worth **** by the time yer done paying it off.

By all means, SPEND MONEY! the economy needs people spending, but just realize exactly how much money you end up giving away to other people when financing.

THAT is the reason im getting rid of my mustang. Im tired of damn near throwing $300 every month in the trash

That is the reason i want to save up CASH and buy a Mustang 5.0 CASH, and not be paying some ******* out there for the privledge of driving something that im responsible for even though it actually belongs to somebody else.

/end rant.

 

THIS RIGHT HERE IS WHAT IM TALKING AABOUT!!!!!!!

This commercial is the antichrist!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F1bJ8OJGYg

this commercial almost reduces humans to mere machines, and showing the smoothness of using a VISA (you bet your *** every time you use that card some of your money goes to them) and shows how somebody who actually wants to spend thier cash without a middleman is a PROBLEM.

this insistance of financing companys getting thier paws in the middle of every transaction in america makes me sick!

 

Thanks Jack I needed to hear that I was currently considering getting the wife a newer car. (not brand new but more than I can pay in cash) I have never been in debt before and was thinking hey in a year I will have it paid off but I was still looking for a push in one direction or another to do it or not thanks for the sound advice man I really appreciate it.

 

that is why my cards are paid in full each month. and any true american is cheated out of so much money everyday.

 

Wow Jack. I bought my stang new in october of 2004. Sticker price was 27,900. Luckily, I had an X plan from work. after haggling ( my wife did all this ). I got the total price down to 23,500 which included the extended warranty. Would have been 2 grand less without it.. Plus I financed through the dealership to knock off an extra grand. Then I got my loan from my credit union for the full amount at 4% interest. I would have gotten 2% but my credit score got me there.. But anyway my payments have and will be $444.00 a month for 60 months. That includes 2 sets of free tires if I can reach 25,000 miles on them. ( didn't happen lol). But still My grand total will be $ 26,600 when she's paid off in full. Not bad IMHO with the finance charges. Plus it's payroll deduction to my savings. I don't even calculate it into my budget.. Like I said, I got lucky, because my wife haggled the salesman to show us the invoice and we went from there.. But I was really hoping to get 2% interest rate for the loan. 4% was acceptable though. Credit Cards got me this time..

 

I hear you Jack. I never got in that situation but I was very tempted about a year after buying my Mustang. My payments were only $320 a month though. I was not making near what I am now, living in an apartment, 4 or 5 maxed out credit cards, and barely had enough money for gas. I was getting desperate and thought about refinancing.

I looked at the outcome which you have experienced and realized I would be throwing money away. I already was because of my high interest rate because I had fucked my credit up so bad right out of high school. At the point of credit cards, I was living for free at home, no car or truck payment because my parents gave me a truck, had a job, threw the cash away on stupid **** and used the credit cards to buy even more stupid ****. I kept thinking...wow...I paid for a $50 pair of jeans or whatever on this credit card and in the end I will have paid double that for them.

My credit cards were maxed out so each month I was getting hit with over limit fees and late fees because I couldn't pay them. I was drowning! I stepped up and decided to stick it out and just get a second job. I paid one credit card off at a time and then paid the car off 2 yrs early. I have not owned a credit card in 2-3 yrs now. I still work 2 jobs because I am used to it. At first it gave me money to play with but now it pays for my gas! I am scared to death of credit cards now and refuse to ever get one again. I pay for everything in cash. I figure if I can't pay for it right now, I really don't need it right now.

I was tempted when I bought my house to get a Lowe's card to get a washer and dryer because they would deliver it for free and install it for free. My girlfriend told me to sleep on it and think about it. She bought the washer, I bought the dryer and we paid cash.

Even though I am not in your exact situation I feel for you and know where you are coming from. Aside from Logan I am on the same page with you man. It sucks! I threw so much money away for years that I could have put away and saved.

Live and learn...I know I sure did. Now I have zero car payment, no credit cards, just normal everyday bills to live. I know I could cut out all my damn movie channels, I don't HAVE to have a cell phone or internet which would give me an extra $300 a month if I did not have those things but we get spoiled. At least if the time comes I know I can get rid of that stuff and be ok. I have $143,000 in debt but it is a house that I am comfortable paying $1100 a month on.

Stay strong buddy. Sorry for the book.

 

All credit cards are not made equal. They all have their good points and bad points. I used to have 4 credit cards at different rates, Not naming any specific brand you should keep at least one major card with the lowest rate you can find. Use it very wisely. I paid off 3 of my cards at a total of well over 20 grand and tossed them in the shredder. It took a tight budget and some 401 K money to do it, but it sure eased my monthly payments and peace of mind, for the short term that is. Now I have to start saving for retirement without the buffer I used to have. I will not buy something on the card if I can't pay it off very quickly. Just pay extra if you can't pay the amount in full.. That will help, and try not think of your max on the card as your goal to hit.. Sometimes you can actually enjoy the plastic as I am for this weekend. I'm gonna use my Gold card to pay for a nice suite at myrtle beach for some well deserved R&R. I'll work on paying that off over the next month or 2 and still have some gas money.. Money makes the world go round and sometimes it can humble you, even if you make a decent wage..