Quote:
Originally Posted by SehrSchnell
When I was dating I was living in Manhattan... so going on a date (nice restaurant, nice bottle of wine) will run you around $300 that date. But even now, going out with the wife and kid will cost me at least $100 an outing, and that's at a local family friendly restaurant.
But that's just food and drinks... you still need to buy groceries and random crap you like to buy... video games, blue-rays, books, sports, etc... If you have only $800 a month to play with I seriously don't see how anybody can have a lot of fun.
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Yeah I can see it being bad in Manhattan.... not so bad being in the suburbs.
And I don't drink alcohol, nor have I ever dated a woman who drank alcohol, so I've never had to consider that as an expense.
$100 for a family is pretty standard, assuming a 4-person family.
I guess I just don't do as much as others. Netflix..no blu-ray expense, don't play video games anymore (other than the occasional Modern warfare or GT5), not at all into sports, digital books FTW (i hate carrying things around..)
I spend more than 50% of my "salary" on my car when I take into account mods and track expenses, but I seriously don't spend money elsewhere... I don't have an interest in spending money elsewhere, so it's not like I'm sacrificing anything lol.
car and investments... that's all I spend $ on. maybe 5% on the gf..maybe.
So op:
if you feel that getting M3 is worth not spending money elsewhere, but you still have enough for investments/savings, then go ahead
but it seems that, with $3200/month, you really can't afford to 'buy' it. At most leasing it.
how much $ do you have put away? you should have at least the standard 6 months worth of expenses put away in liquid-type assets.
if you don't have at least 6 months of your current expenses stored away, don't even think about adding any new type of major expense.
you mentioned a condo.... but why a condo?
with a 70k income, why not look into getting an apt complex?
if you minimize your expenses, you should be able to afford a 4 plex no problem.
Not sure how the market is in your area, nor do I know anything of your credit history.
But, at least over here, you would be able to easily afford a 4plex that's anywhere from 400k-600k, since you can use the income you get from the rent towards your own income (well up to 75% IIRC), and have no issue qualifying for the mortgage
if you plan to do this, don't get a m3, at least not in your name, it'll mess you up bad. I'm in this particular situation right now...as I have multiple leases in my name.
BUT if you do still decide to get the M3..and want to get a mortgage (be it a house or a complex), then just have someone else write the checks (you pay them in cash, they write a check). since if you can produce 6 months or so of cancelled checks proving you weren't making the payments on that lease, the lender may not hold it against your...this depends on the lender of course.
You should ask yourself this:
Why do I want a M3?
Once you really know the answer, then you'll be able to see if it's worth it or not. There is no such thing as a free lunch, so you have to see what is worth it for you.
it's your life, it's your (I'm assuming) hard earned money, use it how you please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW Fanatic
If I was you, I'd sell the E46, buy a small used car that doesn't require much maintenance and has already taken its biggest deprecation hit. Then save save save for a while, and lease a USED M3. It's not the end of the world if you can't get it straight away, I was 16 when I first saw the M3 in pictures, decided to buy a 325XI when I was 18 because I felt like the M3 wouldn't have been a good choice due to insurance etc and then this year I brought an M3, only 20 years old. Good luck, and don't forget what others have already said, your net worth matters more than your salary because if you lose your job you'll be stuck with rent and car payments, with no-where to go.
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Not sure how it is over there...but down here, it generally costs the same or MORE to lease a used car over a new car...and that's if they'll even lease it to you...
I also personally don't see the point in paying cash for anything... ever...
paying cash for a car is a seriously waste.....
rates are low, 1.9-2.9%!!
Are you seriously trying to say you can't use that cash to make more than 3% profit?
70k cash is quite a decent chunk. there are plenty of investments one can make that will yield more than 3%/year...
but then this will turn into a lease vs finance vs buy thread..and we have enough of those, so I'll just stop here
welcome to post tl;dr lol