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2. Never buy any vehicle unless you can have it paid for in three years or less. Cars, trucks, boats, ATV's, snowmobiles, watercraft... we all love to get around. And we like to get around in the fanciest way we know how. Face it, once in a while an ego stroke feels pretty damned good! However, vehicles depreciate in value over time... they're worth less older than they are newer. Purchasing a vehicle though, unless you've got the scratch to plunk down the total sale amount right away, requires a loan. The longer the loan amount one takes, the more interest they'll be paying. Hmmmm... value goes down over time... interest goes up over time... somewhere there's got to be a break-even point. There is. That point of time is three years... 36 monthly payments. If you take out a loan for longer than that, the interest increases at a rate greater than the depreciation of the vehicle. You're throwing your money away! Yes, it would be nice to cruise around in a great car and sail the Great Lakes in a wonderful boat. But if you can't pay it off in three years or less, you really should be looking at something less fancy. This isn't meant to be a ball-buster... it's called "living within one's means," and it's a damned smart thing to do. Anyone buying a vehicle they cannot have fully paid in (at most) three years deserves to be slapped. |