The balance: saving too little vs saving too much. AND Tesla

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Since many are wondering about our mortgage I will clarify. Our PITI is $4250 with 27 year left. I do not intend to pay the 3.9% loan sooner. My general rule is 1/4 of our income for each of the 4 category: taxes, house, saving and other (food, daycare cost, vacation, etc ..). Our house was brand new so I do not expect any of the big ticket item for at least another 5-7 years. I know most of you like to own your house free and clear but I like leverage. None of this in defense of buying the car by the way.

That is a huge mortgage for your income.

Our HHI is $250k and our mortgage is $4500. It's no big deal.

Actually it's a large mortgage for your inclme and you wouldn't be able to pay it on one mortgage. We make over 400k and our 15 year is 5100. I wouldn't want it any higher

And you know this person knows what they're talking about, because they're too busy to write coherently.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Let your DH get the car if that is what he desires. My DH is a car guys. He also likes watches. I like to travel. Everyone has something they like to splurge on.

We bought a similiar house with similar mortgage with a 250 income. We now have a HHI of $1 million. Our house was about 100k higher than our budget at the time. We had a full time nanny and preschool tuition costs back then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Since many are wondering about our mortgage I will clarify. Our PITI is $4250 with 27 year left. I do not intend to pay the 3.9% loan sooner. My general rule is 1/4 of our income for each of the 4 category: taxes, house, saving and other (food, daycare cost, vacation, etc ..). Our house was brand new so I do not expect any of the big ticket item for at least another 5-7 years. I know most of you like to own your house free and clear but I like leverage. None of this in defense of buying the car by the way.

That is a huge mortgage for your income.

Our HHI is $250k and our mortgage is $4500. It's no big deal.

Actually it's a large mortgage for your inclme and you wouldn't be able to pay it on one mortgage. We make over 400k and our 15 year is 5100. I wouldn't want it any higher

And you know this person knows what they're talking about, because they're too busy to write coherently.

Next time I will make sure and write more clearly for you. I'm sorry you're jealous of my income and feel the need to put me down. Instead of focusing on my posts you should focus on making more money.

[Anonymous]

When you're older and look back at you life, are you really going to say, "I'm glad we spent the money and got a Tesla."

Maybe you will, but that's weird to me.

You can make it work. You seem like fiscally responsible people, so if that's what you want to prioritize, I'm sure you can do it.

I'd take some of that money and go on some really great family vacations when the kids are a bit older, but that's just me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to the other poster who suggested the Tesla 3. That's a good compromise. Half the cost of the S or the X and still all the cool Tesla stuff. Although the X would be better with the kiddos. I'd be fine buying one in your financial position. We've looked at them before, but they just don't work for what we want to do. Too limited with the charging network and just wouldn't work well for trips down to Hatteras, towing the boat, drives in the Shenandoah, etc. If your primary use case is commuting though then I think it's a great option if you go into it with the mindset that it likely isn't a "buy it and hold it" car. There are just too many doodads in that car for me to believe it's going to be able to be a reliable car for 10-15 years. I think it's more of a car for people who trade up every few years or lease.

This is another point that bears repeating. Tesla's owners have been first adopters who have been quite easy going with issues related to the car. Tesla has been frantically addressing quality issues and the car is a lot better since launch. However on the whole, Tesla is still suffering from reliability problems which should give people pause if they intend to be a main daily driver without a backup.

+1 - the core group of early adopters has, IMHO, actually skewed the reporting of issues. This early adopter group (comprised largely of Tesla fanboys and Elon nuthuggers) are more than willing to tolerate and fiddle around with things that normal car owners would find maddening. I would never buy one except two distinct use cases - commuting and pleasure driving. In both of those scenarios I would definitely keep my regular cars as backup and for longer trips as one of the PP's mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Since many are wondering about our mortgage I will clarify. Our PITI is $4250 with 27 year left. I do not intend to pay the 3.9% loan sooner. My general rule is 1/4 of our income for each of the 4 category: taxes, house, saving and other (food, daycare cost, vacation, etc ..). Our house was brand new so I do not expect any of the big ticket item for at least another 5-7 years. I know most of you like to own your house free and clear but I like leverage. None of this in defense of buying the car by the way.

That is a huge mortgage for your income.

Our HHI is $250k and our mortgage is $4500. It's no big deal.

Actually it's a large mortgage for your inclme and you wouldn't be able to pay it on one mortgage. We make over 400k and our 15 year is 5100. I wouldn't want it any higher

And you know this person knows what they're talking about, because they're too busy to write coherently.

Next time I will make sure and write more clearly for you. I'm sorry you're jealous of my income and feel the need to put me down. Instead of focusing on my posts you should focus on making more money.

New poster here. I make more than you and still think you can't write and have minimal financial literacy. Does that help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Since many are wondering about our mortgage I will clarify. Our PITI is $4250 with 27 year left. I do not intend to pay the 3.9% loan sooner. My general rule is 1/4 of our income for each of the 4 category: taxes, house, saving and other (food, daycare cost, vacation, etc ..). Our house was brand new so I do not expect any of the big ticket item for at least another 5-7 years. I know most of you like to own your house free and clear but I like leverage. None of this in defense of buying the car by the way.

That is a huge mortgage for your income.

Our HHI is $250k and our mortgage is $4500. It's no big deal.

Actually it's a large mortgage for your inclme and you wouldn't be able to pay it on one mortgage. We make over 400k and our 15 year is 5100. I wouldn't want it any higher

And you know this person knows what they're talking about, because they're too busy to write coherently.

Next time I will make sure and write more clearly for you. I'm sorry you're jealous of my income and feel the need to put me down. Instead of focusing on my posts you should focus on making more money.

New poster here. I make more than you and still think you can't write and have minimal financial literacy. Does that help?

How do you gather this from me saying it is a large mortgage for their income and saying what our mortgage is vs our income??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you're older and look back at you life, are you really going to say, "I'm glad we spent the money and got a Tesla."

Maybe you will, but that's weird to me.

You can make it work. You seem like fiscally responsible people, so if that's what you want to prioritize, I'm sure you can do it.

I'd take some of that money and go on some really great family vacations when the kids are a bit older, but that's just me.

When OP's older and look back at her life, is she really going to say "I'm glad I had a net worth of 1.16 million in my mid-30s instead of a net worth of 1.14 million. Totally better than having that nice, cutting edge car we'd been eyeing for years?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Since many are wondering about our mortgage I will clarify. Our PITI is $4250 with 27 year left. I do not intend to pay the 3.9% loan sooner. My general rule is 1/4 of our income for each of the 4 category: taxes, house, saving and other (food, daycare cost, vacation, etc ..). Our house was brand new so I do not expect any of the big ticket item for at least another 5-7 years. I know most of you like to own your house free and clear but I like leverage. None of this in defense of buying the car by the way.

That is a huge mortgage for your income.

Our HHI is $250k and our mortgage is $4500. It's no big deal.

Actually it's a large mortgage for your inclme and you wouldn't be able to pay it on one mortgage. We make over 400k and our 15 year is 5100. I wouldn't want it any higher

And you know this person knows what they're talking about, because they're too busy to write coherently.

Next time I will make sure and write more clearly for you. I'm sorry you're jealous of my income and feel the need to put me down. Instead of focusing on my posts you should focus on making more money.

New poster here. I make more than you and still think you can't write and have minimal financial literacy. Does that help?

How do you determine someone can't write from a few sentences on a local internet forum? You realize people use iPhones and deal with autocorrect, kids running around etc, right? It's not like posters are writing a novel. If you spend that much time on your posts you need to find some hobbies.

Also "can't write" doesn't make sense. It implies I'm unable to write as opposed to writing poorly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:+1 to the other poster who suggested the Tesla 3. That's a good compromise. Half the cost of the S or the X and still all the cool Tesla stuff. Although the X would be better with the kiddos. I'd be fine buying one in your financial position. We've looked at them before, but they just don't work for what we want to do. Too limited with the charging network and just wouldn't work well for trips down to Hatteras, towing the boat, drives in the Shenandoah, etc. If your primary use case is commuting though then I think it's a great option if you go into it with the mindset that it likely isn't a "buy it and hold it" car. There are just too many doodads in that car for me to believe it's going to be able to be a reliable car for 10-15 years. I think it's more of a car for people who trade up every few years or lease.

This is another point that bears repeating. Tesla's owners have been first adopters who have been quite easy going with issues related to the car. Tesla has been frantically addressing quality issues and the car is a lot better since launch. However on the whole, Tesla is still suffering from reliability problems which should give people pause if they intend to be a main daily driver without a backup.

+1 - the core group of early adopters has, IMHO, actually skewed the reporting of issues. This early adopter group (comprised largely of Tesla fanboys and Elon nuthuggers) are more than willing to tolerate and fiddle around with things that normal car owners would find maddening. I would never buy one except two distinct use cases - commuting and pleasure driving. In both of those scenarios I would definitely keep my regular cars as backup and for longer trips as one of the PP's mentioned.

I am really curious why y'all think first adopters are less likely to report defects. Or for that matter why they're more brand loyal. If anything, their defining traits are that they enjoy being part of the product beta process and they are willing to explore new brands. Yes, obviously agree OP shouldn't depose of all of their other means of transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're older and look back at you life, are you really going to say, "I'm glad we spent the money and got a Tesla."

Maybe you will, but that's weird to me.

You can make it work. You seem like fiscally responsible people, so if that's what you want to prioritize, I'm sure you can do it.

I'd take some of that money and go on some really great family vacations when the kids are a bit older, but that's just me.

When OP's older and look back at her life, is she really going to say "I'm glad I had a net worth of 1.16 million in my mid-30s instead of a net worth of 1.14 million. Totally better than having that nice, cutting edge car we'd been eyeing for years?"

Hey, different strokes for different folks. I can't imagine getting that much joy from a car, but I know some people do. With small kids, I might look back on my life and say, "wow, I'm so glad we had a great net worth in our 30's, it made saving for college so less stressful."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't do it at that income and with that mortgage. You don't have enough in liquid savings to pay cash and have enough liquid for 2 houses.

And the fact that a dentist driving a Tesla is ridiculous.

What is wrong with a dentist driving a Tesla?

[Anonymous]

I guess as a threshold matter I would figure out whether your DH is really interested in the car because it's not clear to me he is. It's a lot of money to spend on a car and if he's not that into then it seems like a waste of money.

On another note, it seems like a lot of money to spend on what is essentially a commuter car that you will be putting a lot of miles on or maybe he's sitting in traffic a lot?

[Anonymous]

OP...do you think your in-laws feel like they missed out because they were frugal?

My parents built their wealth from nothing and are frugal specifically because they want to leave something to their children and grandchildren. That's what they've been working for. That's what makes them happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you're older and look back at you life, are you really going to say, "I'm glad we spent the money and got a Tesla."

Maybe you will, but that's weird to me.

You can make it work. You seem like fiscally responsible people, so if that's what you want to prioritize, I'm sure you can do it.

I'd take some of that money and go on some really great family vacations when the kids are a bit older, but that's just me.

When OP's older and look back at her life, is she really going to say "I'm glad I had a net worth of 1.16 million in my mid-30s instead of a net worth of 1.14 million. Totally better than having that nice, cutting edge car we'd been eyeing for years?"

Hey, different strokes for different folks. I can't imagine getting that much joy from a car, but I know some people do. With small kids, I might look back on my life and say, "wow, I'm so glad we had a great net worth in our 30's, it made saving for college so less stressful."

Of course you're entitled to a different opinion on how to spend your money, but what's not fair to do is claim the comparison is between having a nice car or having a good net worth. Obviously everyone sane would choose the latter. The decline in OP's very high net worth would be only the immediate depreciation from driving a new car off the lot. So the actual comparison is between having an excellent net worth for someone in their mid 30s and having almost exactly the same net worth and a car that they apparently value.

You can obviously disagree about the subjective value of a fancy car. What's silly to do is to set up a straw man where OP is choosing between a car or being able to comfortably afford to send her kids to college.