Can we afford a $105k Range Rover or LX570?

[Anonymous]

Loses value as soon as you drive it off the lot. Preschool is expensive, good care from a nanny or excellent center is expensive, preschool isn’t cheap, private schooling is 50k/yr and Duke is basically 82K/yr. thrown in all of the sports, tutoring, trips, miscellany— it’s a lot.

Get a certified Lexus 350 sub 10K miles, pohanka has quite a few and so does silver spring. Hell, get a gx 460

[Anonymous]

At his age OP and his wife are doing very well…beyond very well….but he needs some experienced adult guidance. The person who mentioned the FU fund was very helpful and hopefully OP listens.

[Anonymous]

We love luxury cars too but we found out a few years ago that they depreciate really, really fast. While we can afford to take the hit, it just feels too wasteful.

So what we've done is buy them 1-2 years old. They've already taken the huge hit on depreciation and you still get a lot of warranty. They are usually in excellent shape. If you have kids soon - they will trash it anyway. Even a neat freak like me struggles to keep the car Cheerio free.

[Anonymous]

If you want it then buy it. A car will not ruin your life. If circumstances change the car can sold. Life is short and if it will bring you joy then do it! Enjoy your car!

[Anonymous]

Well, you can, but you are being incredibly stupid with it.
You should get a car that won't be a money pit, such as Toyota.
Parts for cars your want and labor are extremely expensive, whereas Toyota parts are everywhere and much cheaper and everyone can fix them.
Watch Scotty Kilmer on Youtube.

[Anonymous]

Dont. Kids are expensive. Save for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, you can, but you are being incredibly stupid with it.
You should get a car that won't be a money pit, such as Toyota.
Parts for cars your want and labor are extremely expensive, whereas Toyota parts are everywhere and much cheaper and everyone can fix them.
Watch Scotty Kilmer on Youtube.

Lexus IS Toyota.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 29 and DW is 30. I make 290k (possibly and likely more if my employer does well) and she makes 120k so HHI is ~410k. Both of our jobs are very stable. Planning to start trying for kids in the next 2-3 months.

The numbers:

~300k in home equity (850k home value, 500k left on mortgage)
400k in retirement
160k in brokerage/investments
60k saved for college
100k liquid savings as an emergency fund

We max out 401ks, liquid e-fund could sustain our spending for 12+ months, any excess every month is put into VTSAX, we wear cheap clothes from Target and Amazon, and vacation/weekend away consists of going to my in-law's place on the water in DE.

I feel like we're doing everything right financially and on a good trajectory for 1) paying full freight for our two planned children's college tuition and 2) early retirement at a SWR that's comfortable for us.

I really like cars and want to have an indulgence. DW is not a car person and doesn't really care for expensive/flashy stuff in general but thought the RR and LX were both really nice SUVs. She's on board in that if I really want it I should treat myself. It would also make a lot more sense in the near/mid-term than something like a 911.

What does everyone think? If no, then when would a "smart" (as smart as an emotional purchase like this can be) time be?

It really depends on what the rest of your spending habits will be like once you start to have kids. If you are one of those people who must have $1000 strollers and organic everything, plus expensive activities, tutoring, etc, kids will be very expensive for you to raise. If you are going to raise your kids with a more rational approach, then kids would not cost you that much.

That said, I'm going to leave your car choices up to you and only speak to the considerations of purchasing a $100k vehicle. In this regard, the purchase is beyond just utility and is something you are looking to enjoy and experience. As far as buying experiences in an expensive car goes, I generally subscribe to the 2-month gross income rule. The calculation is that I wouldn't own such cars past warranty, and it would probably be worth about 40-50% of its original value after 3 years. So paying about 3% of my gross income on an experience I really enjoy seems to be okay. But you have to really enjoy it. To be honest, very few cars even at $100k give you this sensation, so make sure the car you choose is something that will justify this level of expenditure to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 29 and DW is 30. I make 290k (possibly and likely more if my employer does well) and she makes 120k so HHI is ~410k. Both of our jobs are very stable. Planning to start trying for kids in the next 2-3 months.

The numbers:

~300k in home equity (850k home value, 500k left on mortgage)
400k in retirement
160k in brokerage/investments
60k saved for college
100k liquid savings as an emergency fund

We max out 401ks, liquid e-fund could sustain our spending for 12+ months, any excess every month is put into VTSAX, we wear cheap clothes from Target and Amazon, and vacation/weekend away consists of going to my in-law's place on the water in DE.

I feel like we're doing everything right financially and on a good trajectory for 1) paying full freight for our two planned children's college tuition and 2) early retirement at a SWR that's comfortable for us.

I really like cars and want to have an indulgence. DW is not a car person and doesn't really care for expensive/flashy stuff in general but thought the RR and LX were both really nice SUVs. She's on board in that if I really want it I should treat myself. It would also make a lot more sense in the near/mid-term than something like a 911.

What does everyone think? If no, then when would a "smart" (as smart as an emotional purchase like this can be) time be?

It really depends on what the rest of your spending habits will be like once you start to have kids. If you are one of those people who must have $1000 strollers and organic everything, plus expensive activities, tutoring, etc, kids will be very expensive for you to raise. If you are going to raise your kids with a more rational approach, then kids would not cost you that much.

That said, I'm going to leave your car choices up to you and only speak to the considerations of purchasing a $100k vehicle. In this regard, the purchase is beyond just utility and is something you are looking to enjoy and experience. As far as buying experiences in an expensive car goes, I generally subscribe to the 2-month gross income rule. The calculation is that I wouldn't own such cars past warranty, and it would probably be worth about 40-50% of its original value after 3 years. So paying about 3% of my gross income on an experience I really enjoy seems to be okay. But you have to really enjoy it. To be honest, very few cars even at $100k give you this sensation, so make sure the car you choose is something that will justify this level of expenditure to you.

Good advice here. I am surprised by this post.
Crazy question - what do you think the avg HHI of someone with a RR was? I assume it was +3M a year....
Are people with only $410k in HHI and less than $500k in retirement savings really driving around with 100k+ cars???????

[Anonymous]

if you have to ask, then no

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 29 and DW is 30. I make 290k (possibly and likely more if my employer does well) and she makes 120k so HHI is ~410k. Both of our jobs are very stable. Planning to start trying for kids in the next 2-3 months.

The numbers:

~300k in home equity (850k home value, 500k left on mortgage)
400k in retirement
160k in brokerage/investments
60k saved for college
100k liquid savings as an emergency fund

We max out 401ks, liquid e-fund could sustain our spending for 12+ months, any excess every month is put into VTSAX, we wear cheap clothes from Target and Amazon, and vacation/weekend away consists of going to my in-law's place on the water in DE.

I feel like we're doing everything right financially and on a good trajectory for 1) paying full freight for our two planned children's college tuition and 2) early retirement at a SWR that's comfortable for us.

I really like cars and want to have an indulgence. DW is not a car person and doesn't really care for expensive/flashy stuff in general but thought the RR and LX were both really nice SUVs. She's on board in that if I really want it I should treat myself. It would also make a lot more sense in the near/mid-term than something like a 911.

What does everyone think? If no, then when would a "smart" (as smart as an emotional purchase like this can be) time be?

It really depends on what the rest of your spending habits will be like once you start to have kids. If you are one of those people who must have $1000 strollers and organic everything, plus expensive activities, tutoring, etc, kids will be very expensive for you to raise. If you are going to raise your kids with a more rational approach, then kids would not cost you that much.

That said, I'm going to leave your car choices up to you and only speak to the considerations of purchasing a $100k vehicle. In this regard, the purchase is beyond just utility and is something you are looking to enjoy and experience. As far as buying experiences in an expensive car goes, I generally subscribe to the 2-month gross income rule. The calculation is that I wouldn't own such cars past warranty, and it would probably be worth about 40-50% of its original value after 3 years. So paying about 3% of my gross income on an experience I really enjoy seems to be okay. But you have to really enjoy it. To be honest, very few cars even at $100k give you this sensation, so make sure the car you choose is something that will justify this level of expenditure to you.

Good advice here. I am surprised by this post.
Crazy question - what do you think the avg HHI of someone with a RR was? I assume it was +3M a year....
Are people with only $410k in HHI and less than $500k in retirement savings really driving around with 100k+ cars???????

Yes, they are. It's not my cup of tea, and personally I'd find it weird to see a new RR in front of an 800k house (though I live in an expensive real estate area, so perhaps my perception is skewed). But people do it. It's all a question of priorities and sacrifice. We see all the time posters who are like "we take 3 international vacations a year and send our kids to private school BUT we drive a 10 year old Prius." This is the reverse. So why not?

And although I don't own one, I will say that the RR is a great driving experience. Lol @ the PP who said "just get a Kia Telluride." But OP, spring for a highly-customized color of the SVAutobiography or GTFO.

[Anonymous]

Hell no you can’t afford it. How stupid to wear cloths from target and buy a 100k car pretending you’re frugal. We are multi millionaires and I don’t think we can afford it.

[Anonymous]

I wanted to say no, but then I remembered I have a $100k boat for fishing. So, YOLO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 29 and DW is 30. I make 290k (possibly and likely more if my employer does well) and she makes 120k so HHI is ~410k. Both of our jobs are very stable. Planning to start trying for kids in the next 2-3 months.

The numbers:

~300k in home equity (850k home value, 500k left on mortgage)
400k in retirement
160k in brokerage/investments
60k saved for college
100k liquid savings as an emergency fund

We max out 401ks, liquid e-fund could sustain our spending for 12+ months, any excess every month is put into VTSAX, we wear cheap clothes from Target and Amazon, and vacation/weekend away consists of going to my in-law's place on the water in DE.

I feel like we're doing everything right financially and on a good trajectory for 1) paying full freight for our two planned children's college tuition and 2) early retirement at a SWR that's comfortable for us.

I really like cars and want to have an indulgence. DW is not a car person and doesn't really care for expensive/flashy stuff in general but thought the RR and LX were both really nice SUVs. She's on board in that if I really want it I should treat myself. It would also make a lot more sense in the near/mid-term than something like a 911.

What does everyone think? If no, then when would a "smart" (as smart as an emotional purchase like this can be) time be?

If grandparents are helping then yes go areas abd be a douche

[Anonymous]

I would only buy a Range Rover if I was sure nobody I knew would see me driving it. Great cars, but have become such a cliche status symbol that they are undrivable in my view.