Poor people with expensive cars - what are you doing?
Cars are extremely important.
They give us that extra level of freedom that you just can't get from riding the bus.
It's true that nowadays you can take an Uber or a Lyft, but it's still not the same as having your own car. Not only do you have to wait, but you don't know what kind of car you will be stepping into, you don't know what kind of person you'll be dealing with, and you will end up paying significantly more than it would have cost for the gas in your own vehicle.
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I know quite a few people that don't have a car. Those people spend at least $100 a month taking Uber back and forth from work. They also wait approximately 30 minutes to an hour every single day. Time they are not getting paid for that they can never get back.
I usually recommend that these people try to find an inexpensive car instead of relying on those services. I'm not saying I never Uber, it does come in handy once in awhile, but it doesn't beat having a car.
On the other hand, I also know several people who have cars that are way outside of their means.
I don't get it.
There is a new employee at our restaurant. He's a fairly nice guy, and most of the women find him attractive. I get along with him quite well also, as do many of the guys.
He drives a 2016 BMW M4. It's black and shiny with black rims and dark tinted windows. It rumbles very deeply as if there's some sort of problem with the muffler every time he pulls up to the parking space just beneath the closest window.
I figured that the guy must have a decent amount of money and that he's just working at the restaurant to have something to do. Every now and then you meet somebody like that.
I spoke to him the other day and found out that this is not the case. That car cost him something like $34,000 and he's spending most of his paycheck paying that. His living situation is not good. He doesn't have a lot of money to throw around, but what little he does have he spends taking girls out on dates in his shiny black BMW.
Instead of saving up money that he makes at the restaurant he's just spending at all. I've met plenty of people like that but they usually spend the money on alcohol in the afternoons and evenings.
This guy isn't even getting to drink though. He's just driving around an expensive car that is more than he can afford and spending his entire paycheck on it.
I myself drive a reasonably nice car despite working at a restaurant, and I do spend some money on it. I take care of it and I keep it in good shape. However, it is not outside of my means because it is more than 10 years old.
My roommate drives a faded white 1996 Acura. It gets him from point A to point B and he doesn't have to worry about spending a lot of money on it since he spends most of his money on going to school.
I definitely understand wanting to have nice things. I especially understand wanting to impress women by having a nice car. However, if you really can't afford that car and you're eating ramen noodles for dinner instead of steak after working all day...... what the heck are you doing?
It's possible that having a really nice car makes life worthwhile for our new hire.
It's definitely his decision to do whatever he wants with his money, but I simply can't advocate spending more than you make on a car that you really can't afford.
There needs to be a balance. I do think most people should have a car, but if you can't afford an expensive one you can find plenty of inexpensive ones that will get you around. You can even find cars that are pretty nice for cheap. Cars that your date will not be embarrassed about. They don't need to cost $40,000 though when you are barely clearing $20,000.
That's just ridiculous and counterintuitive. You're screwing with your ability to enjoy life by over stressing yourself financially.
Maybe it's just something I see a lot around here, but I really have to ask why are there so many poor people with expensive cars?
Poor people with expensive cars - what are you doing?
hi @jeezzle ! thanks for your share!
it’s because cars are a way to pathetically trick others to make them loving us... have seen a lot here in France too, people who borrows expensive cars just to show off but living in ten square meters..
me, I’m only a walker :))
Sometimes the trick works but then again who wants to live in a tiny environment?
That a true question, for me after almost ten years in Paris, I hear the countryside calling me everyday louder !!
Great post. Being a car guy myself I can relate to anyone wanting to drive a nice car. That being said I have a few suggestions when it comes to purchasing a vehicle, new or used. Firstly take the time to understand what you want and need from a vehicle. If all you need is basic point a to b driving I don't see the need for anything too fancy. If you can get your basic day to day driving down to a minimal cost, in turn you would have more disposable income in your pocket to put towards your dream bmw. If you want to feel like a million bucks every time you go for a ride, it doesn't have to cost a million dollars or be 500 hp to achieve that feeling your looking for. Myself i mostly buy small imports, 1.6l 4 cyl honda, toyota or nissan. As long as you change the oil every 5000k and don't completely neglect them they should last for years and years.
At some point this fancy car thing is going to backfire when one of the ladies her goes out with wants to visit his apartment. :-P
That is true. Maybe he can just take her to the back of his car though. Not really spacious but it does have leather seats and I think they're even heated.
What are they doing? Getting poorer! One does not have to drive a beater, just look for a well taken care of car a couple years old with some miles on it. They are out there and a few years down the road you will have saved 10s of thousands of dollars, which, if you have half a brain you can put towards not being poor.
Definitely. You can find a nice older car that won't set you back too much.
We all want to have good properties, we all want to fulfill dreams who do not want a luxurious car, but all within our possibilities. regards!!
Indeed. You should try to stay within your means if you can.
you see, once you drive a BMW you can't really go back, I tried once. I leased a sensible car, it was terrible. Plus it is getting him laid so that is priceless.
Well I do like a BMW but I prefer Volvo.. I will admit driving in a nice car feels a heck of a lot better than driving in a uncomfortable old piece of crap.
Volvos are nice, my neighbor is a Volvo guy. Other drivers/tollbooth guys/cops disrespect you when you drive a non-luxury car too.
It seems contradictory but that's the way life is, there are many people who have objects, cars, jewels and houses that they can not pay but to pretend to others they make such strange sacrifices.
That's definitely true.
A nice car was a must have...
in high school!
A nice car went a long way in high school. So did nice clothes, cigarettes, and having access to alcohol.
When I was a teenager, nobody had new cars as they were astronomically expensive here then. Now everybody has a late model car. So in the capital city where we live, we hardly ever see old cars. But you could get something 5-10 years old for so much cheaper, and it would still look respectable. So I agree with what @paparodin said.
But I also think there's more to it than that. As well as those factors, in our modern society, we have become accustomed to a level of wealth that would have been unheard of in previous generations. So we now think of a new car, a smart phone, flat screen TVs, holidays and all manner of other things as necessities, not luxuries. I see people begging in our shopping centre but they have smart phones. WTF?
All the people that are apparently homeless around here carrying the signs live in nice apartment complexes with smartphones. It's just another job. It's true also that we're accustomed to wealth but most of these people aren't living the good life they're just spending all their money on stuff that they can't afford.
Yes, that's kind of what I meant. That they spend what money they have on things that they think they need, but don't really. Then they can't eat r feed their kids. And yes, I think some do it for a job, but in Wellington we do see some sleeping in the street, and I really do wonder how they came to that, when NZ is supposedly a welfare state.
We live in a remarkable world where our wealth relates directly to the quality of the peoples complaints.
So true!
It's the people that think having expensive things will bring them happiness..
That's true.