re: How many of you follow Dave Ramsey's advice for everything?

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A 48 month loan on a reliable car makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. But instaed... they get a 84 month loan on a car that is way more expensive than they need.

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Easy money allows folks to overspend without realizing it. I agree that $1000 is probably not reasonable in 2023, but you can afford what you can afford. $3500? Even if you borrowed that at 7%, you pay under $110/month, knock that out in 3 years and are out less than, what, under $400 in interest?

Problem is - once folks decide to borrow, they borrow AS MUCH as they can, rather than AS LITTLE as they need to.

And then, as Ramsey says, they start to "miss" that car note when they pay it off, ultimately paying $500, $600, $700 or more per month, forever.

Just imagine that warehouse worker who delayed gratification and drove each car until the wheels fell off, and already had enough cash saved up to buy the next one and retired with $3 or $4 million because he let that car note compound for him over the years, rather than buying 100-foot flags, flashing lights and pay for the dealership owner's third home?

I am at the point in my life where I can pay cash for my vehicles but, if I was you and I had a vehicle that got me from point A to point B that was paid for, I wouldn’t have gone into debt to buy this vehicle. But I don’t know your car situation going into this deal.