• ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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      10 days ago

      A car is absolutely doable without financing l. It’s a poverty trap to finance a car. What you can’t do is have a brand new car.

      • phlegmy@sh.itjust.works
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        10 days ago

        Same with phones. Buy a second-hand flagship from a couple of years ago (eg pixel 8), and use a pre-paid plan.

        It’s not just a few hundred dollars saved on the phone, it’s also a few hundred per year on less overpriced contracts.

        Prepaid plans have to be more competitively priced because you can switch at will.

        • shalafi@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          I buy all my phones off eBay from reputable resellers. There are plenty that make a living at refurbishing phones, rate each one on a scale, post pics of the phone you will receive. I pay around $120 for mine, $180 if it’s a bangin’ deal and I really want that unit.

      • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        it’s fine to finance a car you can afford. it may even be benefincial. i can take aout a 20K loan at a near 0 apr, i can take that 20K and invest it and get a return on it. which is better than dumping it all at once into a depreciating asset.

        the problem is that people fiance cars they can’t afford. like 50K gas guzzlers with massive maintenance bills

        • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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          9 days ago

          Having 20k plus the cash flow to pay a 20k loan is a totally different scenario than buying a car for cash. If you need that 20k to pay the 333/month, it’s stupid to trust the market isn’t going to go down, and simple savings would net you maybe $500.

            • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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              8 days ago

              It’s gone down moth over month many times though. If you are dependant on that principle month to month it’s insane to trust the market.

              • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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                8 days ago

                all that matters is the value when you cash out. if you are sitting there agonizing about an assets value month to month you’re doing it wrong.

                just because you are irrational and don’t know how to invest, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t. i have a handful of stocks and such, i have no clue what their value is because i check it like once a year. in the 5 years it’s been invested my money has doubled.

                • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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                  8 days ago

                  Investing is great for retirement funds, over the 30 years or so it’s great for returns. It’s terrible to invest principle you need in scope of months or 1-2 years even.

                  If you have 20k and a 20k loan, putting that money in the stock market is stupid if you need that money to pay the loan. If you have 20k, a 20k loan, and income to cover loan payments in addition to living, it may be beneficial to invest that 20k, but it’s still relatively high risk.

                  • TubularTittyFrog@lemmy.world
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                    8 days ago

                    cool. keep telling me how stupid I am. I have seen that 20K become 45K over the past 5 years.

                    guess i should have just dumped it into a car 5 years ago instead of doubling it. gosh, what a total a moron i am!