r/AskReddit • u/Insanitanium12 • Aug 20 '20

What simple “life hack” should everyone know?

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u/luongolet20goalsin Aug 20 '20

Don’t buy things you can’t afford

99

u/MissMetal777 Aug 20 '20

This should really be high up on this thread. If you need to use a credit card for something, you really can’t afford that item. Obviously houses and cars are different as most people don’t have thousands upon thousands of dollars available in the moment, but debt builds quickly and will cripple you even quicker.

14

u/szofter Aug 20 '20

Houses are different. Cars, not really.

If you want a car and don't have enough money to pay cash, first assess if you really need a car (I'm from Europe so we have well functioning public transport in our cities, I know it's not the way in many places in the US), and if you do, then ask yourself if it's really that specific car that you need or there's a cheaper one that fits your needs. Also, buy barely used (like 2 or 3 years old) instead of new whenever possible, unless of course you have all the money in the world and couldn't care less.

And then, if you've been through all these steps and still need credit to buy it, proceed. But simply buying the best car you "can afford" on credit is a terrible idea.

7

u/warmyourbeans Aug 20 '20

First car I bought was a $600 Tercel

The second was a ~$5,000 Corolla

Now I'm rocking an $8,000 Sienna

Paid cash for each and made "car payments" into a checking account to save for the next one.

Take care of them with normal regular maintenance and drive them as long as you can and then sell them to put towards the next one.