Vehicle purchase...WWYD?

[castoral]

I've never heard of that Fitzmall before. Interesting concept...although I'd never buy something for that much without seeing it in person. And I know this sounds terrible but b/c we have saved for it for so long, we are SUPER picky about what we want dowb to one color exterior and interior, certain options, and even certain wheels. We just bought my accord because it was such a good deal and there are things about it that drive us insane. Color mainly since dark blue shows eveything!

[kbz2002]

Ahhh... I thought it was a $500 payment even after you put 1/2 down.. I was like WOW, that's got to be some car (which it is, they are both nice SUVs you are looking at but I thought it was something like a 60-70K car you were thinking about)

You might want to actually talk to your tax individual or investment advisors. Given your husband's side business, would he be using the vehicle for business. You may even be able to take some of the vehicle as a business expense (based on % of business usage for the vehicle). Which would mean a bit of more of a break on the vehicle. Just a thought....

Sounds like you will be fine with the payment and you have enough to cover it.

I actually always stick to the basic accounting rules and your short term assets would exceed your accounts payable (what's due in 1 year) so you should be fine, IMO.

Just be careful not to go too crazy with the investments and business opportunities that could get you in trouble too.

[mandikaake]

If you get a brand new yukon or suburban I can get you a discount. Dh works for GM and gets a Friends and Family discount for anyone who wants one

[castoral]

Originally Posted by kbz2002 Ahhh... I thought it was a $500 payment even after you put 1/2 down.. I was like WOW, that's got to be some car (which it is, they are both nice SUVs you are looking at but I thought it was something like a 60-70K car you were thinking about) You might want to actually talk to your tax individual or investment advisors. Given your husband's side business, would he be using the vehicle for business. You may even be able to take some of the vehicle as a business expense (based on % of business usage for the vehicle). Which would mean a bit of more of a break on the vehicle. Just a thought.... Sounds like you will be fine with the payment and you have enough to cover it. I actually always stick to the basic accounting rules and your short term assets would exceed your accounts payable (what's due in 1 year) so you should be fine, IMO. Just be careful not to go too crazy with the investments and business opportunities that could get you in trouble too.

Haha! No, no $70K SUV for me this decade! Haha! Those Escalades are nice but WAY too pricey for my blood.

And we actually did talk to DH's CPA. I constantly see wives of several business friends of his driving around expensive vehicles with a tiny logo on them and "claiming" them as business vehicles. I don't really think it's right, but then again, what taxes are, right? But his accountant said for the little his business actually brings in ($55K total a year, $20K for taxes and gas), it would be a red flag. It's also a sole proprieter so using two vehicles would be fishy. I have a finance background, but the accounting stuff bores me to death, so I'll take her word for it.

And no worries about the investments. We're probably about as conservative as they get really. But DH often runs into people in the landscaping business who bought way too much equipment and then can't make any money. They just want out and they sell their stuff cheap. He then uses it for a season or two and sells it for a profit (which is claimed as more income obviously). He also gets some great deals on cars that people think are ready for the junk yard and he's very good at fixing them. So he's made good profits on doing that (like one or two a year and makes $3-$5K on it, but still, extra money is always good). We've only bought land once and re sold it, a lot by our first house for only $10K. The family was having financial troubles and needed to liquidate quick and we had cash. We sold it the next year for $20K by clearing it ourself and spending some time cleaning it up. Just stuff like that..haha, real crazy right?

[castoral]

Originally Posted by mandikaake If you get a brand new yukon or suburban I can get you a discount. Dh works for GM and gets a Friends and Family discount for anyone who wants one

And thank you so much for the offer! Very nice of you! DH's dad actually worked for GM for 25 years before recently being laid off since they closed the plant here. But even with that offer we still can't afford it. The cheapest we could get a year end model for with everything we want was $47K! AHHHH! That's like 4X what we put down on our first house and I can still remember saving for that for four years!

[kbz2002]

Originally Posted by castoral Haha! No, no $70K SUV for me this decade! Haha! Those Escalades are nice but WAY too pricey for my blood. And we actually did talk to DH's CPA. I constantly see wives of several business friends of his driving around expensive vehicles with a tiny logo on them and "claiming" them as business vehicles. I don't really think it's right, but then again, what taxes are, right? But his accountant said for the little his business actually brings in ($55K total a year, $20K for taxes and gas), it would be a red flag. It's also a sole proprieter so using two vehicles would be fishy. I have a finance background, but the accounting stuff bores me to death, so I'll take her word for it. And no worries about the investments. We're probably about as conservative as they get really. But DH often runs into people in the landscaping business who bought way too much equipment and then can't make any money. They just want out and they sell their stuff cheap. He then uses it for a season or two and sells it for a profit (which is claimed as more income obviously). He also gets some great deals on cars that people think are ready for the junk yard and he's very good at fixing them. So he's made good profits on doing that (like one or two a year and makes $3-$5K on it, but still, extra money is always good). We've only bought land once and re sold it, a lot by our first house for only $10K. The family was having financial troubles and needed to liquidate quick and we had cash. We sold it the next year for $20K by clearing it ourself and spending some time cleaning it up. Just stuff like that..haha, real crazy right?

Sounds like you guys are doing great to me. Wish I've had that luck, but dh is acually not handy at all and never wants to try any investments other than stock and 401k.

Glad you did talk to your CPA that's always good to hear! I'm an accountant so I'm heavy into the numbers of everything. That's probably why sometimes DR drives me batty because I know and understand his methods but sometimes I think there are better ways given the numbers.