This post is a bit behind but nonetheless, here it is. We were able to pull out one purchase recently even though our expenses have taken a bit of a hit this year. I have mentioned in a few areas of the blog that I need a truck to do my job. Well, my previous truck crapped out on me and I was getting tired of buying higher mileage trucks and needing to put work into them a few years down the road.
Because of this, I ended up buying a used Dodge Ram 2500 with only 13,000 miles on it for an enormous.... $35,000.... OUCH!!! I have felt uneasy about this purchase over the past couple weeks because I have never had a car payment before. We were able to put down $20,000 on the truck which we are very thankful for, but the $400 car payment showed up in the mail and I got choked up a little bit. It's a weird feeling but I only drive about 10-15K miles per year so we realize that I could have this truck for 15-20 years, maybe longer if things go well... fingers crossed!!
I think I've held off on writing this post because this goes against the retire early community big time. To think that $35,000 at 4% is $1,400 in dividend income I'm missing out on is a heart breaker. That would pay for more than a month of our mortgage payment per year. Or, that would take care of all of our additional expenses for one month every year...
But then I think about all the good things. The truck is beautiful. All chromed out like I have always wanted, fully loaded, large crew cab (think car seats for babies!) low mileage, one year old, cheaper than brand new since its slightly used, no thought of it breaking down in the near future and most importantly... I will make money with it! The truck should pay for itself in just a few years time and if it lasts 15-20 years, you are looking at 10-15 years of positive cash flow.
Other than our house, this is the biggest purchase I have ever made. Hopefully it will last for years to come and awesome memories will be made with it!
With that being said, our goal to invest another $6-10K this year will be very tough. I highly doubt it will happen because I'd love to be able to pay off the truck by December/January by using some of our emergency fund and any additional savings we will have. But we will see. If the markets tank, I might decide to buy some stocks instead!
Now the good news...
My wife and I bought Kinder Morgan (KMI) on October 1st. With this purchase, we have put a total of around $42,000 to work since the beginning of 2015. My goal of investing roughly $40,000 has been accomplished! So now for the numbers...
Because of this, I ended up buying a used Dodge Ram 2500 with only 13,000 miles on it for an enormous.... $35,000.... OUCH!!! I have felt uneasy about this purchase over the past couple weeks because I have never had a car payment before. We were able to put down $20,000 on the truck which we are very thankful for, but the $400 car payment showed up in the mail and I got choked up a little bit. It's a weird feeling but I only drive about 10-15K miles per year so we realize that I could have this truck for 15-20 years, maybe longer if things go well... fingers crossed!!
I think I've held off on writing this post because this goes against the retire early community big time. To think that $35,000 at 4% is $1,400 in dividend income I'm missing out on is a heart breaker. That would pay for more than a month of our mortgage payment per year. Or, that would take care of all of our additional expenses for one month every year...
But then I think about all the good things. The truck is beautiful. All chromed out like I have always wanted, fully loaded, large crew cab (think car seats for babies!) low mileage, one year old, cheaper than brand new since its slightly used, no thought of it breaking down in the near future and most importantly... I will make money with it! The truck should pay for itself in just a few years time and if it lasts 15-20 years, you are looking at 10-15 years of positive cash flow.
Other than our house, this is the biggest purchase I have ever made. Hopefully it will last for years to come and awesome memories will be made with it!
With that being said, our goal to invest another $6-10K this year will be very tough. I highly doubt it will happen because I'd love to be able to pay off the truck by December/January by using some of our emergency fund and any additional savings we will have. But we will see. If the markets tank, I might decide to buy some stocks instead!
Now the good news...
My wife and I bought Kinder Morgan (KMI) on October 1st. With this purchase, we have put a total of around $42,000 to work since the beginning of 2015. My goal of investing roughly $40,000 has been accomplished! So now for the numbers...
