981 the new 986 ?

[RandallNeighbour]

In Houston, we spend 15% more on average for cars than other big cities in America according to sales report that came out a while back. No idea why!

I work in the posh Galleria area and it's all very expensive German coupes and sedans down here. What kills me is the 20-35 year old clerical ladies in my building who make $60k a year (max, some a lot lower according to my buddy in management at their company) at an oil company driving a new 5 series BMW (or a German SUV) on a 3 year lease, wearing $500 high heels and carrying a $1000 handbag. She looks rich and all she has is debt. But she looks rich to her friends and co-workers. It's the short-sighted stupidity of youth that isn't easily shaken off as people get older.

Conversely, the men and women in my building who drive Pcars (there's at least a dozen) do not seems to be posers. A few fellow Pcar drivers are my friends and they have a robust balance sheets and they are not pissing away their retirement to look rich. They do not turn over vehicles every couple of years either like the rich posers.

Our entire society is moving from ownership to renting personal use items as if they were a temporary service. Software is now sold as subscription based through the cloud. Cell phone "purchases" are now paid by the month so they can be upgraded frequently. We pay for TV reception. Call me an old fart, but all I see is a culture determined to live for today with few avoiding the trap of the ongoing monthly payment for most everything.

[EJ-Fresno]

Totally agree!
Doesn't matter anymore "who" you are, but rather "what" you are

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

In Houston, we spend 15% more on average for cars than other big cities in America according to sales report that came out a while back. No idea why!

I work in the posh Galleria area and it's all very expensive German coupes and sedans down here. What kills me is the 20-35 year old clerical ladies in my building who make $60k a year (max, some a lot lower according to my buddy in management at their company) at an oil company driving a new 5 series BMW (or a German SUV) on a 3 year lease, wearing $500 high heels and carrying a $1000 handbag. She looks rich and all she has is debt. But she looks rich to her friends and co-workers. It's the short-sighted stupidity of youth that isn't easily shaken off as people get older.

Conversely, the men and women in my building who drive Pcars (there's at least a dozen) do not seems to be posers. A few fellow Pcar drivers are my friends and they have a robust balance sheets and they are not pissing away their retirement to look rich. They do not turn over vehicles every couple of years either like the rich posers.

Our entire society is moving from ownership to renting personal use items as if they were a temporary service. Software is now sold as subscription based through the cloud. Cell phone "purchases" are now paid by the month so they can be upgraded frequently. We pay for TV reception. Call me an old fart, but all I see is a culture determined to live for today with few avoiding the trap of the ongoing monthly payment for most everything.

[Porsche9]

Originally Posted by EJ-Fresno

Totally agree!
Doesn't matter anymore "who" you are, but rather "what" you are

Here in the Phoenix area the city of Scottsdale are full of these type of people and is the primary reason I refuse to live there. They make monthly payments so they can think they are better then you. I was with a few of the Scottsdale folks the other week and the topic of car payments came up and what they were paying is more then I pay in principle, interest, insurance and taxes on a rental property I have. They heard that and there was silence and dumbfounded looks. I guess they realized who had made the better decision.

[jacabean]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

In Houston, we spend 15% more on average for cars than other big cities in America according to sales report that came out a while back. No idea why!

I work in the posh Galleria area and it's all very expensive German coupes and sedans down here. What kills me is the 20-35 year old clerical ladies in my building who make $60k a year (max, some a lot lower according to my buddy in management at their company) at an oil company driving a new 5 series BMW (or a German SUV) on a 3 year lease, wearing $500 high heels and carrying a $1000 handbag. She looks rich and all she has is debt. But she looks rich to her friends and co-workers. It's the short-sighted stupidity of youth that isn't easily shaken off as people get older.

Conversely, the men and women in my building who drive Pcars (there's at least a dozen) do not seems to be posers. A few fellow Pcar drivers are my friends and they have a robust balance sheets and they are not pissing away their retirement to look rich. They do not turn over vehicles every couple of years either like the rich posers.

Our entire society is moving from ownership to renting personal use items as if they were a temporary service. Software is now sold as subscription based through the cloud. Cell phone "purchases" are now paid by the month so they can be upgraded frequently. We pay for TV reception. Call me an old fart, but all I see is a culture determined to live for today with few avoiding the trap of the ongoing monthly payment for most everything.

sounds like a bunch of fake ass people i wouldn't bother to associate with .

[jacabean]

Originally Posted by jacabean

sounds like a bunch of fake ass people i wouldn't bother to associate with .

looks like these people are the reason for all the used 981s

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Our entire society is moving from ownership to renting personal use items as if they were a temporary service. Software is now sold as subscription based through the cloud. Cell phone "purchases" are now paid by the month so they can be upgraded frequently. We pay for TV reception. Call me an old fart, but all I see is a culture determined to live for today with few avoiding the trap of the ongoing monthly payment for most everything.

AHNC...(All hat no cattle).

The interesting thing to me about your statement here is that the one thing they ought to be renting...namely their residence, in order to to have an adequate portion of their income left over each month to secure retirement income, is often the only debt they're serving towards eventual ownership 30 years later. The rationale for this is often the belief that its a great investment...but only if you are oblivious to all the other investments that could have been made with the delta between the rent these AHNC's were paying and the full costs of carrying a home for the lender. See the chart below where the bar for house prices fall..to the right...way right.
And since the only investment the average home owner makes is their home, that red bar becomes easy to understand.
Me personally, I'm leaning hard on the bars on the extreme left while avoiding any interest carrying debt...be it credit card, auto or mortgage.

[Porsche9]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

AHNC...(All hat no cattle).

The interesting thing to me about your statement here is that the one thing they ought to be renting...namely their residence, in order to to have an adequate portion of their income left over each month to secure retirement income, is often the only debt they're serving towards eventual ownership 30 years later. The rationale for this is often the belief that its a great investment...but only if you are oblivious to all the other investments that could have been made with the delta between the rent these AHNC's were paying and the full costs of carrying a home for the lender. See the chart below where the bar for house prices fall..to the right...way right.
And since the only investment the average home owner makes is their home, that red bar becomes easy to understand.
Me personally, I'm leaning hard on the bars on the extreme left while avoiding any interest carrying debt...be it credit card, auto or mortgage.

I love people that rent! I agree in many cases a house to live in is not a very good investment. But owning rentals if done right is very lucrative. Like almost any investment it's all about what you pay for it. While others were fearful to by houses it was a great time to buy them and rent. I purchased a few houses at the deeps of the housing market just on the basis of the immediate ROI, rents versus carrying cost figuring that appreciation may or may not come. Having said that I also invest heavily to the left of the table too. Here too wise timing of your investment can make a huge difference. Energy/oil right now is likely to fall in the category of wise time to invest in the near future.