Why does everyone want to retire so early?

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by se012101 Then I tried to figure out how much enjoyment I'd get from the real cost of 75k or so. I knew that for the first month, every time I saw it in the drive I'd be like "Oooooo", but after that the "Oooo"'s would only come ever 2 or 3 days, then only occasionally, and eventually it would just be another set of wheels to me. In the end, I figured I'd probably be paying about a grand for every time I said "Ooooo". Not worth it. All of that said, I do splurge now and again, but I make sure it's on stuff I'll get lasting enjoyment from. I love playing guitar, and have spent about 2000.00 on my amp, and another 1000.00 on my main guitar. A fair bit of change for a hobby, but I get hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of that every year, so to me, those kinds of things are worth spending a bit on.

I have a 14 year old Honda Accord LX. I bought it new after falling in love with the model at an auto show. Every time it comes out of the car wash, I still get the "Oooo"s. What is it about the quality of the product that gives me the "Oooo"s? It's the aesthetics, the ergonomics, the smooth ride, the ongoing pleasure of driving a reliable car and the realization that my next car will have big shoes (tires) to fill. (Expect a grief reaction when my Honda finally has to go).

What quality of the $75K Corvette gives you the "Oooo"s? Is it any of the above, or is it the exclusivity of the fact that very few people can afford one?

[landonew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I have a 14 year old Honda Accord LX. I bought it new after falling in love with the model at an auto show. Every time it comes out of the car wash, I still get the "Oooo"s. What is it about the quality of the product that gives me the "Oooo"s? It's the aesthetics, the ergonomics, the smooth ride, the ongoing pleasure of driving a reliable car and the realization that my next car will have big shoes (tires) to fill. (Expect a grief reaction when my Honda finally has to go). What quality of the $75K Corvette gives you the "Oooo"s? Is it any of the above, or is it the exclusivity of the fact that very few people can afford one?

Its the fact that is one of the finest sportscars made on the market. Not to bash your accord (a very nice economy car), but I think you probably appreciate its "relative value" more than you do the ergonomic and performance characteristics of the vehicle. Accords serve their purpose well. They get you from A to B, cheaply and reliably. However, if you ever get the opportunity to drive a finely tuned sports car, I suggest you take it. Driving a car w/ 505hp is simply astonishing.... a feeling you certainly must pay for however.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landonew Its the fact that is one of the finest sportscars made on the market. Not to bash your accord (a very nice economy car), but I think you probably appreciate its "relative value" more than you do the ergonomic and performance characteristics of the vehicle. Accords serve their purpose well. They get you from A to B, cheaply and reliably. However, if you ever get the opportunity to drive a finely tuned sports car, I suggest you take it. Driving a car w/ 505hp is simply astonishing.... a feeling you certainly must pay for however.

Meh, the corvette ultimately still gets you from A to B, and I am pretty sure my 6 YO station wagon is safer. But different strokes. No doubt you would be entirely unimpressed with the reasons I might consider dropping thousands of dollars on a customized homebrewing system.

[landonew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 Meh, the corvette ultimately still gets you from A to B, and I am pretty sure my 6 YO station wagon is safer. But different strokes. No doubt you would be entirely unimpressed with the reasons I might consider dropping thousands of dollars on a customized homebrewing system.

Exactly. The car is symbolic. Different strokes is an excellent way to put it.

[Bestwifeever]

I wonder what the insurance would be for a young man and his Corvette -- maybe Landonew, you can get your law firm to lease one for you after a few years.

[Lusitan]

landonew - welcome to the boards, and let me offer you an early welcome to the workforce ;-)

For me, I guess it's less about retirement per se than it is about financial independence. Like most people on these boards, I probably would not continue to work in my current job once I reach the FIRE point ("financial independence / retire early"). Why? Well, I might be stepping out during my highest earning years, but if so I'll be stepping out because I have already made the determination that I've got enough. So why keep working to accumulate more than enough?

It doesn't mean I might not pursue some other career/business/whatever, but it means stepping away from the j*b, whatever it is I've been doing for money.

Basically, I'd say that I want to stop spending my time doing what I feel I need to do in order to earn money, and start spending my time doing what I want to do, whether it earns money or not.

[landonew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I wonder what the insurance would be for a young man and his Corvette -- maybe Landonew, you can get your law firm to lease one for you after a few years.

Sadly, with $150K in student loans I will be far from a young man when I can afford to buy such a magnificant car.

As far as insurence goes, I do turn 25 in october and am looking forward to a decrease in my premiums. I currently have liability on 2001 Dodge ram 1500 w/ 190K miles.

I bought it from a buddy for about $2,000 when my parents suffered their financial collapse.

Sadly, I had to park my late model (1999 is late model for me) Pontiac Trans Am because the insurence was no longer affordable ($200/month wasn't happening after the bottom fell out of my folks nestegg.) My Dad bought her for me on my 21st Birthday.. wrote a check for $17,000, so I own the car. Just can't afford to insure it anymore.

Here she is,




Anyhow, I now understand how pointless it is to have a fast car you cant afford to drive. My baby sits in the garage, and the only enjoyment I get out of her is an occassional wax/polish .

Oh well, live and learn.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landonew Driving a car w/ 505hp is simply astonishing.... a feeling you certainly must pay for however.

Frankly, while you value it highly, that sensation would have absolutely no value for me. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder!

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I have a 14 year old Honda Accord LX. I bought it new after falling in love with the model at an auto show. Every time it comes out of the car wash, I still get the "Oooo"s. What is it about the quality of the product that gives me the "Oooo"s? It's the aesthetics, the ergonomics, the smooth ride, the ongoing pleasure of driving a reliable car and the realization that my next car will have big shoes (tires) to fill. (Expect a grief reaction when my Honda finally has to go).

I own a 1992 Honda Accord EX, which is still running at 130K miles. This was my "warm-up to the convertible" car - it has the sun roof, 5 speed manual trans, lots of pep, beautiful handling, very sensible 4 door sedan style, and just plain fun fun fun to drive. The LX is almost identical to the EX if memory serves.
I now use this car as my winter rat. It satisfies my need for speed just fine until the snow smelts, the salt gets washed off the roads, and then... it's 'Stangin time.

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 I own a 1992 Honda Accord EX, which is still running at 130K miles. This was my "warm-up to the convertible" car - it has the sun roof, 5 speed manual trans, lots of pep, beautiful handling, very sensible 4 door sedan style, and just plain fun fun fun to drive. The LX is almost identical to the EX if memory serves. I now use this car as my winter rat. It satisfies my need for speed just fine until the snow smelts, the salt gets washed off the roads, and then... it's 'Stangin time.

The 1994 model year was a redesign so you have the version before mine...
1995 Honda Accord Review & Road Test | 1995 Accord Review at Automotive.com

[kumquat]

LYBM means just that. If you can afford a Ferrari, a Corvette is a frugal alternative. If you aren't a car person, then you can upscale your wine, chocolate or whatever.

[Rustic23]

In my Air Force days, I was an instructor pilot which trained new pilots in their first aircraft after flight school. More that once we would have a Lt come in wanting to know if we knew anyone that might want to buy a Corvette. Rumor was that the number 1 Corvette dealer in the U.S. was outside the Air Force Academy. After owning one for a year, many realized that the insurance payment was more than the car payment. Male under 25, not married, HIGH rates!

[kombat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landonew As a professional, did you find it difficult to make smart decisions when you were relatively young and had a substantial income?

Making smart decisions wasn't my problem, it was being too trusting and ignorant of how things work.

When my wife and I bought our house, we went to a builder, walked through the model homes, picked the one we liked, and they built it for us. It didn't even really occur to us that you can actually negotiate the price of a house. We overpaid by tens of thousands (then add 30 years of mortgage interest, and the total we wasted becomes ... ugh, I don't even want to think about it).

When we bought our first car, I made a token effort to bargain, but I was too timid and shy to be at all assertive with this nice, friendly man who was helping us buy a car. We financed (because isn't that what everyone does? How else could you buy a car? They cost waaaay too much to actually save up and buy outright, right? Right? Guys? Anyone?). We paid over $40,000 for a Volkswagen Jetta, and it didn't even have leather seats.

We bought mutual funds with sky-high MER's (3.75%) and backloads, because I didn't even know what those things were, let alone what constituted a "rip-off" and what was just normal. Again, I didn't want to offend the nice man who came to our house and visited us. I knew smart people saved up for their retirement, so I thought we were way ahead of the game just setting it up. But we got killed by fees.

We bought too much insurance, we got tricked into going to multilevel marketing recruitment drives (under the guise of a "job interview" when my wife had just gotten laid off from her high-tech job).

We're a lot smarter now, a lot more jaded, and a lot more protective of our money. It's kind of sad, in a way. Any time some friendly stranger approaches me offering to help me improve my investment returns, my guard goes up and I immediately perceive him as a slimy snake, trying to get his hands on my nest egg. He could actually be a genuinely nice guy, trying to help me, but he has to prove himself to me first, whereas 10 years ago my default reaction would've been to trust him right off the bat. My opinion of humanity has eroded considerably, but I guess that's all part of growing up.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kombat We're a lot smarter now, a lot more jaded, and a lot more protective of our money. It's kind of sad, in a way. Any time some friendly stranger approaches me offering to help me improve my investment returns, my guard goes up and I immediately perceive him as a slimy snake, trying to get his hands on my nest egg. My opinion of humanity has eroded considerably, but I guess that's all part of growing up.

It gets worse every year. Wait until you are my age and see how many snakes you will find in just 100 sq. feet of lawn.

Ha

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landonew Driving a car w/ 505hp is simply astonishing.... a feeling you certainly must pay for however.

If I could drive that car on a German autobahn, I might enjoy it. But I can't even push my 1.8T VW Jetta all the way on the highways around here...

[NW-Bound]

Forget about sport cars as a chick magnet. What you all need is "Love Potion Number 9".

One of my favorite songs while I was growing up, it was first recorded in 1959.

" ... I told her that I was a flop with chicks.
I've been disgraced since 1956..."

Incidentally, I was born in 1956.

YouTube - Love potion number 9, The Searchers

For an enactment cartoon, see the following.

YouTube - Love Potion Number Nine

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landonew Sadly, I had to park my late model (1999 is late model for me) Pontiac Trans Am because the insurence was no longer affordable ($200/month wasn't happening after the bottom fell out of my folks nestegg.)

You may have to wait a while, but old age has a few advantages - my corvette insurance is $350 per year.

[landonew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar You may have to wait a while, but old age has a few advantages - my corvette insurance is $350 per year.

I think I could swing that . Wonder if GM will last that long?