Old Men in Fast Cars

I love cars. If money was no object I’d have a car collection. When I was younger I wanted a Corvette and that car still holds a special place in my heart.

I’m going on vacation soon and the cars I’ll see over the few weeks will be the best of the best, Bugatti, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, and Corvettes to name a few. For the most part, the people driving them will be much older than me even though I’d look much better behind the wheel.

The reason most of those drivers will be old is that you simply can’t afford such an expensive car unless you’ve built a significant amount of wealth and building wealth takes time. These cars are the reward for years of hard work and sacrifice.

Don’t get me wrong I’ll see some younger folks driving those cars too but there will be far less of them. Sure some people become extremely rich very young, but don’t count on that as your financial plan. What’s simply inexcusable is stretching your budget or going deep into debt to purchase the status that an expensive car brings. If that’s the path you’re on then I’m afraid your future won’t be that bright.

I drove my first car for five years before it died (I was given $100 for the trade-in) and I kept my second car for 10 years (I donated that car to charity). I didn’t buy my first expensive sports car until I was 33 years old and it really wasn’t all that expensive (36k for an Infiniti G35 Coupe).

I’ve had the G for 16 years, now, and I’m sure I’ll have it another few years at least. Can I afford another car? Yes. Could it be really expensive this time? Yes. But simply because I can do something doesn’t make the decision correct.

Life is a series of choices, what you decide today will affect your choices in the future so choose wisely. Because I had a larger goal of early retirement buying an expensive car was never a real consideration as it would have delayed that goal and I didn’t want that.

I can see myself, when I’ve gone gray, driving a very nice car, living a very comfortable life because I’m making decisions now to create that reality later. Are you? Can you name one thing you’ve given up because it would affect your ability to reach a goal later? Please share in the comments and let’s get this conversation started.