OT: Seeking fatherly advice!

I'm not a member, so I don't know if there is an OT section, but I suppose this kind of applies. I respect and look up to a lot of the members on this board, I'm 23 years old, I have 2 years of school left until I get my business degree, I work 36 hours a week at a restaurant, and do freelance work in my free time. I'm here to ask, how much of my take home money should I allocate for the car? Or how much should I have in savings before I start modding the car more, going to track days, vacations, etc? Before I got my car I had an M3, and every dollar I made after I paid rent, insurance, tuition, cell phone went to the car, or having fun, and I had $2000 in savings at any given time. Before I had the M3 I was working 2 jobs in highschool saving up for that car, and I spent every last penny I had to get the car. And when I got the 911 I had 800 left to my name. (I paid cash for it.) I started putting $100/week into a separate account that I don't touch about 22 weeks ago, and 2 months ago I set up another account that I put 20% of my income into. And looking at these accounts makes it really tempting to have a cage built for my car and some race seats and harnessses. But then another part of me is telling me to continue to save this money and start my own business once I'm done with school. (I'm thinking I want to open a hair salon, and then have the stylist rent out the stations, and sell hair products, that way I don't have to be there yet I'm still making money on the products for sale, and the stylist renting the station is paying the rent, and other expenses) But then what's the point of having a 911 if I can't drive it on the track! I've wanted this for as long as I can remember and now I have it. I've thought about selling the car, but I started stripping the interior and selling off the parts thinking building a racecar was what I wanted, so no ones going to want to buy a half stripped out 911 with 106k miles on it. FWIW: I made just over 45000 after taxes last year. Rent was 6000 School was 7500 Insurance was 1300 I haven't received any financial support from my parents since I was 19, or really any support, but that's neither here nor there. I don't qualify for financial aid and I'd feel pretty sleazy driving a 911 and getting financial aid. Basically I'm asking for fatherly advice, my dad thought buying the car was a stupid decision on my part when I first got it, and thought it was even dumber to fly 1300 miles to pick it up, and with a lien on it. After I got the car he showed up at my work the next day asking if he could drive it. Suddenly he thought it was the greatest car ever, so much that he started looking for one himself for the past 6 months. When I told him I was stripping the car and wanting to put a cage in it, he got angry at me and told me that if it was suppose to have a cage in it, it would have came like that from the factory. I want to put a cage in because the last time I was at the track a guy flipped in front of me. I figured a $3000 cage would be cheaper than being out of work for 6 months or more and possibly permanently injured. This just made him more upset. I invited him out to the track every time I've gone and finally he stopped by once because I know my mom told him he should. He didn't understand how everyone out there was willing to spend so much money to go fast, and he wouldn't even go for a ride in the car. I need a plan, can RL help? Cliffs: I want to spend all the money I make having fun/ buying cars Started saving money, thinking I should be more responsible with my spending How responsible do I have to be?

Best you can do is pay your membership fee and take it to OT......you did make 45K after taxes after all. My 2 pennies would be: 1. Change your name so you Dad can't find you. 2. Get your life started first....... 3. Your 23 and own a Pcar. Lucky a$$. 4. Made 45K after taxes working at a restaurant. Are they hiring?

First of all, kudos to you for even wanting to plan ahead at 23. Many 23 year olds I know think that money will magically come their way with a lottery, a NBA/NFL/MLB contract or that they'll magically just get that perfect job - and just spend their way into oblivion racking up debt on 10 credit cards. I can't tell you what to do, except that thinking about this is very good progress, and I can tell you what I did. When I was 23 I put my savings into buying a new BMW 325is. It was SWEEET. My first German car too. But I had a lien on it, and after rent, loans, etc - I hardly had anything to put into savings. Thinking about it after a while, I regretted having put so much of my income dollars into a new car like that and I never did that again. At about 25 I sold the car and started my path towards fiscal responsibility. It didn't mean that I gave up all fun - it just meant that my toys couldn't be a 'rich' persons toy. It meant that instead of racing on track days with a Porsche, I did it with a much less expensive Mazda Miata. The earlier you start being responsible with your money, the easier your life will get as you get older. That's what I've learned. Now that I'm older and have the means, the fun I have with my Porsche is with my 'disposable income'. So, if it were me, and I was 23, and earning $48K as you've stated, I wouldn't make racing a Porsche my hobby, - it can get expensive from a cost, upkeep, insurance and equipment point of view - and it won't just be a "$3,000 cage". I'd put my money towards opening that salon you've been planning. Good luck!

I am not 23, but face the same decision regularly (car or more mundane stuff like a new bathroom or clothes for the wife)... I agree with Roadsession 45K a year is not enough to support a racing hobby for a p-car. My advice to you is assess your priorities and look at creating a plan that allows you to accomplish all that you want to accomplish - it will like mean changing spending priorities in the short and intermediate term. My advice to you would be to save as much as possible now. If you could put away $15K to 20K a year, by the time you are forty, it could be worth 7 figures if invested properly. Then you could afford the racing. Keep the car and enjoy it, but figure out what is going to make you the most money to allow you to enjoy the racing idea - when you can fully afford it.

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My sales for the year were just over $263,000, (I claimed 8%, in reality it's closer to 17.5% after tipping the bussers and the bartenders) and here in CA we get $8/hr on top. I'm embarrassed how little I'm making compared to the guys over on 6speed. These guys are in their 20s driving 100K+ cars. Or even my 2 good friends from high school (didn't talk much after highschool) just graduated with degrees are making over $80k/year. It's a tough pill to swallow now, I was having fun in school working hard to have the toys and vacations. One is a bio-chemical engineer for aerojet, and the other one is a biologist doing some sort of stem-cell research making $95k in his first year! Him and his family came in to eat the other day and I was waiting on them. My eyes filled with water, my voice was crackly, here I was telling them about some pasta and sauce and appetizers while he is out trying to save lives.

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You're doing better than the other 99% out there. Work hard, you have a good plan going - save money - you'll bank it soon enough. When I graduated from a degree in engineering in the early 90's my classmates who went to finance earned 3X what I was making. 2 of them were charged with securities fraud recently and have lost everything - so go figure. Anyway - my point is when you open your salon you'll feel great being your own boss

Dude.... Do not take this to OT, they will rip you apart, keep it in the family. As for the full cage... I think you need to wait, though get the seats and a roll/harness bar instead for now... They sell quick if you need to take them off later with little depreciation. keep going to the track and home in on your skill. Save as much as you can and finish school.... Starting a business will take so much of your time that.... I think that your track time will come start to dwindle.... It seems you have a good head on you shoulder, more so than your dad (I think)..... Follow your instincts and have a balance between your head and your heart.... Trust them and it will steer you where it takes you. GL!

OK break it down: healthy (check) not hungry (check) safe, have roof over your head (check) shut up and go spend your money the way you want, dont worry someone makes more or drives a better car, have fun, go to a titty bar, quit thinking so much and ejoy what you have - if you are not happy where you are, change dirrection, remember you are in exactly the same place and it will take a while going in the new direction to be in another place - you are where you are because that's where you want to be - period (not trying to be mean, I would tell my own kids the same thing - you asked )

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Didn't mean to bust yer nutz....guess I'm jealous that a kid still wet behind the ears had a vision way earlier than I did. I would still change your name though

The more you save now, the sooner you can retire. How soon do you want to retire? Personally, I've found that there has to be a good balance. I don't want to get rich by never allowing myself to buy anything that's not completely necessary...I'd rather slowly ramp my lifestyle up as I get older, and other than this recession, that's pretty much how it's working. As for the big jobs your friends have, relax...there'll always be someone out there more successful than you or I. Many of my friends have very good jobs, and most of them are too scared to drive anything more exciting than a BMW 3-series.

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OH, and stop going to 6speed.... those guys are nutso rich in my area $100k car MEH, try $400-600k cars - Bentleys, Lambo SV's, Mclaren and not just one or two...one guy has about 25 of them... oh and lets ship them somwhere, close the public roads and drive our cars, money like we cant even imagine - dont get me started about being embarressed how much (little) you make you cannot covet thy neighbor, or his wife (remember) on the other hand - spend some time with people in need, really... volunteer a little and you will feel alot better about what you DO have

So, ya wanna be a racer.....Q:.how do make a small fortune racing......start with a large one! Forget about what everyone has...they don't pay your bills. Also, the friends with the "big" jobs can be out on their *****, if the ecomony changes. As has been stated, there will always be someone with more, bigger, better......but, hey, you are still "playing" on the same field, right now. You are already thinking about your future, (in a good way), save as much as you can to realize your dream of owning a business.....it will take almost everything that you got, finding the space, negotiating with the landlord, rents, security deposits, utilities, fixtures, fixtures, yada, yada, yada...the point is, you will need a lot of funds not just to get it off the ground, but to keep it going, too. This isn't a bad thing, but understand your real priorities and the huge costs involved. The more you can put away to "invest" in your dream, the further down the road you will be, without having to beg, borrow or steal to make your career dream materialize. Now, having said that, along the way, no one can fault you for what you consider to be "fun" (everyone in here is passionate about their babies) and seeing the transformations can be hugely tempting. Just hold back. I know it isn't what you want or easy, for that matter but, restraint is in order (really- and you already know this). Ferdinand's advice about harness bar, seats, belts, hans, etc., can be done over time, and while not cheap, it can/will help you progress as a driver, and at what is the price for safety? You can figure on $3-$4K, depending on how impatient you are (maybe less) and as stated earlier, you won't get a close shave should you decide to sell the bits. Don't tear apart the car, right now, keep it as close to stock as you can, in case you need to sell it. You strip it out and you just limited the potential buyer pool, when and if (hopefully never) that time comes. You should think about safety and fun, not elapsed time and shaving a few seconds and the process is expensive, at any level. However, it is not just the safety items, you will have additional maintenance stuff, too. I will presme that this is your daily driver, too....so think about the stress if you can't take/use it for school/work...how will that affect your ability to earn, let alone slow down the career goal. I know it is difficult, especially when you see others.....if you can show a bit of restraint, keep your priorities focused, you can most likely have all you want. You can be your own boss, and enjoy your passions, just don't try to rush things......it might take you little longer to get "there" but you will still make it "there" if you listen to your head.......if you follow your heart, yes you will be happy (temporarily) but you will kick yourself for the time and money wasted...once the party is over.... and believe me the music will stop and you won't have a chair.......ask the others how many times they have seen a meteoric rise then the carsh and burn... I know, I know long winded, but you did ask...........

There are many roads you can take in this short life. You have to sit down and figure out what's important to you. Not your dad. Not your friends. Make your own way which it sounds like you're doing now. At the end of the day, it's like the old Pink Floyd song says, "The memories of a man in his old age, are the deeds of man in his prime". Create memories. Some work, some don't, just don't end up with a life of regret - Should'a done this, should'a done that. You want to be able to say that you did it your way at the end of the day. So put together a short and a long term plan and get after it. Like everything in life, the future is not predictable, so be prepared to modify the plan as life happens and you suffer hardships and unforeseen gains. Be an opportunist and strike when the oportunities present themselves. My pcar is perfect for me. I'm going to live with it for a while. Would I like to drive a GT3 - you bet! A new Lambo or Ferrari - for sure. The reality is, you can go through life like that, but you'll always be wanting more. As Goethe pointed out years ago, man is basically insatiable, so learn to live with the fact that there's always a green life someone else has, that in reality, isn't all that greener. Enjoy the moment and plan for the future. Good luck with that pCar. Oh, and create those memories.

Sounds like you have been lucky so far. Your $2k savings could become $1k or less when you need tires, and a major service and brake job could wipe you out even doing all the labor yourself. An unforseen repair, and your car is creeping up there in miles where it is to be expected, can cost several hundreds or even a thousand or two. You need this cushion and I think more in reserve. My advice is hang on to your savings, keep your P car off the track and as yor DD. Buy a beater Miata to track as they are cheap and easy to maintain. You are not in the income bracket where you can be without a car because of a track related failure, get off, or accident. I'd put your car back to stock, make it better than when you bought it, detail it to the max and put it up for sale. Try for a few $k more than you paid, then for the same money look for a great deal on a year or 2 newer car that needs some TLC. Repete...soon you will be in a 997 without much cash out of pocket.

When I was about your age I got the mod bug. I spent I don't know how much money then. Wish I had it all back. What a waste. I could use it now to buy a nicer car or help keep the current cars running. (Not that I'm hard up but still, all that money I spent mod'ing my car... what a waste of money.) You need to set aside some percentage of what you make for retirement. Since you're starting out early you can set aside a bit less than someone older and you take build wealth using less riskier investment vehicles. Roughly the guideline is to have about a half a year's salary in the bank to cover you in case for instance you get laid off. Having some money tucked away means you don't have to take the 1st job you're offered. I find too it provides a bit of peace of mind knowing that if Monday my employer suddenly laid me off I wouldn't be homeless the 1st of the month when the rent came due. Oh, I avoid owing any money. Early on I borrowed to buy but have paid cash for my cars for a long time. (I pay my CC bill off in full every month too. This month particulary painful cause the Turbo's new tires on there along with some other charges and a week's vacation. All in I sent the CC company a check for over $4K. Next month ain't going to be any better either. The Boxster required over $3K worth of work this month.) I know there are going to be some who object but the 911 is not a track car. The days of taping the 911's headlights up and driving to the track and then driving home removing the tape and using the car M-F for work commute and grocery runs is over. These newer cars are very good cars and some do and can survive the track experience I'd advise you to get a much less expensive car to work your track urges out on. Where would you be if the engine let go? Or the transmission failed? Or the car got bumped and had an off and you ended up with car against the tire wall? Can you afford to repair/fix the car out of your pocket? As for your dad, he's your problem. My dad's not a big fan of the Porsches. Neither is my mom. For one thing they're quite old and can't get in and out of the cars very easily at all. Dad feels the cars are too small. He thinks I ought to be in a Crown Vic. I love my parents very much and listen to them almost all the time but I do not want to drive a Crown Vic. But I still follow my dad's advice about how to negotiate and buy a car, to not finance but to pay cash, and to always have the proper insurance, etc. The saying is dads don't know everything but they know the most. And I think that's true. Sincerely, Macster.

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Um, your friends make $80k gross, which ain't that much more than $45k net...so basically you make the same amount. Then again, I'm guessing they have benefits like medical, dental, 401k etc. Now, to your real point. You are playing with fire. You have a high mileage car, and what, $3k in savings? you want to track your car. You will go through tires and brakes like mad. Not only that, what happens when you need a clutch? What if worst case, you need a new engine. Thats at least $6k. Do you have another car? Unfortunately you are an adult, and you need to act like one. You need 6-12 months of expenses in an emergency fund that is never to be touched unless necessary. You should also have some money put away for retirement. You bought a formerly expensive car that will cost a good amount to maintain and repair. You spent all the money you have on it. Now is NOT the time to track it or cage it or whatever. I'd thank my lucky stars if nothing breaks just gingerly driving it to work and back. Unfortunately, I think you've bitten off more than you can chew. for a frame of reference, i'm 27, so I can appreciate the desire to have fun, but responsibility comes first if you ask me.

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I agree with your post, but you'll need some damn good investments to hit 7 figures with that sort of outlay.

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I'd skip the car if I could keep my wife naked... (Sorry for going astray - to stay on topic, if you have a love for the track, you *can* do that on a budget, but probably not with a 996. Pick up a 944 spec car and give yourself an annual budget or $4 or $5k per year. If you plan well, you'll be able to get a lot of seat time for that.)

how do you get that insurance rate @ 23 yrs old????

1. Never compare yourself or income to others. 2. Having a goal and a plan will make you successful 3. Plan for retirement, NO ONE else is going to help you. From a financial standpoint, you need a rainy day fund and you need to start building your retirement savings. The earlier you start saving, even only a little bit can create a lot of wealth by the time you retire. Go look at the studies... A 25 year old that starts saving 100/month will have more in retirement than someone saving twice as much that started in their thirties. Dave Ramsey has a ton of good material, so does suze orman. If you want to race cars, start small. Miatas, 944's, kart, all those aren't going to bankrupt you if you smash it in the wall. You can buy them already spec'd to race and they are cheap to operate. Then spend your money on lessons if you want to get serious. I wish I had the money at 23 to get a 996, but I also started a 401k, advanced my career, bought a house, got married, etc. You already have the car, keep it like it is. Set aside 10% of the cost for maintenance is a good rule of thumb. If you want to race cars, talk to local race shops, they often sell cars they build. But get a cheap car and learn...but that will be an expensive hobby, don't think it won't. What you are really facing is opportunity cost, saving money and letting it grow with compound interest adds up. Every dollar you spend now could be ten or more you won't get back when you retire. Congrats on the car, but don't turn it into a race car.

You want to keep my wife naked???? Back to the OP, there is a ton of good advice in this thread about moderation and realism and making sure that you save first and spend later. I make a budget every year for my spending and I have yet to stay within the budget for the car. They always cost more than you think...

There are many posts here on how you should manage your money. I will go the opposite route. Stay focused on what you do well and that will bring you money. Actually, a lot of money. You should be fine doing what you love with proper financial cushion as long as you make more than you spend. You do work hard for your money so indulge yourself a little bit. How much you spend depends on your own comfort level; not someone else's. Its never about how much money you make at the end of the day; its how much you save that determines your net worth. Good Luck!

What the heck is "OT"?

Thanks for all the replies so far, I thought it would have been a good idea to invest the money I spent on the car on something else before I bought it. Like a business for sale. But fear and emotions got the best of me, and I talked myself out of it by saying "well if I go broke opening a business I've got nothing to show for it, or I could buy a porsche and have fun with that." I think I'm going to put the car up for sale, I've got a nice 2008 base model tacoma that I drive around everyday and just put the money from the car in a CD account, and the money I would have spent on maintaining it can continue to grow. This feeling always changes after I take it for a spin around the block though.

forget the CD...that is a losing proposition. You are gonna be a bachelors in business, you may want to take some finance classes and look into more useful investments. You're a young guy, you can absorb some risk, but obviously that depends on your risk adversity.

I'm 23 and faced a similar decision - how much money can I "afford" to play with? The numbers in my life are a little different than yours, I am fortunate that I had great earning potential through school and accumulated a decent size "nest egg" during that time. I have my E36 racecar that has been reasonable, inexpensive to run (comparatively speaking) and highly competitive in its class. However, I really want to see the car go a LOT faster and finally have the means to be able to, even if I shouldnt by conventional wisdom. To go "all the way" with my racecar it will cost me between 35 and 40% of what I have saved up to date and while the car wont be worthless at the end, if I had to sell it, I'd be lucky to recuperate half of what I had put into it. With that in mind, spending $25k on the car is very irresponsible on a financial level. However, with that said, we are young; I am single and dont have any kids, and recognize that this car and competing with it is truly what I want to do with my spare time. I work hard for my money and am fortunate to be debt free, live comfortably within my means, and have enough money should something ever "happen". So with that in mind I said screw it - we are only young once, it is extremely unlikely that once I have kids, a wife, and a mortgage, I will be more free and flexible to "play" than I am now, so live life accordingly, do what you want, in my case, put the money into the car and build what I have been wanting for some time now. I believe strongly in balance; planning and not being irresponsible with money is key but has to be balanced with the fact that life is an unknown and you can plan to save and scrimp for a comfortable life at 60 but what if you dont get there? I plan on living life at the maximum level that wont compromise me later on. If you have to go to the track on borrowed $$$s, I wouldnt do it, but if your car is what makes you happy, do something with it, just be reasonable and keep a clear and accurate eye on your financial status and what effects it will have later on. -Mark

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"Off Topic"

u are doing well. when i was 23, i think i made 45k BEFORE tax. have some fun save some money the salon idea sounds good, but only if you are also a hair dresser. it's not an easy business if you are not IN it. can't just have a salon and rent stations out, wont work. track occasionally (u r the green wheel right?). tracking too much cost a LOT of money, i do mean A LOT of money.

Marry rich. Preferably one with a foot in the grave. J/K

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I know it seems nuts at your age, but this is the right question. I do a lot of work with bankers, and the thinking these days is that retirement is going to be a "50 year project" for most young people today. The reason is pretty simple: return on equity for most classes of assets is awful. If you were born in the 1950s, you saw double digit gains in the value of your house, double digit gains in the value of your equity portfolio and, for a while, double digit gains even in your fixed income investments. Today, the latter might earn you a couple of percentage points. Housing is, at best, a long term gamble, and pretty illiquid. And equities, well... When I was doing my own long term financial planning fifteen years back, advisors were using a planning assumption of 12% ROE - as in that's what I'm supposed to be making on my investments by now - and the truth turned out to be a fraction of that. Time and money being to some extent fungible, that means a lot of guys in my position have had a decade added to their working lives. So the point is, to quit at the same time age your parents and grandparents may have, you need to have a lot more investment capital than they did, or you're going to have to do something for a living that you can still be doing when you're 70. Which boils down to this: Start saving money now, don't wait.

To be honest, I think our friend here needs to be thinking much more short term first. He's got maybe $3k in savings. I'd say he's gonna need close to $10k in an emergency fund that is simply not touched in case of disaster like illness or job loss. That needs to come first. Then you can start to build retirement savings and consider fun stuff.

My view is if you can't buy the car with at least twice the cash in the bank you are over stepping. The repair and such is a healthy bill besides crash repair since you tend towards a roll bar. A cage isn't going to give you a prayer when pulled over. California having a new governor scrapping for money is going to bring healthy tickets probably. Police already around here have sights set for paying their retirements with tickets put in the bank. They even get more money if a ticket is faught in court. I also see a bad accident happened again on the coast hwy. I'm pretty sure you don't need attention like a roll bar or the thoughts in your head that you are covered if the car crashes so go ahead and push your luck slidding the rear with full power going. Like I said have cash in the bank. Here's some clues. Rent was way low so maybe your car will be stolen if in a low rent area. Your age and insurance cost makes methink the car isn't covered for replacement in all types of loss. You are doing great at keeping costs down but marriage and other costs like rent of $2000 a month is what you are headed towards. Then insurance up the ying yang. Don't expect property taxes to go down. I kind of laugh about retirement planning. If you wrap a broad up in your plans and she leaves.....there goes your retirement money and assets tied to the retirement. Even if you have a monthly retirement pay from the government, the Xwife takes a big precentage just like she was taking all the damage of bullets and bombs. In other words spend time on having a wife under contract paperwork, then shop for a wife. The little joy toy of love can be your damnation for the rest of your life. You will be paying for her and her lawyer for the rest of your life. All total just save your money. Why? Because everyone else is after it and they are going to be taking chunk after chunk out of it. Enjoy the banks .1% interest hehehe

>>I'm 23 years old, I have 2 years of school left until I get my business degree, I work 36 hours a week at a restaurant, and do freelance work in my free time. << i would try to finish school sooner, then thinking about playing with cars.

Having a significant portion of your worth tied into a depreciating (or not appreciating at any rate) asset is a bad idea. I'd think something like an e36 M3 or even an e30 325i might be a better track worthy step down rather than a truck to drive everyday. Whatever you do, don't cage your main street car! I started doing track events when I was around 20 (I'm now 28), auto-x before that. I've done 20+ days in a year before, probably the worst financial move of my life thus far in a per annum basis. You have to balance what you enjoy with how much you should save, but hey you live once. I'm trying to balance what I'm saying, personally I'm super conservative. PS: You're most likely not in as bad a shape as you imagine. For example, quite a few people get out of school in a fair amount of debt + credit card debt in addition. Also, your friends making more money likely have more financial burdens as well. Surprising how fast "middle class" folks can become homeless!

I gave it some more thought on how I could keep this car and maybe do 6 track events a year. I looked over my spending so far this month, and noticed there is some fat I could cut off. $20 taxi, $80 drinks $10 food Dinner and movie $70 Escort $240 Massage $130 Do RLers think if I can save $2000/month just into savings I could track the car every other month? (and not touch any of the savings for any reason other than job loss or illness, and not addiction illness )

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Learn how to work a game. The fun is in the chase. Although I am not saying you will not end up spending more than above..

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Sure. I think essentially, though, saving is saving, and it's a habit young people today are going to have to start sooner than people did a generation ago. I guess the key point is this: the difference between people who live comfortably all their lives and those who end up getting f*cked is that the former treated money management as a matter of net worth, where the latter treated it merely as a matter of cashflow. A lot of the disappearing so-called 'middle class' were never really there in the first place. It just looked that way because they could make the payments.

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yea, you could cut this wasted spending out !! no wonder you are broke with reckless spending like this !!

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did this guy really admit to getting an escort?

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I presume he meant an Escort Radar Detector, right? OP, you would never admit to anything different on a public forum. You do not need to replace them every month so you can save this. My piece of advice would be to first save everything you can to build a rainy day fund. Then start having more fun. FM

^ Not wanting strings attached at 23. I can see that. OP is going to have to choose between Rosy Palm and track days or Escort and massages on a monthly basis. That is what I call a tough decision.

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unless he is hatefully ugly and socially awkward, there is no reason a 23 year old should be utilizing the services of an escort, although I agree, an evening with a non-paid companion may not be cheaper.

Quotes source post: 8218651

He my hero

This is an entertaining thread! First of all, I think it's great that you bought a Porsche at 23. I didn't buy one until I was in my late 30s, and I wondered why I didn't do it sooner. Secondly, I like the fact that you paid cash for it. So many young people are willing to go into deep debt to get the car they want... and I think that's a huge mistake. I agree with the comments in this thread about planning for retirement and saving. Time is on your side now... if you can get on an organized and formal savings plan now, it will pay off as you approach retirement. For me, having a family and kids was my top priority. I've been planning and saving for my retirement, and for my kids to go to college. I'll start paying college bills late this year! The saving prevented me from buying a Porsche at a younger age, but I'm essentially debt free (mortgage being the exception) and I'll be able to pay for both of my kids to go to college without taking out any loans. It's a good feeling. I think the thing you have to do is balance your future plans with your current interests. If you put together a good plan that allows you to save for the future and live comfortably, and you still have enough to enjoy your passion now (which happens to be Porsches), then go for it! Find the balance that works for you.