Honestly, INVEST THAT CASH!!!!!!

To have $15K at 18 years old is either a great accomplishment or you're one lucky SOB (unless it was a death trust or something, in which case I'm sorry). Either way, you can set yourself up to have a GREAT DEAL of financial freedom even a few years down the road.

Here's my story. At 18, I graduated from high school and went off to college (hopefully you will get the same opportunity, as nothing replaces a good education). Studied hard, got good grades, finished with a BS in 4 years. Started in a small lab making peanuts, but it was a good learning experience.

After 9 months there, I moved on to a better place for more money and room to grow. After 6 years with that company I was making REALLY GOOD MONEY, had NO DEBT (not counting the house) and decided I deserved a nice 30th birthday present. Along came the S2000...

I'm not saying wait until you're 30, but I AM saying you don't have to be 50 to buy/enjoy one. It's nice to have a nice car AND a nice house AND a hot wife AND money in the bank AND a solid 401(K) investment AND some long term investments (i.e. stocks, funds, etc.) AND...

PATIENCE GRASSHOPPER!

 

I know what you are saying VTEC_Junkie & I sort of agree, but with limits. In this case the original poster already has an S2000 at age 18. He already has a major toy. I'm not advocating living like a pauper until age 50. I'm advising that in this case, because the poster has a sports car already, that college, real estate and investments would be a wiser choice than a turbo. Take care of some of the long term things too.

I bought sport bikes at at 18, road raced at 25 & got my first Porsche at 29, but I paid for my own college & bought a house too. The toys were bought with left over money & never cost more that about 1/4 my annual income.

 

I totally agree with you (Vtec_junkie).

However, appearances can be deceiving. You see, I get carded 1/3 of the time. Specially when I go out with younger people. I am 31, own a 2br townhome & 3 cars. Funny enough, one of the cars IS a 2001 Honda Civic Coupe (the wife's)

The house and cars are paid for and I have $0 debt. The S was a gift to myself last year when I sold my business (worked at it 9 years, 12-14 hour days, 6 1/2 days per week).

Sure, I could have taken the $30k and done some investing with it . But that is what the rest of the money from the sale is for (after paying the $#@$ taxes). Sometimes you just have to have a little fun. That is why I said to buy the SC and save $10k (although if it were me I would invest it all since he already has the s2000 and will most likely never use the SC to its fullest.)


[QUOTE]Originally posted by VTEC_Junkie

 

AzNxKuKu

I'm 23 (24 next month)...and well, I say invest. I say this because I know I would be MUCH better off if I had invested the money that I did get from selling my '98 GTI VR6. It wasnt a lot of money ($8.5K) but the time it takes to save up that much can take a while and depending on what you're doing in the future, it could affect you greatly. (or not, just depends).

I'll tell you what I'm up to right now. I'm currently in the process of looking to buy a condo. Here in Reston/DC Metro Area, property is appreciating like crazy! Just a couple weeks ago I found this PERFECT 2 bedroom 2 bath condo with an attached garage (keep in mind I've been looking for a place to live/buy for about 3 months now). So when I found this place I was like 'THIS IS IT'! I met my realtor about a half hour after he called me and we went to go see this place...we immediately went back to his office and proceeded to write an offer letter on the condo. The place was going for $299,900 and I really wanted to make sure that I got it so I did an escalation clause saying that I would pay up to $310,000. Two days later the owner made a decision on the buyer and I didnt get it. It turned out that the person who got the condo also offered $310,000 but paid completely in CASH!

So, while I'm still looking, and while I know $8,000 from selling my car would not have helped me get this place...there are a lot of things that I wish I hadn't had bought with the cash because I could have had a lot more in the bank to put down on a condo that I buy and I would have had more money to put towards making the S2K perform better.

There will always be things that you want to buy impulsively...but save your money and invest and spend it on more imporant things that you will want later. Just my $0.02

Good luck!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cashout

The house and cars are paid for and I have $0 debt.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ash

 

ahhh... guess I forgot what housing prices are over there... I'd be happy if I could find something for 400k let alone 300k

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ash
ahhh...

 

15K could buy you one hell of a night at the nudie bar
-Al Bundy - 1995

But, you could do this too...
Getting a supercharger and some nice 4.56 gears will cost about $6K. Adding those two together will feel like a turbo without the high cost.

Then you save your $9K and watch it grow grow grow.

 

You'll spend too much in insurance get the s when your older and making mo $$ Invest long term.