The story:
Lots of people post pictures of the "evolution of their evo"... so smug when they type that pun. Here is my evolution, yes its about my evo, but it really has more to do with me and my mindset. It all started the day I walked onto a car lot and fell in love with a 2006 evo ix gg mr. Against my better judgment, I financed it... every penny. My wife (fiancé at the time) helped me rationalize it by saying "you deserve it."

A couple years later I was turned onto a class called Financial Peace University. I began learning all the wonderful things I could do with money, if only I could get it to behave. My wife and I finished the coarse a week before our wedding and since then everything changed...

I learned:
1. I didn't have my car - my car had me. Every month I paid the bank for the right to drive a car that was more their's than it was mine, plus interest for the luxury of having it before I earned it.
2. I realized that my car was dropping in value like a rock. In fact new cars lose over half their value in the first 4 years
3. How we spend money speaks volumes about what is really important to us. I loved my car, but what I really love is my wife and family. My car payment was a direct reflection of how I had prioritized my life.

And so began the journey:
When I returned from our honeymoon I sold my evo (almost cried). And a month later my wife sold her Lexus. We cut up our credit cards, got on a written budget, and vowed NEVER to go into debt again. We traded a TV for a wrecked beater and shared 1 car for over a year. We had so many garage sales that the house looked bare. Our friends and families teased us as we sacrificed to get out of the mess we had made.

1 year later we paid off our last loan and became debt free
This time we prioritized and saved up an emergency fund to avoid ever going back into debt. Then we saved up and purchased my wife a lightly used Lexus. And then to the good part: I just got back home with a deal of an evo! Not the same color, not the same trim, but this time its paid for and its mine!

To anyone reading this;
The best mod I have ever done to my car is the car-note-delete. It runs so much better without dragging a payment behind it! It is possible, and it is worth it - you can do it too. Special thanks to my friend John who twisted my arm to go to the class, and my loving wife who learned how to shop on a budget.

thanks for reading,
-unsungboxer

 

So is your house payed off as well?

 

congrats to you and your wife

 

thats real inspirational.

 

Pretty cool story summary of yours and i feel your pain bro. Congrats and good luck in life ahead of you and your family. See you at the meet someday.

 

Nice to be out of debt.

Too bad for me I owe lots for my school loan.

At least my evo is bought with cash.

 

Great story!! Financial freedom!!

 

for a moment i thought its suzie orman writing....lol...thanks for sharing...i hope the government will do the same

 

great story man. I can hear the Braveheart theme playing in the back of my head . Nothing better than no car payment, and im sure it does drive much better now.

 

Congrats man! That is defiantly the best way to buy. Depreciating assets are a loosing battle... So many don't understand.

I have turned several friends onto FPU, they needed it.

Did the same thing several years ago.

 

Yep buying new cars in general is a huge waste, but for some reason I don't like buying someone else's used car either.

 

Touching!

 

I wont EVER buy a brand new car. Im sure its nice and all, but its a complete ripoff. Congrats on being debt free.

As of now, my car is my only debt. To me, a car isnt debt, as long as I am driving it and enjoying it. And the loan is under on it lol.

Congrats on the new evo!!

P.S. I like the new one better.

 

Ditto. Love the red RS

 

Great story, and I vowed myself that I will only buy cars if I can pay cash for it. Keep up the good work!

Eric