Decided to Pay Off the XF

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind) 03/28/2018 at 11:56 • Filed to: Personal Garage

6

18

This is such a good sports sedan and a criminally unsung and overlooked driver’s car. Anyhowdy doody, I have decided to use ALL of my savings to pay off the XF. Emergency fund, future house down payment, the whole kitten and noodles.

Ive messed around on Excel for the last week and thought over how my new position impacts my current lifestyle. In the end, paying the remaining $24,464 makes the most sense. This will completely deplete my savings including emergency fund and future house down payment.

I mentioned a few months ago that I’m done worrying over how much I make and focusing on how much I keep a month, and honestly that has been the best perspective change I have ever made.

In practice, a pay raise probably won’t net you an extra $100 a month by the time it makes it into your hands. However, cutting out payments and subscriptions — car, Netflix, reaffirming your masculinity through imported guinea pig-themed calendars — could yield another $200 to over $1,000 in your hands every month. Can you imagine what a huge salary increase you would need in order to keep your current lifestyle while gaining another $600 in your hands a month after taxes and deductions?

That’s where my mind is and where I’m going.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 12:00

0

It’s always a good feeling you pay off the car and you truly “own” it. How long have you owned and how reliable has it been so far?

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 12:03

0

but how well does it work as a house?

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 12:05

0

O.o... man.. a grand is about what i pay for rent + bills every month (i could probably lose about 100 more if i dropped me netflix and unnessecarily fast internet... but i like those)

(incidentally what you just paid off is nearly what i make in a year.. and im living quite comfortably... cant quite wrap my head round american finances)

Wobbles the Mind > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 03/28/2018 at 12:17

1

If you dont mind long posts from me: https://oppositelock.kinja.com/on-2010s-jaguar-reliability-1796114575

Short answers: Got it February 2016. One major hose issue and some botherances due to the car not being driven enough before I found it. Now it’s been so solid that I want to try my luck with a 2012-ish Maserati.

Wobbles the Mind > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 03/28/2018 at 12:21

4

Jaguar builds terrible homes but great lawn furniture.

OmerCarrothers333 > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 12:33

0

Ah, I see I am not the only Guinea pig enthusiast here (my daughters have two).

Good job on the ride, it’s a good car.

My wife and I made a lot of bad financial decisions and I’m contemplating a debt consolidation loan just to keep track of all the money going out and also to provide a light at the end of the tunnel.

OmerCarrothers333 > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/28/2018 at 12:34

1

It’s stupid expensive to live here and most employers expect the employees to live off of paltry wages.

Wobbles the Mind > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 03/28/2018 at 12:34

1

The company pays for food when I’m out of town (which is a lot), pays gas as well as an extra $105 a week for using my Jeep for work. Ive taken that money as well as some extra and saved it up over the past 5 years rather than living off that. I’m extremely fortunate for these perks.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 12:41

1

fair dee doos mate.. wasnt in any way meant as a dig btw

i just keep seein thing like paying over a grand a month for car insurance or saving that much on monthly bills and my little brain just goes..... bwoah.... you guys must be earning thousands a month

Wobbles the Mind > OmerCarrothers333 03/28/2018 at 12:44

1

About 3.5 years ago I worked with my Credit Union to do an unsecured loan to pay off the credit card debt I accumulated right out of school. I brought them the most recent statements, they paid them off right then and there and the precise amount they paid became what I owed them. The credit card rates were around 18.99% to 23.99%, so the switch dropped the interest to a single loans at 8.99%.

That alone bumped my credit score from around 675 to 750. It also forced me to actually pay off the amount owed rather than paying cards down but constantly putting more on them as well and not making progress.

Chuckles > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 12:48

0

Wouldn’t it be wiser to keep even $1,000 in your emergency fund and pay off the rest? Draining the entirety of the emergency fund sounds dangerous. I’m all about paying things off early but you’d be getting most of the benefit if you only paid off $23k now and took care of the rest over a few paychecks.

Wobbles the Mind > Chuckles 03/28/2018 at 13:02

0

I feel better doing it now so that I can avoid paying any interest of any kind going into April, not have any payment next month, as well as update my insurance before I need to make a payment for April. The savings will build back quickly and I can use a credit card for a $1,000 emergency between now and the second week of April. I’m comfortable with that.

BeaterGT > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 13:16

1

A man with a plan! I’ve thought about doing the same but the interest on the Z is so laughably low that it would be akin to pinching pennies. It’s always interesting (for me) to see these perspective shifts where people start cutting corners and avoiding lifestyle inflation in order to boost their budget. Sounds like you are looking at it from both sides, which is great.

BeaterGT > OmerCarrothers333 03/28/2018 at 13:18

1

You should definitely explore those options. I had helped a friend out of a similar situation and it made it much easier for them to manage their finances going forward after getting a consolidation loan. Especially if the debt is on credit cards, they will only lower your rates so much.

Dark chocolate > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 13:47

2

It adds up quickly when company travel comes into perspective. Specially when company pays hundreds in per diem (varies from state to state and country to country) and pays hardship for staying away from home town.

Last year:

I traveled every week for the 5 months. Airline Flight points.

I flew to 14 locations spread over US and Europe. Business class is allocated for all work travel. Unless the airline bumps me to first class (never happens). Even more flight points.

Hotel stay was utilized for 3-5 days every week for almost half the year. Moar points. Higher membership level.

Car was rented for 3-5 days every week. Moar points with Hertz. Highest hertz tier. ( President’s Circle: Within a 12 month period, this level requires at least 20 rentals or $4000 in spend). 1.5 times the points.

I charged every thing on my american express platinum card - 5X the point on hotel/ car/ air.

All said and done, I accrued so many points in all aspects of travel that I took a vacation this past weekend for 4 days. Flew my family to the west coast, rented a Suburban and stayed in a NICE beach side hotel, without spending a dime. I only spent money buying food and random shopping. And my points balance seems to have stayed the same.

Arrivederci > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 14:01

1

Ballsy. I owe less than that on the Audi and wouldn’t dream of emptying my savings to pay it off. The only cost to me to continue carrying the loan is roughly $8-900 in interest, spread over a few years.

Now if I had the means to pay off my house....

Chuckles > Wobbles the Mind 03/28/2018 at 14:09

0

The access to a credit card does change the equation. If you have that for legitimate emergencies then I’m more ok with it.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Wobbles the Mind 03/29/2018 at 14:24

1

Hello fellow XF owner! You might want to rethink spending the emergency fund, though. It probably won’t make that big difference in the total interest you would have to pay on the loan, but still gives you that cushion just in case.