Quick Questions

Yea man I know thats what 2 other people told me but im not becoming a cop for a little while and I can get a job with my dad paying 25-30 $ a hour and he said I can work with him for up to 2 years which would rack in alot enough to buy my truck the upgrades cover my gf (who works with a vet right now) and my little boy so i got that covered then after I do all that im going to become a cop.

Thanks for tellin me that though =P but dont worry I got it covered I've already wrote everything down money wise and what not except the upgrades and then still puttin some while getting enough for my truck incase of an emergency or something and if that falls threw I got another backup plan my uncle is rich and told me if I fall to far he'll help me but I have to pay him back.

But thats just incase everything falls threw.

P.S. Also the truck is only going to run me 28.5 he said if I pay with cash he can drop it even more In a 6 month time frame I can have that in 8-11 months while still helping my gf and my little boy

Just some friendly advice...don't get yourself in debt and expect your rich uncle or anyone else to take care of it. You have a lot of responsibility you are taking on and a kid (and a girlfriend) aren't cheap. You need to take care of them first before you start adding in all the nice extras we all like to have in life. Its good that you will get some time to see the realities of budgeting before you buy a new vehicle and find yourself overextended. What works on paper as far as how much you think you are going to save and how much you actually are able to save are often far apart. I can't imagine many people can save $28,000 in 8-11 months, let alone someone with a girlfriend and small child.

Again, if you take on debt then YOU should be paying for your debt. It sounds like you've had to grow up fast and take on a lot responsibility. You'll have to make sacrifices for your family but the rewards don't come in material things. If you do manage to save up $28,000 for a new truck AFTER you provide for them then by all means, a tacoma is a great truck and a good investment! Just keep your priorities straight and don't take on debt so that you have to ask family to pay for you.

Do a lot of research before you decide what to buy and get a good deal. Every penny will count and you want to do your mods the right way. I learn a lot by seeing what other folks on this board do to their trucks and sharing their info and photos. Welcome to TN! Be patient and stick around and you'll learn a lot!!

Easy Tiger! What about rent, food, insurance (both car and health), power, phone? As a recent college grad with a brand new Tacoma I am getting by paying my bills, sure... but no way could I save $28k in a year...

My advice to you would be to get that job and save everything you can in addition to supporting your family. Then spend half of that and pay straight up for a used Older Tacoma... and keep the rest for a rainy day. Take it from someone who has learned about debt personally- the best feeling in the world is to get out of it and know that if there is any way to avoid it, you will from now on.

I am almost 25, have been with the same girl for 8 years, and even I cannot imagine having a child that relies on you solely. You should be proud that you are coming out of this now and don't do anything to fall back down. Stand up proud and drive a used truck, knowing that should your family ever need anything, you have something there to provide for it.

Good luck!

Something else you could do is save up what you can, finance the truck, and then do a large down payment. That 1.) leaves money in your bank for emergencies or other needs and 2.) will help build your credit as long as you make all the payments on time. Being 18 you probably have little to no credit, or worse bad credit. Paying on the truck would help build credit. Better credit leads to credit cards if you need them, better insurance rates and other perks. Build it while you can before you have time to ruin it like I did. :lol:

Using some of the money you saved as a downpayment instead of all it to pay the truck off would let you buy some of the mods you want too. If you can dump some money in money market accounts, certificates of deposit (aka CDs or Share certificates), or a savings account with a high interest rate would help you too. You get your truck AND you have money left over.

TucsonTRD said:

i think he's saying to save up as much money as possible, buy a vehicle you can afford, using as little of the money that you saved as you can, so you still have that money to fall back on. and make the payments on time to help build credit

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Yeah. More or less what he said! lol

I put 2500 down and payments are around $600/month. But I have poor credit so I have a high interest rate. You have 0 credit so you may do better. Either way, talk the price down on the truck as much as possible (don't focus on monthly payments as they'll play games with interest rates from what I've heard), then work on financing and put a good chunk down. $10,000 sounds good if you can do that. The truck is almost halfway paid for at that point, and if you ARE able to save up the $28,000 you think, then you'll have $18,000 left over. Put that into interest earning accounts so you can have more money later (ie savings accounts, CDs, Share Certificates, bonds (13 years to mature so remember that), hell even PayPal is earning 5% now I think), and then use some for the mods you want.


That way you have the truck you want, have the mods you want, AND have cash left over in case shit happens. Oh, and you'll be building your credit while you're paying for the truck too.

Ok guys you have told me alot and I have thought alot and you all are right I should take my time and something could happen if I do take out a loan for the truck or any of that and I'l be screwed. So thanks guys!! I owe you one lol

Ok But just let me get this part right? I think im following you guys now..

I should save up like 10-15k?
Go and talk the guy down much as possible on the truck
then put 10k down on the truck (this is the part where im lost what if I only have 10k still put it down)
Then if I have 15k put the other 5k in the bank

Am I following you guys now?

(hoping I am lol)

P.S. sorry im not smart as you guys yet lol but what do you mean by placing money into stuff? I know what a savings account is but cds? shares? bonds? etc whats that stuff? Thanks guys (my real father died so I dont have anyone to really help me)

TillersLuck said:

Ok guys you have told me alot and I have thought alot and you all are right I should take my time and something could happen if I do take out a loan for the truck or any of that and I'l be screwed. So thanks guys!! I owe you one lol

Ok But just let me get this part right? I think im following you guys now..

I should save up like 10-15k?
Go and talk the guy down much as possible on the truck
then put 10k down on the truck (this is the part where im lost what if I only have 10k still put it down)
Then if I have 15k put the other 5k in the bank

Am I following you guys now?

(hoping I am lol)

P.S. sorry im not smart as you guys yet lol but what do you mean by placing money into stuff? I know what a savings account is but cds? shares? bonds? etc whats that stuff? Thanks guys (my real father died so I dont have anyone to really help me)

Click to expand...

About the bond, CD's etc, go talk to a bank about those. Tell them you have 5k or whatever you have at the time, and want it to earn as much interest as possible. They'll be able to recommend something, give you the options, and the pro's/con's of each. CD's are usually higher interest rates than savings account as you can't pull money out without paying a penalty charge until they mature (every 60 days, 6 months, 5 years, you get the idea). Share Certificates are more or less the same thing, but my credit union just has to have a different name for them for some reason... :dunno:

Credit unions typically give better rates than banks so it's better if you can join one of them. They also can USUALLY beat other auto loans once you're a member in good standing.

Bank could probably tell you about bonds and where to get them. Essentially you put $25 down, and in 13 years it's worth $50, and earns interest for 30 years. Good looooooong term investment. lol Like maybe buy a few for your kid(s). They have $50 and $100 ones I know, not sure about others (that's $25 and $50 to buy). I have a few that matured, earn interest, and were worth 2-3x their value when I cashed them in. (a $50 one cashed in at $150 or so)

Money Market savings accounts usually have a higher rate than normal savings, but unless you put 10G's in there going from 1% to 3% interest isn't gonna do you a whole lot of good! :lol: Either way having a savings account helps as it earns money while you don't touch it, but can be accessed almost any time you NEED it. Just watch out for monthly transaction limits and fees. Also, many credit apps ask if you have a savings and/or checking account so having both is a plus for you.