Jsilvester81

17 z06/z07 stage 3 aero 2 LZ M7 transmission

Alec Smith

yeah I respect the hustle but if you want to get out of that average mindset I would follow Robert Kiyosaki and read rich dad poor dad

smitty2919

We are in the same boat. Paying off highest interest loans first then rolling the monthly payment into the next loan. We have done very well with this approach over the past couple of years. Our C5Z, Lexus IS250 and 03 Silverado are all paid off.

So well that we have paid off enough debt to step into a new truck to replace our 03 Silverado 2500 HD gas truck. Not buying it outright but we accepted the additional debt given our situation(needs for a truck given our hobbies and lifestyle). I got GM Supplier Discount and went with GM Finance of 0% for 72mo. Saves almost $9000 in interest over the life of the loan. I don't plan to sell this truck.

2021 Sierra SLT Premium 2500HD 6.6 Gas (didn't want diesel OR Denali package as we put value in "functional" things vs "fancy" things that comes with Denali package. The SLT package has PLENTY of tech and doodads for us lol. Leather/NAV/Gooseneck package/sunroof/X31 offered package. Driving it home Saturday

MSG C5

Congratulations on your success. You and I have similar life stories and similar taste in cars.

Although I am not a personal trainer, I have done well in real estate and I’m an executive in the tech industry. The Corvette link is that outside of my first $5K auto loan after I self-financed my state university college, I have never had a car loan. While all my tech industry colleagues were leasing new BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes every three years, I was driving my paid for and well-maintained, 5+ year-old domestic cars. I found out early in my career that I can invest or save $500 just as easily as I could pay a $500 car note. It’s all about choices.

Another great choice is to buy a little less house in exchange for a lot less, 15-year mortgage. Pay one more payment each year, and your house is yours in a little over 10 years.

You don’t have to live like a hermit, just make your money work for you vs. debt working against you. Enjoy life and tip well in exchange for good service. Pay it forward as wealth building is about the flow of money and not about burying nickels and dimes in the back yard.

Drown out all the “You deserve this and you deserve that” advertising we're bombarded with and you will do fine, regardless of your income.

Water_Walker

Love it...go to the C8 forum and you will be mocked and laughed out of the forum. Many of those guys make 200k or more a year, which is awesome but the guys making 60k a year are being convinced to buy a new c8 with “fantastic interest rates”.

Its pathetic when people live above their means and then cry inequity, racism, etc. as the reason they have nothing.

VetteVinnie

I actually just did this. I was running around with a $1000 payment on a 2010 ZR1 (albeit with only 1.99% interest) and decided it was time to take a step back. Four years ago, I sold my truck to my brother-in-law, my 2002 Silverado Z71, that I drove for 15 years and bought a 2017 Acadia. That was a mistake. The Acadia was nice, but I missed my truck. So, in January I sold the Acadia, sold the ZR1, drove my mother-in-law's Tahoe for a couple of months, and picked up this bad boy a short time ago with a hefty down payment:



I got spoiled with the SLT2 features on the Acadia, so Denali was really the only choice for me. Besides, I wanted the retractable running boards.

Now I am back in the Corvette that started it all, the 2001 Coupe that my late father-in-law bought my mother-in-law back in 2002. I've been its caretaker for the last 15 years. We just recently transferred it to my wife's name, and I put new wheels, tires, and had all of the fluids changed out. It drives like a brand new car! Only ~54K miles and no payment.

When the truck is paid off, I'll be looking for another Vette, most likely a C8. A lot can happen in 4-5 years, though. So we shall see.

EDIT: Side note, I also got the supplier discount.

Stingroo

I've never had a car payment, and the C5 is the most expensive car I've ever owned. If I told you what I paid for it, you'd all think I was nuts.

Unfortunately I fell into the whole "go to college - everyone goes to college!" trap, so I'm paying student debt instead. But my wife and I are planning on buying a house and then I'll be aggressively attacking the student loan debt, and then paying the house off in 10 years or less. That's my goal.

Ramsey is nuts in a lot of ways, but his approach to money is simple and effective. It's all common sense stuff but it's so counterintuitive to everything we're taught it's scary.

smitty2919

Nice! We thought about Denali 2500 but I wasn't a fan of the mostly digital dash/gauges and the rear view mirror being a "camera". It was a very strange thing. The SLT package is more than enough for us. Having 6 cameras and all the gadgets inside coming from a 03 Silverado is LIGHTYEARS ahead LOL.

VetteVinnie

Thanks! Fortunately you can turn it back into a regular mirror with a flick of the day/night lever on the mirror. That was VERY disconcerting when I test drove it because my eyes are used to long-distance focusing (same as the side mirrors). Trying to focus on the mirror itself was really weird. I'll probably only use it when I have a load that blocks the rear view. I do love all the advanced camera angles and towing features, though. I'm hunting for a fishing boat.

LSgoBRRR

I had a WRX and it was fun and practical but not good on gas, the sticker numbers are just there for grandma and the EPA (those *****). They like to advertise like they are efficient, fun commuters but those turbo mileages are always measured while short shifting/never getting into boost. Just like the 1-4 skipshift crap, nobody actually drives like that, you don't buy a rally car to get gapped by V6 mom trucks on the way to the kids soccer game. Yeah of course it gets good mileage when you drive it like that, it's a restricted 120hp 4 cylinder when it's not spooled.

If you are revving it out and want to have fun you might as well get the smooth full range torque of a V8, there is no replacement for displacement.

Tyteflows

The C8 guys don't do the "wave" either, goes for most of the C7 guys also...

smitty2919

I'm not going to lie, it was a tough pill to swallow getting our new Sierra. Being so good about paying down debt and making headway only to add this debt back into the mix. BUT, we have future goals for trips and memories that our last 03 Silverado was getting to the "is it reliable" standpoint. Sure, I could have kept it running for the price of my new truck payment, but my time and mental stability is worth something too LOL. I hate HAVING to fix stuff.

The other side is that the progress we made paying down debt (following the Ramsey snowball method) ALLOWED us to be in the position to buy a new vehicle. I know Ramsey touts that buying a new vehicle or having a vehicle payment is an asinine idea but the used truck market is overpriced AND very scarce for options. Plus the fact that we don't plan on selling this truck and most likely own it until it has 200k+mi on it, I won't feel the impact of "new car depreciation". Getting GM Financing 0%/72mo saves us a bunch of money in interest rates too.

Vetteman Jack

This has little to do with a C5 at this point so closing this one down.