I know what you mean, I just signed up for a credit card (im 18) so that I can get an early start to build up good credit...

 

Triax I understand what your saying about the credit cards, however I think the problem that people have with credit cards is the Will power, The premis behind a credit card is that when you don't have the money for what you want, then you will be able to get it QUICK and easy on credit!!! You tend to think about the bill later!! For instance, me, I'm 26, Own a $300,000+ house, have a wife and a kid. Have a decent job and own my own business, but i have no credit cards!!!! Which means, If i want it I have to pay cash. That has its plus's and minus' The minus is that when i get into a bind I have to pull cash out of my a** !! The plus' however are that if, I had a credit card , That turbo I want would have been done already. The tranny rebuild I want would have been done already!!! I can give you about 8,000 worth of stuff that I wantto still do to my car that would have been done by now! Not having credit cards have curbed my spending from not what I want but to what I can afford. Household stuff always comes first(Sometimes). For instance I just billed a client for 3400. When I get my check, do I mod my car??? or pay off household stuff????

 

Since i met you , I have been spending money on my car. It is all your fault you keep telling me to get this and that but never give me any money for anything so for now on my ears are close to you and by the way i don't have a job thanks

 

I'm glad that we're having this kind of thread. Theses kinds of discussions are very helpful to me and I hope moderators don't lock this.

Anyway, I'm in a different kind of bind. I work part time, 20 hours a week, and it's the first time I've had to balance my college education with work. And let me say...it's very difficult. I find myself getting very little sleep as I progress through a week. My grades for my four classes (16 units) are NOT satisfactory at all...and I have about 4 weeks to make up a lot of bad grades due to the difficult of the material and the lack of time I have to invest in all four classes.

any advice? I find myself always "looking ahead" now and not wasting any more than 1 hour a day anymore. Should I reduce the hours I work? does anyone have a bulletproof method of getting enough time to study, work, and sleep? I really want to show my parents (since this is really my first job I've had) that I can handle a job and school and get decent grades (B's). Also, living in a townhouse with 7 other guys does not help with my focus when I get home...I can never do homework hehe. So I spend most of my time at the library, or spending late nites doing work since everyone is sleeping. Then, I have to wake up to class at 7:30am or 8am, depending on the day of the week (they alternate).

anyway...I'm glad I'm learning something more than cars on this forums, it's pretty cool to see all of you guys being open about your financial situations and the things you think about when those checks come in. It really puts me in check again.

 

hey chris... I honestly thought u were nuts when you told me you were working w/ a full load at Davis. The only way you can balance that (paying for ure education at the same time) is to lessen your school workload. If you want to work and pay it off, it's just going to take you longer to finish school (maybe like a year). Maybe u should consider taking 3 classes (at least 12 units so u can have financial aide) next quarter. I have a couple older friends who are in your kind of a situation and they've been able to pull through all that by just lessening school work. Anywho, keep up the good work. I hope to see ya around soon.

 

Maxblak. Its not MY FAULT that you buy things for your car, I just suggest things for you to buy. We are boys, always will be, and we have the same intrest in things, (IE Carol, hahah) I love you like a brother man, so dont make me go there and kick that A$$ of yours lol just playin)

But uhh yeah, I want this, I want that. Its like Ciggeretts. I smoke also, and its all about adiction. I cant stop smoking, BUT.......I CAN stop spending money so I can catch up on whats right. Because now im starting to realize that if I keep spending money on mods, Im not gonna be able to keep the mean machine that im paying the mods for. Cause thell come right to my house and ****** it from me, and I cant have that happen. So Im just gonna stop for now till I catch up, then when im all caught up......ILL BE RIGHT BACK INTO MODDING

Cant get enough of it can you? Do you love YOUR max? Does your Max make you proud? Do what you can, you have 1 life. Just like me, I gotta try and pay these bills, but I wont let my tight budget keep me from having fun. Ill work around it and struggle if I have to, but Im not gonna stop what Im doing for good. I love it, its my life, im here 1 time. Enjoy it while it lasts

Nick

 

Focus on school.
Forget everything else.

I should actually follow my own advice as well. I'm doing enough to get by in school but I wouldn't say my attention is 100% focused. I have barely taken any major courses since I haven't declared or even 100% decided on what it will be.. Honestly my focus was more on making some $$$ to live and get by. It sucks being broke as hell. I had a decent job with some good potential for growth and experience, but a day after the WTC attacks 70% of the people at our company were cut.. The company went to **** since most of it's clients were downtown Manhattan firms, (over a dozen in the World Trade Center alone). Anyways, as you can imagine, finding any kind of job for a 18 year old wasn't very easy. And having a car and basic expenses for daily life with no income - sucked. I was doing whatever i can, parking cars and such, even if it meant a 50$ a night, once a week.. whatever helped. But I was more caught up on making that money than I was on school..
I'm still the same way although I make more now, it's still at a job that doesn't really hold any future or growth for me. I bet most college students have a time when they are more or less undecided on what they are doing in school and their mind is elsewhere.. I guess this is almost part of the college experience. But I know I need to get it together, and so do you so you don't have to be in this situation forever..


btw,
I have over 3,000$ in car accessories in my basement, with more coming.. although my car is fully paid off.. i really question this whole modding thing all the time.. especially making under 20k a year lol. This money could have been used otherwise.. I still save some money and try to be smart about the purchases I do make..

to answer the initial question,
no the modding isn't KILLING my pockets, but it's doing some decent damage to them. I try to be reasonable and remember that a lot of the money already goes the car, be it repairs, insurance or gas.. i keep in mind that for the most part, mods are just money lost.. basically.. be smart about it, don't blow everything and never spend $ you don't have. I hate the whole idea of debt. I never had any overdue payments, I don't owe anything to my CC or anyone else. I bought the car with the full amount up front. I even attend a university which is relatively affordable and permits me to get by without taking loans. I just hate the idea of debt or paying more in the long run on interest or knowing you still owe something to someone.

 

im 19 so im in the same situation as most of you with the opportunity cost of school and work at this age.

like nyce maxima said...FOCUS ON SCHOOL
the return on investment is VERY worth it in the end.

making $100 here and there is all good, but it is crap compared to what you'll make with a full education.

right now, the people with jobs are making more than the people at school, and can flaunt the cash and look "cool". however they will be making the same amount when the people at school graduate, and probably will for the rest of their lives. whereas the people with an education will have a higher starting salary, more demand for their education, and an opportunity to move up.

i have no choice but to go to school, or ill be the donkey in the family, as everyone else is well-educated. but if you look at your future, take the **** now, and reap the benefits later.

i know some people that have gotten far without an education, and more power to them, but for us (like me) who aren't capable of that, we need an education to help us along the way.

btw - i hate school, and im extremely frustrated with it right now...only thing that gets me through is imagining myself in an S4 or M3 when i graduate

 

no.

 

thanks Nadir, NyCe, and Dev for your respones. I think my solution is to cut my hours from 20 to 12-15...I think even that will make a huge difference in one week. I would like to keep working just a little bit (say 2-3 times a week) just to keep myself in check (not get lazy) but not too much to burn myself out.

 

Wow...Some of your insurence prices are really high! I thought 120 a month was a lot.
But as far as mods go...My 98 SE is totally stock.
I can't see putting money into my car...it's perfect the way it is.

 

wait 'till you put on your RSB.. it's all downhill from there.

 

I have just enough money to live of Ramen noodles at $0.13 a dinner!!!!!

Hey at least my car is cool!

 

after a horrible semester in the fall, i came into the spring semester wit determination to do well and f*ck my car. However, with endless group deals and specials going on, and new ideas and looking at new maxima's, i slowly see myself going through the same drama i did last semester, concentrating too much on my car. Hell, i rather buy some diamond plate floor mats for my car than some new jeans for my poor behind. Dam, its a good thing i dont treat women as well as my car...

 

yeah i agree. I am a maxima.org loser.
I spend WAY too much time BSing on this site.

 

i am 25 and earn 29k/year. it's used to feed myself, wife and 4 kids. i own 3 cars (2 paid for). the one that is on loan is my 4th gen se 5sp. the payment isnt that much, but i could do without it. i am waiting till spring so i can get my 3rd gen running again so i can sell the 4th gen. right now i can barely keep up with maintanence on my wifes accord and the max. put a new clutch in her accord, bang $450 out the door, that hurt. the only mods i have are an intake and 17in rims/tires. to be honest, if i had the $$$ to mod the car i would save it so i could move to/buy house in florida. (i am sick and tired of new england winters.)

as stated by other members spend the $$ if you have some actual disposable income. school is the key my friend, i went BACK to school to try and change my job/earning prospects. you have no idea how hard 50+ hrs of work 12hrs of school xhrs of study etc etc. that dont iclude the "time" that your supposed to spend with the family. i am not whining or looking for handout, just trying to let you know their are more pressing issues in life. you are still young so be mindful of the future, dont load yourself nonessential burdens, debts.

sometims it bugs me that their are all these performance parts out their for my car that i cant afford, but hey good things to come those that wait.

look at this way if you dont get to mod your max mayby it will be the next car. my next one will be the ultimate sleeper.

Hartge V8 M3 3 series weight V8 power, grrrrrr.
(hopefully)

 

can't wait to get out of debt( school payment ).. so i can start modding.

 

Yeah man just got my y-pipe, red and clear tails, rewired fogs, shaved my trunk elblems. I have been trying to save up to complete my system 4 a minute and I still haven't been able to. The next mod is to drop it then rims. But its should be done in a month. I have paid $350 a month 4 insurance and this is the last month I got to pay. After that I am done for the year. (6 month payment plan). I am 19, go to stony brook and work part time but I still manage to make enuf to keep modding my **** becuz its what I luv. I only owe like 900 on credit card and 500 of that is my moms charges. LOL. Its not that hard just try to make ur CC debt stay under 500 and keep on top them payments. Keep working and U will be ok becuz I barely make 250 every 2 weeks. I got a sum side hustles and I smoke(wink, wink) almost evday. I love modding and wont stop, its a great hobby.

 

Hey guys, my max sat un-molested for 2 years, until Uncle Sam decided to send me to this freakin' sand box to play. Now I'm living tax free with all my bonus hazardous pay, true not much, but it's more than enough to keep my mods going! And guess what? Just got told I'm here for possibly another 6 months! Oh great! anyone have a stillen areo kit for a 96 max?

-Tucker, USAF
Masirah Air Base, Oman
TAX FREE!! TRY BEING DEPLOYED!!

 

OK, Marketing 101....class sit! If you like modding your car so much, especially a Maxima, then why don't you use your creative side and make a mod that everyone likes rather than being a follower. If you come up with a "good" idea then u can fabricate it, maybe, and possibly get other maxima owners to suddenly feel like they NEED it too....just the way you used to be. Perfect example, the Grill-tech ad on the forum....that sh*t honestly cost me under $4 to make plus about 45 minutes worth of time and i did my 95 grill with it, lower valence and both fog lights. Looks good. David L came up with some easy to do 95/96 red clear tails and made an A$$LOAD of cash for a lil while. Come up with something a little different from whats out there now that has some effective use or beauty and you're all set. How do you think these big name companies make their cash? Bell rings! You're dismissed.

 

There's some pretty good info in this thread. I'll reiterate and add a couple things.

1) Don't blow all you money on your car. There's much more to life than your car. I've never seen the point in buying a car that you really can't afford. Buy something cheaper so that you have more money to play with.

2) Set a goal of moving out of your parents house if you're out of high school and aren't in a college program. There is nothing worse than some Kat blowing all his money on fancy cars and toys when he still lives at home with mommy and daddy supporting him (eg "Russ").

3) Plan for the future. "Finacial success is not about timing the market, it's about time IN the market". Set a goal to buy a house/townhome between the ages of 25-30. Renting means you're throwing your money away. A house will appreciate ~4-10% a year. Invest in your 401K at work and/or open an IRA. Learn about investing. Take 10-15% of what you make and save it or invest it.

4) Have 3-6 months (more is better) of cold cash laying around to support you and your family if you loose your job.

5) Only buy things that you can afford. Carrying debt is a very bad thing. A majority of the people in the US have VERY little net worth. They carry thousands of dollars in credit card and car debt and they live paychack to paycheck with no savings or investments. What kind of life is that?


Dave

 

Is that true? I didn't know that.