I currently have a 2001 2wd 5.4L Supercrew. It's arizona beige and the only mods it has is the k&n intake, flowmasters (si/do straight), and a stainless steel bully bar on the front. I'm gettin a large sum of money (15k) at the end of May and really am having a hard time deciding what to do w/ it. What do yall think is best?

option #1
*keep the 01' supercrew
*get a fabtech 7.5" suspension lift (crossmember lift)
*35" tires
*new gears
*bed rug
*nerf bars
*toolbox
*Use an additional 10k of the money to pay of 80% or so left on the note

option #2
*sell the 01 screw for 15K
*get a 01' screw w/ less miles, 4wd fx4 for $19k
*get a 4 to 7" fabtech lift
*nerf bars
*toolbox
*bed rug
*expy console
*use the additional $6k to pay off about 40% of the note



i'm a senior in high school and am not bringin in too much dough so make sure yall keep everything in mind. THANKS YALL FOR THE HELP!

-Brett

 

option #3

*pay off the note completely, and bank what's left for a rainy day. Reason:

"i'm a senior in high school and am not bringin in too much dough so make sure yall keep everything in mind."

 

Refinance the truck partially to reduce your monthly payments to take some of that pressure off.
Put a big chunk of that money into a good mutual fund and let it sit there forever or until you need it to save your life.
Save money and pay cold hard cash for your mods and upgrades.
You currently possess the single most valuable commodity on the planet: Time.
It is what all adults wish we had more of now that we are old enough to know just how valuable it is.
Very simply put: If you invest that free money now and let it sit for 20, 30, 40 years untouched, it will likely turn into many, many thousands of dollars.
If you p*** it away on building a super truck, you will never see a return on that investment. Guaranteed. You could invest $10,000 in that truck and it will not increase its value to anybody ever wishing to purchase it except for a very, very small and select group of individuals.
I am a high school teacher and I watch painfully as my students spend hard earned money for earth shaking amps and subwoofers and exhausts and paint jobs and engine mods, you name it.... and completely neglect to look just a short distance into the future and consider how they might actually really make that money benefit them down the road.
You have been given a gift. I don't know the source of the money-if it is insurance from the death of a loved one then it is not really a gift, I understand that. But there really are very few people that get their hands on that kind of money in a lump sum at any time in their lives, let alone when they are young enough to invest it and let it turn into a small fortune if they can just be patient.
I hate to rail on and on about this but look at it this way: I am college educated and make a very decent living as a teacher. I own my own home and have a wife and two kids. I am 42 years old and have never owned a brand new vehicle except the Saturn wagon we bought when my daughter was born so that I knew my wife was in a vehicle that was not likely leave her sit on the side of the road with two young children with her. I finally bought my first PSD this year after 20 years of driving beater gassers.
But, we are more than halfway to paying off the house. We have less than $2000 of credit card debt. The only payment we have besides the mortgage is my truck payment. Our retirement funds have been fed steadily all through our careers and should I live to a ripe old age, it will be finacially comfortable.
We didn't scrimp and save every penny, we just live modestly and avoid unneccessary expenses.
Man I have gone on way too long.
I truly believe that if you sink all that money into mods or a new vehicle, you will give yourself a dope-slap in the middle of the forehead 10 years from now when you realize what could have been.
Sorry for ranting, but I'll wager that I'll see support for this position from the 40 and over crowd in these forums.

 

ckal704- yea, I more than qualify for the over 40 crowd. Hey, my wife teaches HS! I'd just modify one part of your post:

Very simply put: If you invest that free money now and let it sit for 20, 30, 40 years untouched, it will likely turn into many, many thousands of dollars. If we substitute "many hundreds of thousands of dollars," through the miracles of compound interest, you'd be spot on.

 

I didn't want to be overly optimistic. I know what kind of money 15k can earn over 30-40 years. I just figured the young feller would, never ever believe hundreds of thousands! I wanted to keep it in terms he might think are realistic.
Look, AntiGrav- I am not talking down to you here or underestimating your intelligence. But it has been my experience when I have repeated these facts to high schoolers, they look at me like I am crazy!
Trust us old timers, AntiGrav! Don't blow that money! You have a cool ride already. Watch your buddies spend all their money and have nothing to show for it in 5 years. You'll be laughing all the way to the bank!

 

5 years from now i will be having NO problems with money (i know it seems kind of an ignorant thing to say, but it's a guaranteed thing). Right now i just want to get my truck (or some truck) lookin gorgeous and fun to drive. I appreciate all of that though

 

Okay, don't take this the wrong way. NOTHING is guaranteed. Stuff happens. Even 5 years from now, you'll be thinking "Aw geez, if I only had this or that. If it weren't for that stupid truck 5 years ago." Everybody does it, nobody learns from it. You, my friend, could be the first. I say bank it.

 

Don't take this wrong- no insult intended. Five years ago, I count three close friends that were multi-millionaires. Today they worry about making the mortgage payment each month. None of them were stoopid with money, or blew it on lavish lifestyles. Things happen that you just can't anticipate. I don't care how much money you come into- hanging onto it is the hardest thing. I don't think you're ignorant or arrogant- this is just the voice of experience speaking.

 

Sell it and get a 4wd why lift the 2wd and put big tires on it. As far as saving yeah it is good to have a few thousand in the bank but remember you only live once and this is it so make the best of it. Have fun and live life to the fullest some might say I am irresponsible and others might agree with me either way do what you do just as long as it is what you want to do.


Jeremy

 

I would save at least 10k maybe 12. Buy what you want with the rest. Or take a cruise or something. I had an uncle that would save every penny he could get. Wouldn't buy a thing. Always ate the cheapest food, and bought the cheapest clothes. When he retired he was really well off. Then he got cancer and died. Never spent his money on anything. What good did it do him to have it. Save some, but spend some.

 

My vote...antigrav. Is to bank or invest most of the money. I started buying mutual funds and an RRSP when I was 18. I'm almost 40 now and if I had an extra 15 grand to put in then..I'd really be on easy street now, not just OK.

 

i have to agree, bank it, i was one of those kids back in 63 went out and bought a 63 split window fi 4 sp vet a few years later the money was gone and i needed more . kept the vet till last year though, being young and wanting to show off will not last we out grow child hood dreams and wants.
in brass tacks i had more fun with pops old 50 2 door flat head 8 then the vet. and vet did cost me more to store for 40 years then i sold it for.
bank it for a rainie year like a dp on a house.

 

Going with the thought process you have concerning money now will only be a training session for how you will handle any future windfalls you acquire in the future. Translate that to mean; If you pizz away this bundle now, there is no doubt in my mind that the future bundle that you speak of receiving will also disappear in similar fashion. You are fixxin' to have the opportunity to create financial habits that will affect you for a lifetime. Invest this first medium sized bundle wisely and practice sound financial choices and you'll create money habits that will enable you to purchase any kind of vehicle, optioned any way you want it in the not so far off future. (Ask me how I know!)

 

i appreciate yalls concern- and i will be saving some, but i never should have stated my age

 

we all grow up man, in todays world being young with brains and a bank account helps.
hope you plan on collage as todays world its a most cost 12gs a year for my daughter and that was 15 years ago. hope you understand how we feel, don't spend any of it , bank it.