I had ONE rule: the car can not change our lifestyle. No ands/ifs or buts. Period.
It took forever for me to buy the car. We could afford it, but I couldn't justify it. My wife, the enabler, kept telling me to shut up and buy it. She was also advocating for the 85D instead of the 70D at the time. But if I had a hard time justifying the 70D, I wasn't going to shell out another $10k for 30 miles of range.
Some of my friends look at me and ask me how I could afford such a car?
-They prefer going out to eat for lunch and/or dinner EVERY day of the week. We usually go out once a week, maybe twice at most. I like to grill (all year round, heh...), and my wife cooks. I don't see the point of going out so often
-We have a small/modest size house. But we have a huge backyard for our area. And that's what we like. We try not to spend too much time indoors, we like the outside. I see some of my friends houses, and they're literally 2-3x as big as mine. And their mortgage payment is killing them.
-Those some friends do nothing to pay off their student loans and have a large monthly payment that kills their finances
-Alcohol. Those same friends go to a bar several times a week and run up huge tabs drinking and hanging out. When we do drink, it's generally at home, because it's 10x cheaper
-Some people change cars every 2-3 years. I kept my last car for 10 years, and I would've kept it longer. I loved it. If they still made it, I would've had a hard time choosing between a newer version of it and the Tesla. Though after owning the Tesla, it's a no brainer. I plan to keep the Tesla until the battery warranty runs out, maybe a little longer.
--I wouldn't give up vacations for a car. I know some people do, but I wouldn't
I used to pay more for my kids preschool and activities than I do for my mortgage, some people think I'm crazy too (and I might be); but everyone chooses how and where to spend their money.
So I think it's more a matter of lifestyle vs. giving things up to afford the car.
