Personal Money Topics This Week

This week in money 4/6-4/12

This is a sometimes consistent, sometimes not so consistent weekly series just depending on the amount of money issues I see and want to comment on.

There have been a few new things that have popped up and once again, a new vehicle was bought. A new vehicle that is $81,000 but comes with all the bells and whistles. It is still $81,000 and this is when they are in $8000 in personal debt AND a bunch of student loan debt. It was out of order. Their vehicle payment is higher than their mortgage payment which is CRAZY. This is about 80% of his income which is high. GROSS income. This is a tough spot to put yourself in but “I have wanted this truck my whole life” he isn’t even thirty and getting his dream truck. Not only is the $1,000 payment but not even insurance OR the premium gas fill-ups for a 33-gallon tank. It is difficult to see how this is good. $0 in retirement and multiple sources of debt and buys an $81,000 truck. This isn’t the best idea. I thought it would be much more expensive than even my insurance which was pretty on par with my vehicle. Also, we went to a theme park with them and they had to buy over $200 in merchandise and food items. They like spending money and with no retirement it has me scared. They have a good income, but they just spend money.

Unfortunately, I feel like I could be in the car market very soon. Every time I drive my car it feels like something else is breaking. I believe there is an issue with my computer as small little issues keep popping up like a window randomly rolling up and down. My tire pressure gauge is the item that messed up today. It feels like something new each day. I really don’t want to have to buy a car, but I am in a time of my life where I have to buy all new things with no money. A ring, a wedding, a car, and new expenses hitting me from all angles. It has been a stressful time. Add onto the fact I have still not gotten a job from college degree as I have not been able to graduate as of yet. Which is another stressor in life. Always having more and more assignments to do. It just never ends.

Also, one of my buddies that bought the truck that was too expensive for his income has had buyer’s remorse ever since he drove it off the lot. Now, he is in the game of refinancing as his monthly payments are too high. My car has some issues at times but at least I don’t have a monthly payment that is causing me to not be able to afford funding for my retirement. The two truck guys I have mentioned both have nothing in retirement which kills me.

Speaking of retirement, I got to help one of my friends start a Roth IRA. He is going to take advantage of the down market and start investing. He says he has already bought some stock but sold it just as quick so getting back in the game will help him. I also advised him on a Roth IRA so hopefully he will not pull the money out due to penalties.

Next topic.

Sometimes, paying more makes sense. Going throughout my life I usually go with the cheapest option no matter what. I even had taken worse experiences but now, after a recent experience I had has now changed my mind. I got my first massage a couple of months ago. It was expensive but a great experience through and through. My girlfriend was happy, I was happy, it felt really good. Recently, I decided to take a chance on a cheaper option, and I figured how bad could it be? It was still relatively expensive so the experience should be similar. Wrong. The place was in a strip mall and right next to a sports bar which had patrons yelling even early on a Friday night. It was an odd location and the random loud noises during a relaxation period was not great. The more expensive option was in an office building with neighbors that were doctor offices and other medical field offices. We had a wonderful time at this place, but I am always on the hunt for something cheaper. With it being cheaper, the customer service was worse, the location was worse, the lotion was worse, the sheets were worse, everything you could possibly think of was worse than the first time. Which is pretty funny. I didn’t think a $30 increase would be such a massive change. The only feature that the cheaper option had was hot stones added to the massage. Sometimes it is worth the money. I am learning that more and more. The value I got with that extra $30 was large enough that I will not think twice about going with the more expensive service.

Another next topic: Theme park tickets!

There is a new discount at Disney World that brings their cheapest hotels to under $100 a night if you are a Disney + subscriber. This is one of the most aggressive discounts I have seen from Disney. It occurs most nights throughout the months of June and July. It is a direct response to Epic Universe, hoping to pull some people from them.

Speaking of Epic Universe, they dropped the first annual passholder single day tickets for a price. The cost starts at $123 a person, which is less than the Magic Kingdom by a large margin. The only issue with this is the type of experience people can get at Epic Universe. If the maintenance team doesn’t improve and get rides up and running, this experience could be a rip off. Based on my experience the rides are inconsistent. The food wait times are long. Virtual queues are impossible to hit on and even have a three hour wait if you do hit on one. It could be a big mistake on Universal, because the team members have been whining during FREE previews. What will happen when they charge their audience that is loyal to their product.