Someone here said:
"$50 a month for gas..."
Man..more like $50 a day, or $500 a month.
I know, it depends on how much you drive. I used to commute to work 45 minutes (25 miles....TRAFFIC!!!) each way, and it was about $5 a day - round trip. That was in a '91 honda accord, 4 cylinder 2.2L engine, 20 mpg in traffic, up to 35 on freeway.
I turn 19 in a month...and when I was 16, I didn't wanna get a license. I tried everything to stop my dad from making me get it...if you want to know why, you can PM me. To give you guys some though...my dad is a contractor, I KNEW that he would make me runs errands all day after school, pissed me off. Well, you guessed it, it happened
Anyway, now I'm turning 19 in a month. I am going to school, which will cost me about $37k for 8 semesters, total 2 years, 8 months. I think I can knock $5k or so off from testing out of a few classes (like college algebra - who would want to take that anyway?).
Anyway, now I'm glad that my dad made me get my license early. Tought me how to support myself (I've ALWAYS paid all of my own insurance and gas money, and repairs by myself thank you ).
Now I am figuring out how to SAVE money, not spend it. You will be surprised how hard it is when you are 18 years old to save up $2k or $3k....took me a few months. If you're making $30/hour, I guess it won't be too hard. But all that dang SUV is gonna do is drag you down.
My advice...learn how to SAVE money, not spend it. Ya...all you're friends, and the "valley-girls" in your high school will think you're the coolest guy in school when you go rolling over those speed bumps, sidewalks, parking "stoppers" - hell even fences maybe if you have to run from the cops . But that all changes when you go to college....there, "smart" girls want men who know how to save, not boys who know how to spend money.
BTW....let me make one thing clear, I am in no way saying that "all the girls want me now" - LOL. I'm a freak! . Just trying to give a friend some advice....Man, when I was 16, I thought just like you. Watch, when you are about 18, or 19 years old, things will change. Yes they will....the sooner the better if you ask me.
The main reason why most basic Americans are in dept, is cuz all they do is make payments on cars, make payments on mortage, make payments on student loans....make payments, make payments.
Then people start complaining "Damnit! Why do all those damn corporations own everything!? Dang I hate those rich guys and those corporations!" Well....people making payments on there cars, houses, property, student loans, etc. loans and margin brokerage accounts - you are all throwing huge amounts of money into one huge pot - and it all goes into the hands of those rich guys and makes them richer. Help the world a bit and save the $10k or $15k a year for that SUV, and go out and buy a '92 Toyota Tercel for $2k, and then you will spend $50 a month for insurance instead of $150, and $50 a week on gas instead of $50 a day (rough #'s I know, but I'm guessing).
Anyway, about the gas...I drive in my '91 honda accord, about 2000 miles a month, approx. 25k miles a year (about 100 miles / day and 500 miles a week). I spend $20 on full tank, and I'm spending like $200 a month on gas! I can't begin to imagine how much I'd be paying for gas if I had an SUV....dang.
Oh ya, save the environment, don't drive an SUV . And save some parking spaces too. And save some lives by not taking up 1 1/2 lanes on the freeway.
Just my 2 cents, hope it's worth something to someone.
Tibor