You are looking at my $200,000 Honda Pilot that I purchased in 2005.

Fancy eh?

$200,000 is how much money it has made me by keeping it.

When it was paid off 15 years ago...

The dealer began flooding my mailbox... Upgrade!

Newer, Better, Shinier!

What would have followed:

- A new car payment
- Higher insurance
- Massive depreciation

Then rinse and repeat.

Instead I invested.
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Now guess what happened?

The engine quit a few months ago after serving 20 years.

So I took 6 months worth of interest...

...from the 200k portfolio that the car literally saved up for me.
(No car payments, 15 yrs @ 8%)

This entirely paid for a rebuild engine and a few other items.
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Sure, 20 years may not work in a snowy rusty climate...

But the take away remains -

...that car payments kill your budget.

...and are one of the root causes for never achieving financial independence.
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I am not saying don't buy a nice High Quality car.

But when you do, put a BIG down payment, and pay it off fast.

Then keep it running and running.

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