Need opinions/advice.

[JeepViking13]

market crashes don't matter. it will always come back up unless there is a zombie apocalypse. you just have to wait it out. day trading is a losers game. I make money short-term trading because of a lot of people like you. being honest.

I don't just day trade. Only when the opportunity presents itself. I hold cash until opportunities arise. Even when I sell puts its only when it's the right time to. I also short term swing trade. For example I took a position in Walmart the other day when it dipped down to $134 and the RSI was at 14. I held for a couple days and sold it at $139.92 it ended up going over $140 but I didn't care. Took profits. That's how I trade!!

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[AcesandEights]

You don't need to explain or justify how you earn your living, or prove it to be a financially feasible or sound or responsible way to finance things. If you have the money, it is your money to spend. Spend it, or save it. Buying a car is a terrible way to save money, and probably only slightly more terrible way to earn money (via Youtube).

 

[JeepViking13]

I sort of agree with you on this. I want a Jeep for Off-roading mainly and I also think it will go good with my channel being that it will help to take us off the beaten path when we go on our adventures. Or should I say our research. Hard to explain without giving it away.

I might just go with my original plan and get the 2 door Rubicon. They're better Off-road anyway. I just watched 2 different videos online and a guy's new 392 Jeep actually had some trouble in spots where his 2 door Rubicon ripped right up and through with no problems. He owns both. He had to stack rocks for the 392.

Another guy in a different video has a test obstacle course and showed how the extra weight on the front end from the V8 actually causes it to scrap and get hung up a little in a spot that all the other Rubicons he's tested including other 4 doors did not.

I can't get a sports car because of living up north and the dam winter. I'd own a Hellcat Challenger if I could. I also always wanted a Jeep and the open air experience. So there's that as well.

 

[FinanciallyRuined]

he said “Right now I have $70k exactly”… he didn’t mention that he has $70K to spend on a vehicle. Since OP has failed to answer people’s questions about if this money is disposable (not part of retirement plan) I’m assuming we all know the answer. It’s a terrible decision financially, but you live and learn.

 

[johnnyj]

For me, the *financial* decision alone would depend on the whole picture. What is your income, how long are you intending to keep working - do you intend to retire or are you a person who never sees that as an option? Do you own your house? If you died tomorrow or ended up sick for a long time, would your assets cover your care or would your family be put in the position of sending you to a cut rate govt facility or putting their own limited resources into an ultimately losing battle? Would you feel good knowing you had money set aside to keep your daughter from being in that position?

Personally, I like the "diet Dave Ramsey" approach: "Cash is king, but if you are gonna finance, never buy a car worth more than 50% of your annual income and whatever you finance needs to be capable of being zeroed in 12-15 months without any major hardship for you or your family. That, my brother, though, is just the money.

To me the bigger thing here is the emotion. If you're not satisfied in life now - or feel it is in some way passing you by, a vehicle - or engine/trim level - isn't gonna fix that. The 392 is great at making noise and horsepower, but it isn't gonna enhance any memories with your daughter. It definitely won't make any difference on a youtube channel. Someone will always be able to spend more money. 392's aren't *that* rare. There's one sitting in the showroom of all the local dealerships around here...that will need a very, very niche buyer.

You asked for advice - so here's mine: If you already have a Jeep, drive it and make a channel with your daughter. Pay cash for gas, mods, and travel expenses to make fun content but way more important...make memories. The memories around the campfire are far far more valuable than the 392, and if I was watching a video I'd want to see that over what amounts to just another v8. Consider: Venture4wd and Theroadchoseme made most of their audiences rolling around in Jeep JK's.

If you need a jeep, spend some of the money down on a bones level rubicon and pay it off early. Put 40k of that cash into an account. One day, your daughter is gonna come to you and talk about the ins and outs of buying a house, alone or with a partner she loves. Be that Dad who says "the journey to pay off the house is yours, but the down payment is on me." You will like that more than a v8.

 

[jlang]

I actually miss my 2 door Rubi. It is so much more fun than the 4 door. I love the 392 but cannot dump 80k on a toy. My daughter starts driving next year so I think about that too.

 

[moto_mike]

Get the 3.6 and supercharge. Plenty of power without all the added weight of the V8.

 

[csjlu]

Got that right! Even for algotrading it's difficult. Day trading seems like it's pretty much an algorithm vs algorithm game these days, and hard to get the upper hand. Sometimes you can put in a ton of work backtesting and gain a couple points over a buy-and-hold, but it's a different game live and only lasts until the big guys change up their strategies.

I work for one of the big guys. The amount of money my team runs used to require an army of portfolio managers, analysts and traders. Now it takes just a few smart people and a rack of blade servers. >95% of daily trading volume is computer generated now. There are fewer humans in the market now, and there are fewer human mistakes to exploit for profit.

The quant team that supports us is always retraining and optimizing algorithms. Competitors build sniffer programs to identify our orders, learn our patterns and guess our future orders. Machine learning is the new tool, and is starting to take over. When people tell me they can out-trade these machines, I struggle to keep a straight face...these machines can read, annotate and interpret a company's earnings release before I can click open the PDF. The deck is heavily stacked in favor of those who can afford the considerable costs of technology, high speed lines, data sets, and PhDs.

I'm still a human fighting the good fight and trying to invest customers' money wisely, but if I'm being honest I'm just a kite blowing in a quantitative hurricane. When its my own money, I opt for very passive and very long-term. I also model in very realistic expectations that market returns over the next 30 years may be much lower than the prior 30. This is also why I advocate for living below one's means if possible....people have gotten accustomed to getting bailed out by the government, but it doesn't have to be that way. And as the amount of US Treasury debt held by adversarial governments increases, so does the likelihood of a "left tail event."

 

[GtX]

Typically I don't ask for advice like this. But this is a hard one considering the current environment we're in with Covid-19 and everything else that's going on. It's really making me consider the you only live once theme and life is short. Especially being I have heart problems and I'm high risk.

Originally I planned on ordering a 2 door 2022 Willys or Rubicon. But lately I've been seriously considering possibly getting a 392. Especially since my daughter and I are getting ready to start a youtube channel. We both think it would help the channel.

The problem is I'm not rich. I did take $12k 2 years ago and invested in the stock market. It was a long grinde and traded the hard way. In and out of trades and when I broke $25k I started day trading. Also selling puts. Right now I have $70k exactly. Truth be told the stock market is burning me out big time. Especially lately. I'm lucky I made what I did.

I have excellent credit and could put like $20k down and finance the rest and continue to sell puts in the Market to pay the payments. But that's never a guarantee and like I said the stock market is burning me out. Or I can pay for 90% of it and finance a small amount. Might even be able to pay 100% buy the time it comes in.

As far as the YouTube channel goes I'm not under the delusion that it will take off become popular and make us a lot of money. I pray to God it does but It's more something my daughter really wants to get into with me and have fun. At the same time we both plan on working hard for the channel and making it entertaining. We both really like the 392 and do think it can help. I look at it like sort of a business investment. I really think we are going to have good content that you guys will like. I think our content and hard work will speak for itself but I have seen people make it on YouTube and the vehicle was definitely a catalyst even if it was just for people to find the channel. It definitely was.

Also as a side note I'm a huge muscle car fan and I really miss my 392 Challenger Scat pack. Muscle cars we're never a practical vehicle living in the north in the winter and I feel like the 392 Jeep can be the best of both worlds. Off Roading and Muscle car.

I don't know. This is definitely not an easy decision. And in normal circumstances the responsible me wouldn't do it. Its definitely a big investment. But it's definitely crazy times we're living in and life is short. That's literally the reality more then ever! And if anything even if the channel doesn't make it we'll have a hell of a good time in the 392 Jeep together while we can!

What to do? ?

I read about 2/3 of page 1.

Cash flow is king [PERIOD, FULL STOP]

Channel all your cash into purchasing assets that will appreciate in value over time.
Borrow minimally against the assets to finance life.
Borrow against the assets to purchase assets that will appreciate faster than the interest rate on the loan.
Maintain borrowing below growth to ensure net asset appreciation.
Time delivers net worth.

 

[DonBucket]

Believe me I totally agree with you. It's definitely not an easy decision. The easy decision would actually be not spending any money at all. And I understand YouTube is a hard thing to do and actually make it.

Unfortunately I've learned that making the hard smart decisions doesn't mean they're the right ones. I've walked such a tight narrow path trying to be the perfect person and trying to make everyone around me happy that I ended up being unhappy and totally stressed out. I've been through so much crap you couldn't even imagine without getting into personal details.

I feel like if i don't do this I'll always wonder what if I did? Would it have helped the channel? Maybe enough that we would be that 1 out of a 1,000 that makes it? I guess I would never know unless I try. Like any big business investment it's a gamble and you're pretty much betting on yourself. It's never an easy decision. People invest in businesses all the time and alot fail. But I won't know unless I try. I already have so many regrets in life that I let pass me buy because I thought it was the right decision for people around me.

I'm only thinking out loud by the way when I respond. You're definitely not wrong. Nobody really is. It's just a matter of perspective and opinion. And I appreciate it a lot.

Hmmm.. Well. What's the Point of your Channel... I mean I think that more people will relate to you wrenching on a regular Jeep, VS the 392 of which there are not that many.

I mean.. What makes you think the 392 will help your channel?

Not sure that helps.. But I don't see the 392 angle what makes your YT Channel a success. It's good content that will make it a success..

Personally, If in your shoes.... From what little I know of your shoes.. I would be very tempted to use the "excuses" you have provided to justify the 392.

Also.. I don't think when you look back on life, you will regret the 392 or see it's purchase that set your like into a downward spiral...

You will be OK either way.

 

[PatriotBlue]

Doesn't sound like having a hemi-powered Rubicon is integral to your Youtube premise of "research" or "adventuring" with your daughter. Without knowing the details, I would go so far as to say that having an ~$80K vehicle could even be a detraction. A lot of the "adventuring" type of Youtubers I'm interested in (and I use this phrase lightly) will generally be overlanding or wheeling in older Land Rovers or Jeeps. Especially if you think you may be bouncing the thing off of a rock or two, I'd heed the advice of others and acquire something much more affordable, if not pre-owned, for a bit more character.

Apart from that, lots of folks seem to be thinking about cost somewhat incorrectly. The price of the 392 is only $80K if you buy it and drive it into the ground. The real cost is the price you pay less the residual value upon exit, relative to the opportunity cost of not having had that money invested in the market. You need to do that math to sort of figure this out, and unfortunately, the 392 is too new to have an understanding of residuals at this point, which is a risk.

You'd probably be better off even leasing an Unlimited Sport S (due to the high resids), while keeping the rest of your money invested to get the best of both worlds. Again, you need to do all of this math. If the channel takes off, you could theoretically incorporate it and deduct the Jeep from your income.

Also don't forget that in order to produce something somewhat worth watching these days, you're probably going to be investing in cameras, lenses, Go-Pros, drones, editing software, maybe a new computer, etc. All of which will easily set you back thousands of $'s.

 

[CamperShamu]

A solid retirement strategy is #1 in my opinion. Beyond that, investing in your happiness is far more important than hoarding money.

Couldnt have put it better.

 

[blink9cd]

I'm impressed with the number of replies with sound financial advice in here. At this point it doesn't seem like any more manifestos are in order so here's my vote:

* Unequivocal NO to 392 given why you'd want it and the financial info you provided
* Please, please, PLEASE look up more on index funds and passive investing. It's not too late

I agree with the people that say it seems like you were at 95% and were looking for justification, even though you know in your heart it's not the right move

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