The Money Moments that Matter

July at BrightDime is all about the money moments that matter the most. These are the decisions you make that have a big impact on your financial future. We’re starting with one that might surprise you, buying a car.

In survey of what purchases people regret the most, buying an expensive or luxury car is at the top of the list. Our coaches work with people every day on their budgets and car payments are one of the most common expenses people wish they could change. There are a lot of reasons for this; the newness wears off fast, they tend to lose value quickly, insurance is more expensive and so are maintenance and repairs. The total cost to own is much more than people estimate based solely on the monthly payments. Buying a brand new, often luxury, car is tempting. But those monthly payments last a lot longer than the “new car” feeling does. That’s why the decision of what car to buy (or whether to buy one at all) is one of the bigger financial decisions you can make. You’ll live with the decision for a long time. If you need help figuring out how much you can afford, or weighing your options you can sign in and schedule a chat with one of our financial coaches. We also have a short article here about the important difference between how expensive a car you can buy versus how expensive a car you can actually afford.