and my quick estimate is I've spent approximately $240,000.00 in the 27 1/2 years of my marriage on personal (family) cars/trucks. If I break it down by decades though I've spent more in the last 10 years than I did the first 17 1/2 years and anticipate that will continue.

We of course had far less money earlier in our marriage, cars cost less in actual dollars at that time as well, and we also had to be more practical in what we purchased because we had kids so we needed to get vehicles to fit all of us as well as ones our kids could drive when they got their licenses that we weren't as concerned about being not treated quite as well.

Now that the kids are all gone my wife and I are better off than we were when we were younger so buying cars for us is really just a matter of getting whatever we each want and that we don't feel is to ridiculous to pay.

For instance my wife has always wanted a jeep, but there is nothing practical about Jeeps so it isn't something we ever bought. But there is no reason why she can't have one now to do all of her running around in, she wants to take the top off and cruise around so why not? So I've been looking at Jeeps to see what I might surprise her with and have found out that Jeeps cost $50,000+ new for a high end jeep and that is before all of the after market stuff I'd have done to it for her. Pretty expensive IMO but it is what she wants so that is what I will probably get for her.

I'm looking to buy a new truck and I won't buy a base model and we've had plenty of threads on here about trucks so we all know that a high end truck, regardless of the make and model is $60,000-$70,000 these days. Pretty expensive.