fit all but also "know thyself." The latter is probably one of the most important elements of financial debt and risk.

I used to be a proponent of paying cash for cars and I think I still am if it doesn't make sense for you to do otherwise or if some debt feels like a burden. For myself I have found I have a natural propensity to be extremely conservative in the price and model of cars I buy. The cars I buy are 4-6 years old from Honda or Toyota and they represent a very small part of my net worth. I am also a natural saver and tend to put lots of financial buffers in place against personal financial disaster.

Lest you think I am killing it I am not and I'm not one of those guys who thinks he is barely making it but is actually in the 85th percentile for wages in the US. I'm much closer to the US median income then I am to the annual 100k that many think you can't survive on in Utah anymore. I'm no financial guru but I make regular long-term financial investments. In essence, very few of you would envy my lifestyle unless it was concerning my lack of fear that we will be in financial trouble. We feel we live well but we aren't the Jones'.

I'm just painting the picture because financially I feel like I know myself and that is key. I currently have a loan on 2/3 the cost of one of my vehicles which is, to me, a very comfortable. A no bells and whistles Honda accord. The payment is essentially no burden and doesn't make me feel like I have any less freedom. I could pay it off today. I could have paid it off when I bought it. I make a double payment on it monthly and with the low interest rate the total financing cost will be something like $300-500 at payoff. The payment is about 2% of my monthly income and feels like paying a utility bill. Personally I felt it was must less risky to keep a sizeable amount of my cash reserves available and continue to invest with no set back rather than to to own the car with cash outright.

I would not necessarily recommend my route to every person out there because personal finances should be applied personally but given these car payment discussions here I thought my details here might help us be a little less black and white on the subject. There are times where financing is absolutely a bad idea. In my opinion the most relevant concerns should be those related to personal financial practices, buying habits, financial position, interest rates, emotional impact and personal financial safety. These should be applied to purchases of all kinds especially those where debt would be considered.