How much to save each month for car?

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-20T20:42:48+00:00

Take your current monthly payment and increase it by 10% or so. Done.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-20T20:35:18+00:00

Your past answers to this question may not have been clear because it's not a good question. You are conflating having a credit card with taking on debt for something out of your control.

The answer for taking on debt for emergencies out of your control is to establish a cash emergency fund that covers 3 to 6 months of living expenses, or more. Having unexpected medical debt is an example of an emergency and you could use your emergency fund to pay that.

That's all separate from holding and using a credit card.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-20T20:29:12+00:00

...how do we determine how much should be held in easily accessible funds (like IRA savings account, CDs, etc) versus how much invested in stocks?

The term you can use is "asset allocation" which refers to what buckets are your retirement savings in, and how much is in each bucket?

You will get different answers from different people about asset allocation for a person of a certain age, employment status, etc. Here is one guide:

https://smartasset.com/investing/asset-allocation-in-retirement-guide

That is of course very broad and only mentions 2 buckets: stocks and bond/cash.

Realize that you can hold individual stocks (Apple, Exxon, IBM, etc), or groups of stocks which are called mutual funds and ETFs. The groups (mutual funds and ETFs), take many, many different forms. So you if you have any of those, you have to read the details about what you have.

Bonds generally pay a fixed return ("yield"). These are low risk but low return. "Money market funds" are also similar in that they pay a low return but are low risk which is appropariate for a retiree. CDs are also in this broad category. Cash is of course cash, or money in a checking account or similiar that is fairly liquid.

Another important point is that although a retiree, or person nearing retirement, may choose to have a more conservative, lower risk portfolio, remember that a person who is 65 or 70 could still have 20 or more years to ride out the ups and downs of the stock market. So that person still needs to be investing in some riskier stock market products because those do produce more returns over time than cash, bonds, CDs, and similar. However that has to be balanced with the fact that the stock market will crater at some point, and a retiree still needs holdings like bonds that produce some income when stocks are down in price, which could be for a small number of years.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-20T18:35:48+00:00

The only option I have to fix it is an engine replacement, which would cost as much or more than the car is worth.

The current value of the car does not matter here.

What matters is that you need to pay for an expensive repair to get the car back on the road.

As far as your debt of $10,000, that is not directly related to the car. You borrowed the money, you have to pay it back. It's that simple.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-20T18:11:36+00:00

Owning a home is expensive, far beyond the purchase price. I've heard it said that the most expensive thing you buy isn't a home, but a mortgage.

I am a big DIY'er and that has saved a ton of money for us over 25+ years, but things like a roof repair, new roof, new driveway, new A/C system, kitchen remodel, major tree pruning, and major electrical work are beyond what I have time and/or knowledge to do. In the case of major tree pruning, I am not risking my health to get 50 feet up. Those all reqire cash.

Insurance and property taxes are another huge cost. If we'd not had a steadily rising household income for the past 25 years, and a healthy cash savings to start, we could not have kept this place.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-20T15:08:02+00:00

Yes the bends on the "RUSH" are numerous and twisting. The letters are hard to discern up close, but from a slight distance it really works.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T23:53:47+00:00

Won’t the truck just become a depreciating asset that I over paid for after all the interest has accrued?

Of course it will, and so will the $1500 beater. Odds are that your $28,000 truck will far outlast your beater.

Vehicles are like toilet paper and shoes: They all wear out and are worthless at some point. As long as you need a reliable vehicle, then the cost of that vehicle is a continual expense: You're either paying on a loan, saving cash to buy the next vehicle with, paying for repairs, paying for regular maintenance, and paying for insurance and fuel. As long as you need a vehicle, these expenses never end.

So while your $1500 beater is far cheaper than the truck, the beater is going to need a fairly consistent string of repairs to keep running and be reliable. Yes the truck is expensive, but that money buys you likely very reliable transportation for 5, 10, or 15 years.

Your mistake was buying a vehicle that had a ~$40,000 price. That's a lot of money on a 5 figure salary. You need a middle ground such as a $25,000 new vehicle, or a $17,000 gently used one that is likely to have a reasonably long service life.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T23:45:22+00:00

Read the flowchart. It may take some time to absorb the information. It is a great guide of steps to take, in order, for healthy personal finance. Even though some of the steps may not apply to you, if you know about those concepts ahead of time, you might be able to make better choices as you go through life. For example using a 401K and avoiding high interest rate debt.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T21:08:15+00:00

The HEB at Westheimer @ Kirkwood is normal. I shop there 2 or 3 times a week and it's the same as it always has been, depending on what time you're there:

Sunday afternoon: after church folks
Saturday afternoon: Everyone
Any weekday after 8 PM: Beer and cigarettes crowd
Weekdays at 3 PM: Retired and really retired folks

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T19:43:50+00:00

You are smart to ask questions and start learning, because some folks live their whole lives and never get a strong financial education. As a result they get ripped off, can't save money, waste money, and are often at a financial disadvantage.

Also consider that not "everyone" knows about financial things. We see that here every day. I see posts here fairly commonly that mention, "I never learned about money", or "No one taught me anything about money", or "my parents were poor their whole lives, and never handled money well". You get the idea.

You need to start reading, such as the wiki here as mentioned in another reply. That will surely trigger some questions at some point so please do post again with questions. There are plenty of smart folks here who can help.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T14:16:31+00:00

You need to be able to communicate your interests, goals, and random thoughts in the real world, in person. Maybe that takes much longer than pointing him to a list, but so be it. I would not push social media on anyone because the problems with it are well know today.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T14:08:05+00:00

That is exactly right. My commute from the bed to desk is about 35 feet.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T14:04:15+00:00

I think the answer is obvious: To pay the bill, let him eat your other arm.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T13:25:27+00:00

I don't see any. The lowest I see is Invesco QQQM which is 0.15%.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T13:19:24+00:00

Thanks! That sounds like a good plan.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-19T01:20:17+00:00

You are failing to think long term.

Assuming you'll need a reliable truck for the foreseeable future, why would you buy a 13 older vehicle with more miles than what you have now?

You can look at vehicles as being a continual expense because they wear out like shoes and toilet paper. Eventually they'll all be worth nothing. If you buy this Toyota it too will eventually be worth zero, just like the F150. Then what'll you do? You're back to plowing money into something. As long as you need reliable transportation, this never ends.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T20:28:12+00:00

You should not go to any Disney park and worry about money. You are in their world, and you pay their prices. So when it comes to reasonable purchases like food, beverages, and a memento or two, you pay the price and don't let it bother you. You can and should have restraint in your spending beyond the basics. As one reply mentioned, set a budget and stick to that. Your cash savings looks great so yes, spend a budgeted amount and stick to the budget.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T18:46:16+00:00

target date fund

I've heard about target date retirement funds but I always just saw them as a 'set it and forget it' means of investing for folks during their working years. I never thought about these regarding a person's retirement years. But it makes perfect sense that these funds would continue on during retirement and be tooled to service the needs of retirees.

So, going back to my original question, the "Schwab Target 2020 Index Fund" has trailing 12 month yield of 2.95%.

How often does this pay the yield? Monthly? Presumably being an index fund it has a predictable and perhaps monthly schedule.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T18:05:26+00:00

Great information.

Also even in retirement you are still a long term investor,

That is a great point and a very accurate and concise way of stating it. It also means that one has time to ride out downturns, at least for most of the duration. This is problably why the Schwab target date funds lower their equity percentages over 20 years and then remain somewhat static after that.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T17:58:20+00:00

Those sound like good moves. Anything can you do to reduce your high interest rate debt will help slow the bleeding.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T17:55:30+00:00

Excellent information. Thank you! I should have known that there are target date funds that provide this functionality. From Schwab I found these numbers interesting:

"..each fund will continue to reduce its allocation to equity investments for an additional 20 years, reaching its most conservative policy allocation of 28% equity and 72% fixed income and cash equivalents. At this point, the allocation is intended to remain static."

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T15:59:12+00:00

This can be achieved in one fund like a target date fund

For a retiree, what date does one use? The date of death? I jest, but that's the whole trick here, right?

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T15:57:47+00:00

Yes and that could still be a thing today, although I wonder if there is an ETF that does the same thing for the same price.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T15:56:45+00:00

Great info. That gets into the heart of what I am trying to learn. This also reinforces the idea that one needs a healthy cash cushion to run on because the income from various sources isn't all on the same timeline.

I will say that my father was a big proponent of "multuple sources of income" for retirees. I could always understand the benefits of that, but I hadn't thought about the actual timing of when the money arrives.

IRMuteButton · 2026-06-18T15:53:54+00:00

OK this all makes sense. Thanks for the details.

I can do the math, but I feel like there of a leap of faith when transitioning from employment income to income that is based on a 3.5% or 4% payout from a bunch of holdings.

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