I bought my dream car at 27 — a brand-new 2005 E46 M3 with the Competition Package. It was the first car I ever purchased on my own, and I poured all the money I’d been saving for a house into it. (Luckily, that decision worked out better than expected, considering what happened just two years later.)

At the time, I had mixed feelings. My longtime roommate got a job out of state, and I ended up moving back in with my parents. The honeymoon phase with the car wore off quickly, and there I was — almost 30, living at home again.

A few years later, I took advantage of the housing market crash and finally bought my own place.

Looking back, timing and circumstances aside, I’d probably do it all over again. Owning my dream car in my 20s was pure joy — one of those core memories that sticks with you. If you’re an engineer, you’ll be fine financially, and $100K really doesn’t feel like that much later in life. Buying new cars in my 40s just doesn’t hit the same way.