How do you afford your f $%ing Sprinter?

Luckily this is not me. My 2003 Accord EX is pretty much paid off by now. Well, I owe the money to my 403b or whatever it's called.

So know what I do? I rock dat Walmart $35 tent with a camp chair and car camp it bitches. Honestly, I don't really enjoy camping anyway. I day trip it most of the time. Now out in the San Rafael Swell we car camp it and that is more than enough for me. I am out sitting in muh camp chair by the campfire, so what I drove out in is of no consequence to me at all.

At least that Icelandic Sprinter doesn't have those little stock clown car wheels. I hate that part of the look of those.

Like everyone has said, no kids. Probably no health insurance either. I pay $1906 a month for myself, the wife and 3 kids. Add to that a room-mate or a sweet deal from mom and dad, and a little goes a long ways. I know a 20-something dog groomer who paid more for her car than I did, and I'm a lawyer. The sad things is (for me) is that, with no dependents, she probably has more disposable income.

I have a Westfalia with a subaru engine. DO you wan to buy it? Works well

I see your sissy sprinter and raise you a MOG camper

I get the living frugally, not having kids, no debt part, but what about retirement?

I know that I could scrap by and live out of my car, but I think after 5 or 6 years old would want some more stability. Than what?

DWR2 wrote:I get the living frugally, not having kids, no debt part, but what about retirement? I know that I could scrap by and live out of my car, but I think after 5 or 6 years old would want some more stability. Than what?

Plan accordingly. Living off sub-1500 per month, I am probably putting more into my retirement account every month than you.

I bought my sprinter 8 years ago and have always said it was one of the smartest moves I made. I'd lived in a truck for 3 years and then a astro van for 5 years. Those 8 years of living in my vehicle during my early 20's allowed me to climb a lot and still save enough for a healthy down payment on a $30K sprinter. I got a 5 year loan on it and was paying $330 a month and wasn't paying rent. I lived in the Sprinter for 5 years (a total of 13 years or so without paying rent) and was able to save enough for a down payment on a house. If I'd opted to buy some shitty subaru and pay rent there is no way I would of been climbing or saving as much. I of course don't have kids but do pay health insurance.

Being a broke SOB, it doesn't really matter what more well off people do with their income, or how they have acquired cash on hand, or how much debt they feel comfortable having, or what sort of awesome hand they were given in life. People still are jealous when I tell them I don't have 5 or 6 figures in student loan debt. And I'd reply in past, "Yeah but dude, I don't even own a car". Now I just say, "boy I sure love riding bikes."

Sprinter (or any luxury item) lust is FWP stuff, man. Having coffee to make in the morning is enough to make me look forward about getting up from bed.

These sorts of beasts became quite popular in caving circles. I helped paint one and took a great Mexico road trip in another.

Eric Carlos wrote: Plan accordingly. Living off sub-1500 per month, I am probably putting more into my retirement account every month than you.

Wow congratulations! You save more per month than a 22 year old.

Let me use this post to pat everyone else on the back who wrote something smug about their financial genius.

Go ahead and burn me at the stake. Here's a set of WC Friends I haven't even used.. Cause I don't need them. Boy was I sweating it at the counter when they ran my CC.

I own a nice Sprinter that will be my full time home in Sept. I make under $35,000 a year before taxes and pay about $7,000 a year on student loans. Not exactly upper class.

How?

1. A van for full-time living means no rent. That's 5-8k a year for most people.
2. A mobile job means earning a paycheck all year long.
3. Take out a loan to pay the upfront cost. a $10,000 loan should be more than enough to do a full build on a decent Sprinter. Then pay it off over 2-3 years. It essentially becomes your "rent" along with gas and maintenance.

That's pretty much it. It's more a matter of jumping in and giving up an apt/house than anything else.

I see weekend warriors show up with Sprinters. True, I don't know if they are weekend warriors but their clothing is too nice and they are clean and refreshed.

It makes no sense. Speaking of which. I would love to do a van swap with someone in a few years. Live in my house while I live in your van for a year.

KrisFiore wrote:I own a nice Sprinter that will be my full time home in Sept. I make under $35,000 a year before taxes and pay about $7,000 a year on student loans. Not exactly upper class. How? 1. A van for full-time living means no rent. That's 5-8k a year for most people. 2. A mobile job means earning a paycheck all year long. 3. Take out a loan to pay the upfront cost. a $10,000 loan should be more than enough to do a full build on a decent Sprinter. Then pay it off over 2-3 years. It essentially becomes your "rent" along with gas and maintenance. That's pretty much it. It's more a matter of jumping in and giving up an apt/house than anything else.

I'm confused on this one. If a 10,000 loan accruing interest is to be paid off in 2-3 years, then you're not replacing rent. Maybe that's your point at the bottom. So if you're paying the same (or more) to live in a van, what's the benefit for you? Are you able to work remotely from wherever? That's the only benefit I can see here. Personally, I'd rather put a loan into something that's presumably going to provide a return on that investment (a house). Cars only depreciate.

Bill Kirby wrote: Wow congratulations! You save more per month than a 22 year old. Let me use this post to pat everyone else on the back who wrote something smug about their financial genius. Go ahead and burn me at the stake. Here's a set of WC Friends I haven't even used.. Cause I don't need them. Boy was I sweating it at the counter when they ran my CC.

That isn't disposable income if you are buying stuff on credit (that you don't even need). I think that would be better defined as a bad investment.

ViperScale wrote: That isn't disposable income if you are buying stuff on credit (that you don't even need). I think that would be better defined as a bad investment.

You clearly missed the irony in his post. Bill is doing just fine...

kck wrote:I see weekend warriors show up with Sprinters. True, I don't know if they are weekend warriors but their clothing is too nice and they are clean and refreshed. It makes no sense. Speaking of which. I would love to do a van swap with someone in a few years. Live in my house while I live in your van for a year.

Do you live in a tiny house/trailer on someone's driveway in Boulder? It will be a fair trade.

I know lots of weekend warriors with a house who have a Sprinter. It's a $30k upfront cost then $200 to $10,000 to set it up. The people that do this tend to have a job and do this and it's all good. These people are within their means and comfortable with their debt and it's no big deal.

I've met several people who got one with the intention of living in it to replace renting. Most of the people I see doing this do not live in it full time nearly as long their loan. In 6 months, a year, two years, these folks end up back in a rental or crashing at someone's place. The van payments are still due.

I don't buy the whole "buy a house" argument either. Unless you're talking Denver or Boulder, rent is pretty cheap. Low enough for the single guy that you could argue it's worth renting rather than pay closing costs, property tax, insurance, and maintenance. If you plan on staying in one place for several years, maybe think about it then.

Upthread someone mentioned a truck and camper. That would be my ideal for camping but if we're talking new, it really isn't cheaper.

evan h wrote: Personally, I'd rather put a loan into something that's presumably going to provide a return on that investment (a house). Cars only depreciate.

Cars will deprecate, but at the end of the loan, you still got the car, which worst case scenario you could sell. That could potentially be seen as an investment.

With rent you've got...?

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: I don't buy the whole "buy a house" argument either. Unless you're talking Denver or Boulder, rent is pretty cheap. Low enough for the single guy that you could argue it's worth renting rather than pay closing costs, property tax, insurance, and maintenance.

Paying rent, no matter how cheap, is an expense, not an investment. A home, assuming you can afford a reasonable down payment, don't overpay, and assume some degree of appreciation on the property, is certainly an investment. Down payment aside, mortgages tend to be cheaper than rents in most areas, and your "salvage cost" when selling can net you 10s to potentially 100s of thousands of dollars.

Basically though, I completely agree that assuming replacing rent with a van as a cost saving method is not realistic in most cases. Plus, surprisingly, no one has mentioned that finding some significant other to spend your days with is going to be a lot more challenging if all you have to offer is a scrunched pillow next to the bacon-stained stove!

All that aside, I am slightly jealous when I see one pull up.

LongRanger wrote: Cars will deprecate, but at the end of the loan, you still got the car, which worst case scenario you could sell. That could potentially be seen as an investment. With rent you've got...?

This is the biggest fallacy in personal finance. Shelter is an unavoidable cost unless you're prepared to go fully homeless. Rent is not "throwing money away" any more than eating is.

Buying a house is almost never worth it unless you plan on staying 4-6 years minimum AND believe that the real estate market will be strong when you are ready to sell. The hidden costs of home ownership wipe out all the equity and throw you into a deep hole that takes years and years to climb out of, even if you don't feel it when looking at your monthly budget. A homeowner is responsible for: closing costs($5,000-$10,000), unexpected repairs ($thousands), property tax ($1500-$10,000 per year), homeowner's insurance ($1000/year), PMI on your mortgage ($2000/year), possibly HOA fees, and lots and lots and lots more. Owning a house is seriously expensive.

None of those things are the responsibility of the renter except for insurance, but it's $150/year instead of $1500/year.

Buying a house is no longer the sound investment that it was for the Baby Boomers. More often then not, from a pure financials perspective, renting is the far better choice.