Ever wonder how much you should spend on a car? There are many online calculators that let you calculate how much, based on a proportion of income. Well that is all fine and good, but what about taking people's lifestyles into account? Obviously, if you drive 4 hours a day then you should spend more on a car than if you drive 1 hour a week.
Another way to figure out how much you should spend on a car is to look at the amount of time you spend at home versus the time you spend in a car. In other words, the annual cost of your car versus the annual cost of your house should be proportionate to the amount of time you spend in each.
And of course, we adjust the calculation for the different depreciation and operating costs of a house versus a car.
So how frugal are you with cars? Fill in your information below and see for yourself.
Calculator
Please correct the highlighted information and try again.
1. How do you spend your time?
2. Driving Vacations / Road Trips
3. Tell us about the house
4. Tell us about the car you would like to purchase
This calculator assumes that you get equal satisfaction from having a nice car as that you get
from a nice home. It only takes into account the information that you filled in above. Here are
some things that are *not* taken into account:
- Since we are only calculating how much you should spend on the car, and not the house, this calculator assumes that you have made a good (and frugal!) choice with your home.
- A newer or more expensive car is likely to be safer in an accident.
- A newer or more expensive car is less likely to leave you stranded
- A hobby car cannot be evaluated using this calculator, as the purchase is based on enjoyment value, not utility.
*This calculator adjusts the calculation for the different depreciation and operating costs of a house versus a car.
*This calculator assumes that the annual cost of your car versus the annual cost of your house should be proportionate to the amount of time you spend in each.
For entertainment purposes only.
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