assetbest 
One of the site’s most-read pieces is “How Trading in a Car Every Two Years Makes Good Financial Sense.” Ironically, my husband’s “new” car is a 2003 with 90,000 miles, and my car has nearly 120,000 miles and still runs great.
That original article described a man who valued driving new cars more than vacations, eating out, or most other indulgences. He wasn’t reckless — he owned a condo, carried little debt, and lived within his means.
A woman CEO once told me that you can have it all, just not at the same time. That sums up how to enjoy life now and build wealth later: decide what matters most. Very few people can afford everything. If a new car is important to you, you’ll likely need to cut back elsewhere.
Life is full of trade-offs. Even someone looking for an expensive apartment in NYC can’t get every feature they want. If you eat out frequently, a Hawaiian vacation may be out of reach. If you buy season tickets, you might not be able to afford the latest phone. My uncle Joe and his wife bought new cars and traded them every six or seven years; to afford that, they rarely ate out and often split meals when they did.
Building wealth means separating your top priorities from things you can delay or skip. I don’t care what I drive and would be fine never buying a new car; I also dislike the higher insurance that comes with a new vehicle. By keeping our car expenses low, we can save, invest, and take nice vacations. My personal splurge is frequent salon visits.
If trading your car for a newer model makes financial sense for you, enjoy it. If it doesn’t, cut back in other areas and save until you can. Make the decision rationally and remember every choice involves a trade-off.
Do you prefer driving a newer car?
