I'm another guy that has been building cars most of my life,sometimes I had to do things that didn't cost money and picked up a few odd jobs here and there to support my hobby,,wife,kids and bills always came first. Even today I have to watch the bank account,,I am lucky to have a wife that enjoys the hobby and never complains about what I spend on cars,,especially her wagon! HRP
OK, I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but here goes.... If you can't afford to have a car, don't. Put your family first. It's more important to pass on to your kids a sense of priorities and integrity. My dad passed on his passion for old cars to me, and I don't think we EVER had a finished car. They would get close, and he would sell them. I learned two things from this: 1) old cars were tons of fun to work on and learned to love them. 2) It was more important to dad to support our family than build his old car. He would sacrifice what he loved in order to pay the bills when it was necessary. My $.02, flame on.........
You go Gasser Girl. Big Mac no flames needed at all,sounds like your Dad was a good provider and family man. My Father too made many sacrifices but you never notice those things until you get older and have to make them yourself.
I'm guessing, the best way to enjoy your toys is not to allow the little woman to put the family Jewels in a Mason Jar on the fireplace mantel.
No comment.... Actually, I will say that getting rid of the first cheating ex-whore and acquiring a new wife who WANTS HER OWN '50s era truck, makes a WORLD of difference. If it's part of you, and always has been, it has to be respected. Since my truck was totalled last Monday, we are looking for an oldie p/u to replace it! But I'm by no means rich, sometimes I wait months to buy even a simple part. My bills/kids are always taken care of first.
Rule 1. Marry the right woman Rule 2. Budget every cent and stick to it Rule 3. Buy nothing on credit, not even a house Rule 4. Don't hide shit from your wife If you do that you are golden. I make a nice living, I didn't used too. However, no matter how much money you make you will always feel broke if you don't follow the three rules above. It has taken me almost 4 years to build my hot rod. This is due to my budget, not time, not skills, etc. just money. My budgeting rules 1. Pay yourself first so that someday you can retire 2. Cover everything it takes to live and make a living, food, utilities, trans, shelter 3. Budget in some money for misc. shit, emergencies and such. 4. Have something set aside each paycheck for entertainment 5. Budget money for hot rod
I've always kept my car $ seperate from my job $, always had to sell one in order to finance the next. Hopefully you put enough sweat equity into it to make a little profit. If I got some kind of a bonus check from work I might keep that, or maybe split the income tax refund if there was one, otherwise it's just a long road of building then selling/trading up. You might have to sell the 60 in order to move on to the next, then regret it later like the rest of us. Good luck.
I am currently breaking rule #3 twice over, AAANNNNNDDDDDDD have a shit load of equity in both. I had to borrow to purchase of them, bought low, and both were VERY wise investments. Just saying
First off, stop lying to your wife. No matter what you do, NOTHING is more important than keeping your house in order. I'm sure that if you do that, she'll tend to be more forgiving of your car addiction. Like a lot of guys, I have to save up for what I want or feel I need. It can take time, but the reward of finally getting that part makes it all worth while. Good luck. I got to ask.... she didn't know you were heavy into cars when you were dating?
do what ya gotta do, some are born into $$, some get into the right situation and make a lot of $$. most just get by with some wheeling and dealing. I am selling parts to fund a chopped '51 Ford that will go as soon as it can get into driver condition to pay bills. no extra $$ for any goodies I don't have to have. My Son just got layed off by a major company today. we are looking for that winning lottery ticket-Ha!
Worked on lots of cars between my late teens and late 30's. Others and mine. All just work cars. Never had any toys until I was 40. My priorities were raising a family financially and morally. To me, without that, all the toys in the world would not satisfy me. When my wife and I felt comfortable having blow money I started by obsession. I wouldn't want it any other way. Theres more important things in life than these damn old cars.
Same boat. On all scores. As someone mentioned, figure out something you can modify or freshen that people may buy, and that can quickly add up. Craigslist! Reason to use stock parts? keep it running while you are building or finding a better part down the line. They don't have to be totally done the way you want them immediately. Also: Don't latch on the the car love of your life at first. Build a couple to add skills and experience, and sell those to build a nest egg. Sell your sled dogs (oh, wait...no...that's me.).
I guess im lucky,because my wife lets me do what i want to with old cars and stuff.She enjoys going to shows,swap meets,and helps me alot when workin in shop incase i need a extra hand.She recently helped me pull a motor out of car and put backup motor in.She loves to learn new things.Guess im very lucky.
I have a fund for a big project I'm planning, it is specifically for that so when time comes nobody is going to argue about why I'm spending that kind of cash in it. I'll save $150 for 10 years two have already passed so the earliest you start the earliest you finish.
its pretty easy going for me. if she knows I spent $500 she gets $500 if I spend $1000 and I can get away with telling her I spent $500 then she gets $500 haha ect. lots of momma dont know money in my line of work with monthly bonus ect
Two words. Overtime money. Make sure the house and the other stuff that doesn't matter (food, kids, wife, whatever..) is paid for with the first 40 hours and let her know that any extra you work is yours. Its hard to bitch at a guy who is spending money that he worked overtime to make on a car when the a/c is cold in the house and the bills are paid. Also, make sure she has a nice car to drive. Nothing fancy, but maintain it to the point that she notices when it gets dirty or isn't running right and your obsession will make a bit more sense to her.
Instead of quoting everyone here.... Like I said, rule number 1, marry a good woman!!!! My old lady is AWESOME!!!!!!!
Budget your money ,I try to sell off car stuff and give wife the job money ,Things are tight for everyone ,So my suggestion is stick to a budget and look for deals......
The answeres will vary depending on the age of those that reply. I'm 60 I have all the projects I'll ever need, just finding time and money keeps me from finishing them. "Car Hobby" money got mixed into "Household Money" many years ago, and getting car money out is always a project in itself. eBay is a great way to make "Car Money", along with a monthly trip to the scrap yard. Just last week I saw something that Predates the HAMB that I really wanted on eBay. Not real spendy, but more that I had available. I just looked around the office that looks somewhat like "Hording: Buried Alive", and found 4-5 items I had no need for and sold them in 3 days. Found money! You just need to keep listing stuff.
I agree.. Family comes first.. I know I will be able to afford it this time next year and that makes the sanity stay and helps to motivate me in the mean time.. When I have my budget it will make me more honest with her and allow us time to enjoy the car/cars soon hopefully...
I've been married for 17 years and have three kids. I had a nice cushy corporate job until the economy tanked and they laid everyone off. Now I'm a high school science teacher and we live on 1/3 of what we used to earn. Things were REALLY tough right after the job change, but we went Dave Ramsey, Financial Peace University crazy....dumped ALL of our debt except the house payment....we live on a budget and I get a set amount of blow money every month (money that I can do whatever I want with). I also work a second job at nights and that keeps the family budget in the black with some extra money that we're saving. I almost always spend my blow money on car stuff....it's not a lot, but it is something. I also do what someone above mentioned....I buy misc. stuff locally, fix it up and sell it. As for my cars, I never sold the 54 Ford tudor that I had in high school and I've slowly rebuilt it from the ground up as money allowed. It's taken me over 5 years, but it'll be on the road in a month or so. I have to admit that I did the chassis rebuild when I was making good money and all the new rebuild components and the disc brake conversion were not cheap, however, the 302/AOD purchase and installation and the body reassembly, the wiring, etc have all been since I've been a teacher....and therefore on a strict budget. My other ride is a 66 F100. Everyone needs a daily driver to get to work and by making my 66 my daily driver, I get to have two old cars. I did have a really nice late model Toyota pickup with a monthly payment, but I just sold it...and the payment is gone. I keep the 66 pretty stock with its inline six and therefore it's extremely reliable and fairly fuel effecient. So....all that to say this....I get around the fact that I'm not wealthy and have kids/mortage/etc/etc by being frugal, by being creative, by working an extra job, and by not having debt.
I forgot to mention....an extra side-effect of our newfound "not-wealthy" lifestyle..... My kids see me working a lot and fixing up old stuff and selling it....and they've all commented on how cool that is and I've noticed them becoming more appreciative of things in general. My 15 year old daughter used to ask for her first car outright....now she wants to fix up an old one with me and wants to pay for half of it. God blesses us in strange ways sometimes.
I didn't own a classic car for over 15 years of my adult life, took care of the family and business first. Be patient.
I dont golf, usually only drink at the house, paid off the honda, bills are relativley low, I have to have hobby (or atleast a project on the house) or i will go crazy. I may be wrong but i figure its a 54 it aint losing value.. although it aint gaining much value its not going to waste...
My way of dealing with the car budget is , I dont have one. Fortunatly I am able to pickup a good bit of side work (electrical) every now and then and I use that money for my car habit. The wife and I do have an understanding that if overtime comes about I get it if the bills are payed. She sometimes even gives me alittle cash when times are good. I have a pretty good old lady and she gives me slack on the lesh every now and then. If I was loaded my projects would get done alot faster.
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