Car maintenance and home equity

Or see how much real estate would be worth now if you bought some rental property 5-15 years ago.

Real estate equity is a stable path to wealth.
I've got a stellar piece of property in LA covering both mortgages at the moment.

An oil well is pretty good too, Had an offset rig that put out for a long time.
As my Texan friends would say, if you dont have an oil well, get one.
 
The only thing certain in life is death and taxes. No matter how much you plan or how clean you live, things may happen beyond your control.

I’ve done well. I have saved money by doing my own car and home maintenance. But I recently came to the conclusion that my climbing ladder days and crawling under the car days are over.

Fortunately, I can afford to have someone do those. So the planning and saving did help.
Reminds me of the old Yiddish proverb...Man plans...and god laughs. And that’s true.
 
The only thing certain in life is death and taxes. No matter how much you plan or how clean you live, things may happen beyond your control.

I’ve done well. I have saved money by doing my own car and home maintenance. But I recently came to the conclusion that my climbing ladder days and crawling under the car days are over.

Fortunately, I can afford to have someone do those. So the planning and saving did help.
You might consider a MityVac for oil changes. I'm sold on mine.
Seriously easy to suck the fluid out and then reverse to pump into a recycle container.

Oh yeah, I hate ladders.
 
I do work on my cars to save money, but more importantly to do the job right... I know I won't strip threads, will torque things properly and take my time in doing the job right. As far as my house goes, I don't consider it an "investment" as I have no desire to sell it anytime soon for money (although it has appreciated and all that since buying it).
 
I do work on my cars to save money, but more importantly to do the job right... I know I won't strip threads, will torque things properly and take my time in doing the job right. As far as my house goes, I don't consider it an "investment" as I have no desire to sell it anytime soon for money (although it has appreciated and all that since buying it).
I think you’re doing incredibly well. You’re making all the right financial moves early.

The choice to work on cars is just that: a choice, and I couldn’t agree more with the satisfaction and security that comes from knowing the job is done right.
 
Wondered how that happened...I was going to edit the quote, then saw that it shrank as I was typing.

Interesting data point on how the forum software works.

Regardless, your car maintenance decision is one line item in an entire set of financial decisions that, in your case, are setting you up very well. Your discipline and approach are commendable. A multitude of decisions got you on this path. Car maintenance is merely one of them.

I honestly think that my choice to do my own work, given the limitations of my garage, and the necessity of rent I pay for my own shop space, doesn’t actually save me any money.

What my choice allows is the pursuit of my hobby (the Mercedes and Packard) and the same security that you experience in knowing that the job is done right.
 
Some people may be confused, but I edited and removed most of my post to keep things more 'on topic' that Astro had replied to. Just in case one was wondering the context there! ^
Unless I’m mistaking you for someone else I think you’ve mentioned in the past about brewing your own beer. That sounds like a lot of fun and a great hobby.
 
Unless I’m mistaking you for someone else I think you’ve mentioned in the past about brewing your own beer. That sounds like a lot of fun and a great hobby.

Yeah, that's me! Have 4-taps flowing in my 'taproom' at all times... Currently have an English Bitter, New Zealand Pale Lager, IPA and a big Imperial Stout aged on vanilla beans and oak currently on. In my lagering chamber, currently have a Maibock (strong pale lager) and a Rauchbier (smoked lager) waiting for spots to open up. Brewing up a German Pils tomorrow. I focus most on brewing German-Style Lager for the most part.

Fun hobby, but a bit of work for sure. Per the topic, also save a bit of money which is a nice outcome from it as well... For a 5-gallon batch, my average cost is around $25 give or take for over 50 pints worth of beer. Of course, some can be more expensive depending on the hops used and other adders. I buy my base malt in bulk by the 50 or 55 pound sacks, purchase hops by the pound and reharvest and grow my yeast as needed. So my costs are quite low at this point.

Made a FB page for my homebrewery I post pictures to and such every once and a while, mainly for friends and such to follow along with what I have going on and such. Some pictures of the beer and recipe info and all that fun stuff for those curious.

 
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I don’t own a house yet I still live with my parents so I spend all my money on tools and my cars lol. I make good money. $30 an hour sometimes more for road calls. And flat rate at the shop. I pay my insurance and everything for my car every other bit is mine to spend on what I want. Which usually is friends or tools or cars lol 😂 I don’t want much else.
At some point you will have to move out, perhaps think about saving some of that cash!
 
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