In our daily life, we often encounter such a situation: for the sake of face, many people will choose to buy a car, even if they are not very financially well-off. However, is such a decision really worth the money?
Imagine spending nearly $300,000 to buy a car and intend to drive it for 15 years. Well, the annual cost is about 20,000 yuan. Not only that, but the value of the car gradually decreases over time, that is, you are paying depreciation costs for the car every month, which is about 1666 yuan. Of course, there are other overheads to consider. The insurance premium is about 6,000 yuan per year, which means that you have to pay 500 yuan per month. Fuel is also a big expense, about 1,000 yuan per month. In addition to this, maintenance and repairs are also necessary expenses, averaging about 1,500 yuan per year.
Add up these expenses to about 2,866 yuan per month and 34,392 yuan a year. This does not take into account other possible expenditures such as highway tolls and parking fees. Now, let's see how much interest you can get a year if you don't buy a car, but keep 300,000 in the bank. According to the annual interest rate of 3%, the annual interest is 9,000 yuan.
In this way, there will be a net loss of 26,000 yuan in a year of buying a car. For an average family, the annual income may only be 150,000 yuan, and if more than 30,000 yuan is spent on car purchase and related expenses, it will bring great financial pressure to the family. Cars need to be maintained, refueled, and insured, all of which need to be backed by real money. Moreover, public transportation is now so developed, and there are options such as buses, subways, and taxis when you go out, which is both convenient and environmentally friendly.
Of course, it is necessary to buy a car if it is necessary for business or because of a large number of family members. But for most ordinary people, it's really not cost-effective to buy a car for the sake of face. After all, the quality of life depends not only on how much material wealth we have, but also on how we enjoy life and experience the beauty of it.