Usually people tend to buy expensive cars that they can't afford. And expensive cars give most people joy. There is that feeling of owning a shiny new thing that other people will see you in.
I kinda agree with you that personal finance shouldn't be about moralizing, but only in cases where that moralizing actually doesn't really affect you at all. The bullshit stuff about not buying coffee and instead saving up to thousands of dollars or whatever.
An expensive car (usually just a car in general) ends up being one of the most significant financial investment in the large majority of Americans' lifetime. So its wise to moralize about a decision which has the possibility of having such a huge impact.
The only time I would personally consider buying a fancy car is that if I got really really lucky and made over $10 million dollars somehow, at which point a $100k car is not insignificant, but not a sizeable part of my wealth portfolio. Until then I have my trusty Civic to take me around : ).
Are most people who purchase expensive cars gearheads? I would wager they're not. In which case I have every right to moralize about their poor choices.
The existence of outliers doesn't prove a rule wrong.
I kinda agree with you that personal finance shouldn't be about moralizing, but only in cases where that moralizing actually doesn't really affect you at all. The bullshit stuff about not buying coffee and instead saving up to thousands of dollars or whatever.
An expensive car (usually just a car in general) ends up being one of the most significant financial investment in the large majority of Americans' lifetime. So its wise to moralize about a decision which has the possibility of having such a huge impact.
The only time I would personally consider buying a fancy car is that if I got really really lucky and made over $10 million dollars somehow, at which point a $100k car is not insignificant, but not a sizeable part of my wealth portfolio. Until then I have my trusty Civic to take me around : ).