Got told I was budgeting wrong by a financial advisor. Home or car first?

My advisor said I was stupid for saving for a house down payment while carrying a 9% car loan. Said I should nuke the car debt first even if it delays the house by 2 years. Who's had better results tackling one big goal vs splitting funds?

3 comments

3 Comments

grayperez5d ago

Oof, that's a tough spot to be in! I feel for you, man. Honestly, I was in a similar boat a couple years back. I had a 7% loan on my old sedan and a big savings goal for a down payment, and I tried splitting my extra cash between both for like six months. It felt like I was getting nowhere on either front. Nuking the car debt first was way more satisfying in the end, even though it meant staring at my savings account for an extra year.

jason75217h ago

@richardh44 selling the truck and getting a beater sounds like the ultimate power move, @grayperez.

richardh445d ago

That 7% rate is what would have pushed me over the edge too. My truck was sitting at 8.5% and watching that interest pile up each month just made me angry. I ended up selling it private party for way more than the dealer offered, took the equity, and bought a beater Civic with cash. Six months later I had the down payment saved because I wasn't throwing money at a loan anymore.