Group Hug!

 

I know this isn't a thread about mechanics, but 25 bucks an hour is 52k a year. Add to that the fact that a dealership mechanic gets to bill based on book time, not actual time. If you work in a dealership that keeps you busy, and you're good and motivated it's easy to bill out 10 hour + days while working 7-8. The guys I know bill 12-14 hours most days, and make 30+ an hour.

 

^ so you are saying the guys you know work in shops that charge by the book and the mechanic gets payed based on the job ? not the mechanics I know...

The ontario government reports that the average auto mechanic here grosses about 39K/year

Automotive Service Technicians, Truck Mechanics and Mechanical Repairers - Ontario Job Futures

 

Dealership mechanics get paid by the book time of the jobs they complete. So, do five jobs in a day that add up to 12 hours, and you get paid for 12 hours, even tho you only worked for 8 hours.

 

18 years old and 35k in the hole? The thing i dont get is if you were in debt allready for school loans etc, why the hell would you go out and buy a "new"car?
Hell ya shoulda just kept the z24 for awile if it was running ok. If youre changing jobs to make more money to pay the extra bills that you youreself have created,more power to you and i hope it works out for you, but really just rethinking youre spending habits would prolly help too,it seems to me youre just living above youre means and until you fix that problem you will always be in the hole.
Even making a little more money will prove to be no help cause you will just spend more.
I for one am pretty bad for money manegment, i was dismissed from my job back in late november with a 10k severance out the door and by mid jan it was all gone lol.
Well 2 kids to pay for too ,(child support) and xmas i kinda went crazy on them too. Which is my point, im a spendaholic , it burns a hole in my pocket,it seems you have the same problem.
Ive never had credit cards, i never went looking for a loan,i always buy 5-10 year old cars with cash,used stereo gear etc etc. I owe nothing and it feels pretty good,alot better than driving around in a new car anyways.

Hope all works out for ya chunker

 

Sorry guys, I deleted the last couple because they were just turning in to personal attacks. Let's try and keep it civil in here

 

deleted

 

I'll assume Chunk's parents co-signed on a loan? And if they didn't you must be paying like 30% interest on your loans?

It sounds to me like a simple solution would be to sell your new car and your spare ones and just get a car that will get you from point A to point B. After you save some money if you want to drop it on a nice car then go for it. But, if you can't afford one expensive car, it seems silly to have 3 or 4 others laying around and always be dumping money into them.

I make really crappy money. Haven't gone to college (Although that may change down the road) and I have a ton of nice stuff. I have some stuff on my credit card, but I set it for a low amount so I can't get into trouble and if I want something I save for a couple months and buy it. It's not hard.

It just sounds to me like you wanted a ton of stuff at one time and couldn't afford it, but got it all anyway. Probably not the best way to do it.

 

Wow.
I've heard that a large number of people who win the lottery end up bankrupt within 5 - 10 years of winning. This happens because they are millionaires who live like Billionaires. Simply stated they live beyond their Means.

Cavy, you're living beyond your means. You've graduated and are working, but you're living like you've been working for 10 + years and have been able to save up a bit. While it is nice to buy fancy stuff, it will sink you as you well know.

Humble yourself. Realize your personal value is not in your stuff, but in who you are. Then sell your stuff, because your stuff isn't what makes you you. And if your girl doesn't like that, she's not worth it.

I speak from personal experience of living a simple life. I'm 28 years old, married, have 2 children and a 3rd on the way. I spent 4 years getting my BA, then 4 more intense years getting my masters. My first 2 children were born while I was working on my masters (2 years apart).
I've been working full time for 1.5 years now and my only debts are my house and my van. I own my car (nothing special '97 Tercel but it's functional). I have no school loans etc, they're paid off.

What I found to be imensely helpful was recognizing what's important in my life. Who I am has nothing to do with my stuff. My wife doesn't care about what we have or don't have. We've always kept life simple and I believe that our marriage and family are stronger because of that. Granted, my clothing store of Choice is Valu Village, but so what? There are a lot of clothes there that have only been worn once or twice, so I get a lot of mileage for the fraction of the price. What is important to me is maintaining a healthy relationship with the ones I love.

On a side note, 85% (or more) of marriages that end in divorce say that financial issues were strong factors leading up to the divorce. Based on that fact, if you want to keep a girl long term, get your books in order first, then realize that spoiling her does nothing helpful. 1) Your spending what you don't have 2) You're creating a false world for her that you can't sustain 3) You're hiding your true self behind all the nice things that you're giving her.

I hope that your career change will help you get your bank books straightened out before the banks take you for a mountain of interest, or force you to bankruptcy (Neither of which is cool). Seriously, 18 years and being $35,000 in the hole is a problem. This is a reality check. Do you really want to be 85 years old and still working (working because you never had enough money to buy RRSPs and working to pay off your debt)?