Comments on: Cost of Toyota Camry XLE vs the Lexus ES350: $1.1 Million http://personalfinancetrainer.com/16/cost-of-toyota-camry-xle-vs-the-lexus-es350-11-million/ Investing, Saving, Borrowing, Lending, & Spending Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:06:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Personal Finance Trainer http://personalfinancetrainer.com/16/cost-of-toyota-camry-xle-vs-the-lexus-es350-11-million/#comment-17 Personal Finance Trainer Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:23:38 +0000 http://personalfinancetrainer.com/16/cost-of-toyota-camry-xle-vs-the-lexus-es350-11-million/#comment-17 I like you idea of automatically accounting for inflation by adjusting down the return. I did include the present value in the spreadsheet by adjusting back for the 4% inflation rate which shows savings of $272K in today's dollars for the Camry over the Lexus. This should nearly match the 6% return you suggest. One million is much more fun to say. :) One million is also a better figure to force people think about the cost of upgrading to a luxury item. I think people take that decision too lightly by looking only at the sticker price difference and not the long-term cost in the lifestyle change. As for your Kia, at some point, the repairs will probably overtake your savings but it is an interesting point of comparison. I tossed in the spreadsheet $10K annual savings (10% return with 4% inflation) and it returned almost $4.4 million future value and $1.1 million adjusted back for inflation. I like you idea of automatically accounting for inflation by adjusting down the return. I did include the present value in the spreadsheet by adjusting back for the 4% inflation rate which shows savings of $272K in today’s dollars for the Camry over the Lexus. This should nearly match the 6% return you suggest. One million is much more fun to say. :)

One million is also a better figure to force people think about the cost of upgrading to a luxury item. I think people take that decision too lightly by looking only at the sticker price difference and not the long-term cost in the lifestyle change.

As for your Kia, at some point, the repairs will probably overtake your savings but it is an interesting point of comparison. I tossed in the spreadsheet $10K annual savings (10% return with 4% inflation) and it returned almost $4.4 million future value and $1.1 million adjusted back for inflation.

]]> By: Lazy Man and Money http://personalfinancetrainer.com/16/cost-of-toyota-camry-xle-vs-the-lexus-es350-11-million/#comment-16 Lazy Man and Money Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:49:33 +0000 http://personalfinancetrainer.com/16/cost-of-toyota-camry-xle-vs-the-lexus-es350-11-million/#comment-16 You might want to consider the stock market returning just 6% - factoring in inflation rather than the 10% or 12%. How many millions do I save if I buy a heavily depreciated e-year old Kia and stick with it my whole life? You might want to consider the stock market returning just 6% - factoring in inflation rather than the 10% or 12%.

How many millions do I save if I buy a heavily depreciated e-year old Kia and stick with it my whole life?

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