How do you afford your mods?

joshhjackson2112

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I am interested in knowing how you all afford to modify your cars. I have come to a point where most of the mods I want to do to my SI cost anywhere from $500 to over $1,000. I am finding it harder to save the money for these expensive mods that I want so badly. I have a decent job but I'm nowhere close to rich. So I want to know what you do. Do you cut back on eating out? Do you have a second job? Do you rack up credit card debt? Take your time saving wisely? Or are you simply wealthy enough to mod without breaking a sweat? I am interested in hearing your strategies.
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TypeSiR

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Two slices of bread and an apple for lunch for a year. Tap into my childrenā€™s (I have none) inheritance.
 

NeoDragons

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honestly eating out everyday is what it boils down too. imagine buying 10-15 dollar meals for lunch for a workweek, that about 50-75 bucks. eat at home when you can, or pack your own lunch,. ramon noodles will be your best friend, (79-99 cents a pack) lol;) this was when i was working my first job.
 

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I direct deposit $100 out of every paycheck into a savings account. Save until I have enough for the big ticket items.
 


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I have an awesome job. Struggled a lot of my life but 7 years ago I lucked out and landed a job that gets me just over 100k. Couple that with my wife that makes pretty close to that. Have no debt other than mortgage and car payments. Save a for a few years. After that money isnt an issue for the most part. As long as your responsible.
 

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I have a decent job now where i can put away a few hundred a check in my coke cola change bottle, and i do all the labor myself, also fortunate to have a boss that gives me unlimited access to shop tools and space
 

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Any extra money. Personally I buy and sell things that are popular for more money than I pay for them. Rather that be on eBay or offer up and use that money to buy stuff. Also both my wife and I have great paying jobs so thatā€™s a plus too.
 

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IT gig, pays big bucks. Partnered and divorced, my girlfriend has her own place and pays her own way. My car and my sailboat get the lions share of my bonus every year.
 


AndyAndromeda-AUS

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I am interested in knowing how you all afford to modify your cars. I have come to a point where most of the mods I want to do to my SI cost anywhere from $500 to over $1,000. I am finding it harder to save the money for these expensive mods that I want so badly. I have a decent job but I'm nowhere close to rich. So I want to know what you do. Do you cut back on eating out? Do you have a second job? Do you rack up credit card debt? Take your time saving wisely? Or are you simply wealthy enough to mod without breaking a sweat? I am interested in hearing your strategies.
Having a decent paying job is probably one way.
 

jakabony

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Decent job, strict family budget. Iā€™m the bread winner in our family. My wife is a photographer but little of her income goes to family expenses. I budget a little bit each month as fun money. Do side gigs of auto detailing, case studies, etc. Buy and sell stuff to make a profit. Keep your eyes open to good deals. Be patient. Iā€™ve been doing my mods for two years and still have a bunch more I want to do. But I stay patient and wait til I have the money saved to buy.
 

DJayG3

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Make a budget and live by it. My wife and I made a car budget a few years back which is basically a max payment/insurance/cost per month for both our cars. I sold my last car in September and we were able to focus all the budget to her Jeep - which is paid off now. Before I got my Civic I was considering cars that cost 4x as much as this little Si because our car budget would allow for that. I decided to go cheap because I didnā€™t want to have a huge payment with a 911 or RS5 - and cheap I went.

I have a lower payment for my Civic than Iā€™ve ever had in my life. So my mod budget is whatever size I choose.

Smart decisions get you everything you want
 

frontlinegeek

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I am interested in knowing how you all afford to modify your cars.
The one thing to remember is that this is, I think, the busiest of the Civic forums and many of the people that come here are Si owners and got an Si deliberately to start modding. They then come on here to share and show and ask additional questions. So what you are seeing is a very large subset of active enthusiasts and modders.

Beyond that, any of us on here that are dual income and kids either mostly or totally grown up, have a sizable leg up on disposable income. We have spent the last 20-30 years getting ourselves to where we can do things that we WANT to do rather than be wholly limited by finances. I could have got a touring or Si but got an EX as I have more than just cars that I like in my off work time (Home Theater, travel, computers, electronics tinkering, etc...). To say nothing of the fact that as a homeowner, I have to do something bigish every 10 to 20 years. (Flooring, roof, painting, general renos, etc...)

So far, I think for accessories/winter tires and rims, I am only into about $2000 CAD in the last 18 months. I plan to get a KTuner and likely switch to all HIDs in the next 12 months but I will spread that all out.

As @Mikey1 said, never go in debt for things like mods. Save for the wants and only go into debt for the needs that can't really be saved for like houses and cars.

And remember that there are a few people here that either have FU levels of money or income that puts them basically in the purchasing neighborhood of FU money. They don't rub it in that I have ever really noticed but they do tend to put a lot into their cars really fast and it can be unintentionally demoralizing for anyone that is of lesser means.
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