And if you haven't paid for your vehicle outright, the effect of debt service or a lease is even worse. For most family budgets, automobiles are a big-ticket item. Even a good used auto can represent your largest single outlay after the house. One mistake here wipes out your grocery coupon savings for a lifetime. But automobiles don't have to be a budget buster.
Affordable values are available.
The bottom line is that to become financially free a family has to build a certain net worth. This includes the value of a home, transportation, an emergency fund, and so forth. Expensive transportation works against that end because it ties up so much capital and has such high depreciation. What may be okay for those who are older and financially established, but may not be okay for those in their financially formative years. Let's review some financial basics for automobiles in the chart on this page.