Now, you just have to take a smarter route to what you want to do.
They want everyone in debt. Don't put yourself in that situation. There are other ways
Quoting: ThirdEyeBrown Explain how there are other ways.
Do your homework on each and every expense in your life and find the best, cheapest option.
In the OP's original post, he refered to an $18,000 car as a "piece of shit".
You can buy an extremely reliable, comfortable 3 to 5 year old car for that amount IF you do your homework, educate yourself
and take your time shopping.
Or you could make do with an old, ugly, beat up 10 year old car, and save the $8,000 to $13,000 price difference.
And what do you call an $18,000 car with some cosmetic body damage? You call it a $10,000 car. And thus in exchange for suffering the humiliation of driving an ugly car, you pocket the difference.
Let go of thinking about a car -- or your address, or any product -- as being any kind of a reflection on you as a person, live humbly below your means.
The whole attitude of the OP's post, characterised by the statement that an $18,000 car is necessarily a piece of shit, illustrates the lack of nitty-gritty it takes to choose wisely and flourish free from debt.
Educate yourself on each and every expense in your life!
Conciously choose to "make do" with where you live or what you drive, rather than give a damn about the prestige or humiliation associated with it.
Freedom from debt does come at a "price" -- and that price is called Delayed Gratification. And it is called Humility.
Oh, but sweet, sweet freedom it is.
