For an audio version of this post, please click on the speaker icon (top left).
Welcome to this inaugural post of The Doctor’s Bill (Can You Afford It?) series.
Wonder if you should buy that big ticket item or not?
Well here’s your chance to have a wealth management expert, Johanna Fox Turner, of Fox & Company Wealth Management analyze your overall finances and make a final verdict on whether or not you can indeed swing for the fences and splurge on yourself or whether you should just walk away.
[Johanna and I have no current financial relationship]
Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a substitute for paid professional advice but only meant to serve as a suggestion/guideline.
The following are the details from our submission form:
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What would you do if these were your financials? Would you go ahead and buy the Tesla?
Click on the Doctor’s Bill Image and find out the verdict:
Open the Bill And Find Out If Can Afford It or Not
After you see the verdict please come back to this page and comment whether you agree or not with the decision (and no cheating by looking at comments first!)
If you would like to submit your own Doctor’s Bill request please fill out the submission form (and remember email subscribers to XRAYVSN will get priority)
NOTE: The website XRAYVSN contains affiliate links and thus receives compensation whenever a purchase through these links is made (at no further cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Although these proceeds help keep this site going they do not have any bearing on the reviews of any products I endorse which are from my own honest experiences. Thank you- XRAYVSN
Really there is not much you cannot buy with that income. Buy the Tesla. What you need most is a burnout protection strategy. It is very hard to maintain an income like that for the long haul. I applaud your 50% savings rate.
Thanks for the comment Hatton1md. Yes with a 50% savings rate and that income and already sitting at over 2 million net with this can be a great opportunity to create legacy/generational wealth if that is a goal. Or a very comfortable exit to early retirement in a few years if can continue it.
Totally agree. I would also recommend reevaluateing what makes you happy (7.5 from a car, really?) . In the long run stuff will not contribute much to happpiness. And it might make you unhappy. Been there, done that.
Sage advice VagabondMD. I will tell you that out of all my material possessions my Tesla has retained the most happiness factor and it has been 2.5 years since I bought it.
I think once the electric revolution slowly takes hold people will realize what an amazing feeling it is to wake up to a “full tank” every morning.
Majority of daily driving can be done without worry of running out of electricity and as Supercharging networks improve and become more prevalent even long distance driving will not have too much more of an inconvenience.
The feature that has me contemplate buying one is the autonomous driving feature.
I will tell you (and I have the first version of Autopilot (with a single camera) and not the multi-camera version now available, that autopilot for me is a game changer. You still have to pay attention to the road (and it makes you indicate that you are still paying attention by periodically making you touch the steering wheel) but it is a much more supervisory role and therefore a much more pleasant experience. The fact that it learns from other Teslas driving in particular areas you are in with a “hive mentality” also improves its ability to perform well.… Read more »
I have the enhanced auto-pilot with 8 cameras. And it is great. I think it allows you to have better focus in stop and go traffic by assisting you in processing all of the various stimuli you take in while driving.
Where I live thankfully not too much stop and go traffic on the highway but when it does occur it is amazing.
I recently purchased a Leaf. One of my partners, who knows my circumstances pretty well, asked me why I did not purchase a Tesla. “You can surely afford it,” he said.
I responded that the reason I can afford the Tesla is that I do not buy a Tesla. ?
I do love owning an electric vehicle, but it does not trip the happiness scale. I have developed a utilitarian view toward autos.
At first, I thought that the annual income was a mistake or typo. After realizing that it isn’t, I’m thinking… “What job does this person have? Must not be a physician.” I have a Tesla Model 3 and I love it. While I agree with Vagabond MD’s assessment that we should not put too much of our happiness on material things, I do feel like my Tesla does bring some degree happiness. 7.5 / 10 sounds about right. The happiness is derived from the joy of driving and not needing to pay for gas. I have even rationalized that it… Read more »
Thanks DMF. I believe at the end of the submission he said he owns his dental practice. Preaching to the choir about Tesla. I am a huge fan of the car
50% of such a high number is impressive. Still, I’d echo Vagabond’s sentiment that what puts you in a position to buy such luxuries is the ingrained habit of not buying such luxuries. That said, do what will make you happy, and this seems within reason. On an unrelated note, I was catching up with podcasts recently and missed the into to an episode of “Millionaires Unveiled,” but by the time the episode was over I was proud to have recognized you before your alter ego and website were announced. Enjoyed your interview, Xrayvsn! Great idea for a new series,… Read more »
Hey CD thanks for the compliment. I remember recording the podcast awhile back and actually did not know it was out there already. Thanks for the heads up ?
My cousin recently got a Model S, and I felt like I was riding inside of a really fancy computer haha.
I can get behind the intention of Tesla, and think it’s going to be interesting to see the long-term evolution of electric cars. Maybe (hopefully) they’ll eventually become more affordable — like even more attainable to the masses than the Model 3.
They really are a technological marvel and a glimpse of things to come om sure. One of the main costs is the battery price and that has shown significant improvements in cost secondary to larger scale economies now capable with the gigafactory tesla has created with Panasonic.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting
Awesome new segment Doc! I saw the annual income and i was like, so what are we asking about here? haha
I think i am starting to come around to the Tesla Model 3! I might need to put myself through this segment haha. Cheers!
Thanks TJ. Yeah that income was impressive and so was savings rate so yeah that was more of a slam dunk. You are more than welcome to submit a case for whatever you want to buy
I think the purchase price is not relevant. It’s a car. It will have residual value, from what I’ve read better than average residual value but that can change in a heartbeat. given the antics of Elon. My biggest concern is how long does the battery last in years before replacement is necessary and what does that cost? In 5 years do you end up with a car worth $35K in need of a $35K upgrade? Also charging is a hassle IMHO. My buddy owns one and it adds 45 min to his travel time stopping for a charge. Takes… Read more »
I think there is a $7500 tax credit til the end of the year and some states also offer additional tax benefits for electric vehicles which brings the cost of the Tesla down a little. Although he can afford it without the tax credit.
Great point. I believe Tesla has already produced its 200k vehicle which triggers the tax credit phase out. All vehicles for the rest of the year are eligible for the full $7500 credit. The first half of 2019 will be 50% phase out ($3750 credit). The last half of 2019 it drops another 50% ($1875 credit) and disappears 2020.
I admit that I do not even like driving. I used to decide where to work based on if the fast public transit train would take me there.
Any amount of money can be spent. Look at Johnny Depp.
My husband and I took a test drive of a Tesla many years ago and it was bloody fast. And all I could keep thinking was that I really don’t need to amplify my crappy driving with something this freakishly fast. Bahahaha!!
I think Tesla thought of that as well now with a recent update where you can select a more sedate performance from the car to match a more traditional car acceleration. I test drove the Tesla S P100D (the top of the line performance model) and it was akin to going down the first hill of a major roller coaster ride with a 0-60 mph time of 2.4 sec. It was fun for a few runs, but it was definitely not worth the extra premium they charged (about $30k more) as well as the higher insurance rate it would be… Read more »
Hi,
Very good article.thanks for sharing.
Keep up the good work
Thank you for stopping by and commenting (much appreciated). Yeah I love human behavioral studies and these articles were a great way to show common behavioral effects on our finances.
So I’ll fess up to being the guy featured here. I’m not sure why I actually submitted this, except that Joanna asked for submissions, and I had just ordered it. I knew I could afford it…I guess the lingering question was “Should I?” I honestly didn’t think y’all would find the submission valuable, though. Regardless, I’ve had the car for about a six weeks. It was absolutely a fantastic decision. It is easily the best car I’ve ever had. My wife is now jonesing for her own, but will likely wait until either the Y is announced or the Model… Read more »
I appreciate you dropping by and giving us an update. Congratulations on the car, I am a huge fan of mine and it still is exciting to drive almost 3 years later.
Glad to see you are going to aggressively attack your debt. With your income it should rapidly disappear. Best of luck and thanks for the submission (appreciate you helping us out when we were trying to start this series).