<prompt> Human: My husband and I are Im need of a second car because Im starting a new job and err can no longer car pool. My original goal was to get an affordable car that we can easily pay off before summer Im a teacher so we wont have a car payment. however, after looking at cars in that price range 12k and lower my husband decided that he wants a newer suv with all the bells and whistles leather, navigation etc which are 25k plus.I just cant stop thinking that that can pay off a lot of debt we have. we only have student loans and a mortgage, but they equal 150k. we estimate that if we live below our means and throw all of my money at the loan we can pay it all off in 5-7 years. My husband says to splurge now and that we can afford the monthly payment if we have to. its better to get something nice now, before we spend the next few years of throwing all our money at debt. I think we should get something nice when we pay it off, or maybe even if we pay my student debt off at least. plus, if we did get an expensive car Id want a minivan for our growing family 2 kids now but plan on at least one more, but he wants a cross over. also that extra 15k could go towards investment, which well never get back with a car. so is getting an expensive car now a bad idea, or should I relax and get something nice before we buckle down and pay off our debt?  <response>: New cars are among the most destructive financial moves you can make. Buy a cheaper car with good gas mileage, preferably lightly used. 