<prompt> Human: Were finally putting more money into repairs than I think a monthly car payment would be. The backstory is that one of us was laid off for a long time, but has recently gotten a new FT job, so we have both have FT jobs now that bring home 4350mo after insurance and taxes. Its just the two of us with no kids. We do have two old-but-young-at-heart dogs.Current fixed monthly expenses: Mortgage 460 Dogs 215 prescription food medication Gas 300 goal is to also get away from the gas guzzling car Groceries 350 Orkin 40 40 per month, but its really 80 every other monthGoal: start setting aside a monthly car payment now so well have a good down payment.Goal 2: We also have an old Vanguard account that wed like to start putting money into it, but I have no idea how much we should.Thanks so much for your help!  <response>: The general rule of thumb for purchasing a vehicle is to go by the 20410 rulePut down at least 20 in a downpayment, finance for no more than four years, and spend no more than 10 of your take-home pay on carinsurance. So Id start with figuring out what you want your budget for a car to be, then work on saving up the necessary money for the downpayment, and understanding how the anticipated monthly payments will work into your budget. Re: Goal 2you may want to look at the Prime Directive in the side bar Wiki. 