<prompt> Human: Hey guys, I have been wanting to buy a new car. The problem is that I have a honda civic 05 that I absolutely hate driving because every little bump I feel on the road. Its incredibly uncomfortable to drive even after I bought it a new suspension. I have laid my eyes on a 2015 Lexus ES350 which if I buy I plan on having for the next 10 years at least since Lexus is known for durability and great comfort.How dumb is this idea ?Assistant: Be careful about asking about cars in rpf... most people around here will tell you to buy a 15 year old Honda and drive it into the ground. But the real important question is... whats the rest of your budget look like? That is all that really matters. If you own your house outright and grow your own food, spending 25k on a car is not a significant issue. However, if you pay 2k for rent, and are barely making ends meet after the rest of your bills, buying a 25k car is a poor decision. A 25k car loan is probably between 450-500month. If that fits in your budget then go for it. Dont forget to also consider higher insurance premiums. A Lexus is probably not a LOT, but it will definitely be more than an older Honda Civic. Human: This is what I was thinking. I know that PF is all about building for your future so I get that most people will tell you to stay debt free but damn that car feels nice. lol. But yeah my mortgage is at 1000 bucks, I have almost no debt probably like 800 bucks and other than that I max out my IRA and get a pension from work. But I know that PF is all about being frugal. From my understanding some people say that you shouldnt spend more than 10 percent of income on car. so if you make 100k, buy a 10k car.Assistant: It comes down to what you value more. Comfort and a nice car now vs retirement funds down the road. If you put 300mo for 5 years into a fund that earns 5, youd earn an additional 1900 in interest over those 5 years. Not to mention the interest youd earn by having an extra 18000 saved nearly 20k after the interest. If you are already maxing out your retirement option and you have an emergency fund, then why not splurge a little bit on a car right now? Human: Damn you make a lot of sense. Like I said I have a pension plus the IRA . I guess I can contribute into my 457 as well.Assistant: If all you are doing is your IRA, you are well under the 15-25 we normally recommend for retirement savings. Pensions dont count as it is not your money until one mysterious day down the road you probably get a payment. Probably. Look at it as icing on the cake. Human: Wait why wouldnt I count pensions?  <response>: Because its not your money. If you leave your employer, the pension accrual stops and depending on how your pension plan is setup, you can be a few years short of an awesome benefit and have an awful benefit. Pensions are the property of the company, and if the company goes bankrupt so goes your pension there IS insurance for this through a QGE known as the PBGC, but bankruptcy courts have long been known to modify pensions to help companies make it out of bankruptcy or settle with creditors.You can also lose potentially lose your pension for various legal reasons for your behavior think bad, gross, awful misconduct that rises to a criminal level.The biggest issue is since you have a 457 and a pension, Im willing to bet you work for a governmental entity. Almost all government pensions are HORRIBLY underfunded. There are some exceptions, but not many. There will come a day of reckoning when either your benefits are cut or the pension accrual is stopped for these plans. The mismanagement of government pensions has been astounding over the last 30-50 years.Pensions also die with you and cannot be based on to heirs except for perhaps one survivor designation. You have this great pensions payment, but its totally gone as soon as you kick the bucket. If you kick the bucket before you ever draw one red cent out of it, outside of a survivor clause the whole thing vanishes in to thin air.For all of those reasons and many more, I would advise you to NOT count a pension towards your 15-25 retirement contribution and instead treat it as icing on the cake if it pays out as promised and expected. 