<prompt> Human: I currently live in a small 1 BR apartment just out of the downtown area that I pay 850month a for. My car is currently paid off2007 sonata, which has been reliable AF. My lease ends in June and I want to move to the downtown area, where the lower priced rents around 1200which Ive found already. I was also thinking about buying a carthinking around the 25K price range. Would this be too much for someone would makes just under 68K?with my job and side gig  <response>: Any other debts or expenses? 68kyear an extra 350month in rent to live somewhere you want to live isnt going to change anything. The car payment itself isnt going to hurt you either.That said, is it a good financial decision? Let me rephrase your question, I have a reliable car now, but I went to sell a perfectly reliable paid off car and buy a brand new car. No, its a bad financial decision. 68kyear assuming no debts since you didnt mention any and if your car is already paid off you probably paid everything else off as well is a gross of 5,666.67month. Even after taxes and adding 1200 for rent and lets WAG 450 for a car payment, that gives you 4kmonth gross, so take out whatever you pay for taxes and that still gives you a pretty comfortable cushion.Lets whip out some maths. If you waited two years on the car and put that same 450month into an investment account especially an IRA if you arent doing it already, even at 6 at 30 years thats worth 62,858. If you manage to average 8 thats almost 110k. Thats what happens if you wait two years and invest it in some conservative funds. Again though, part of the reason we have money is to enjoy things. If you got hit by a bus in two years and had all that money in the bank, while youre sitting there making peace with your deity of choice you probably would have wished you bought the car. On the other hand, youre infinitely more likely to live into retirement and need money then, so finding the balance is important.Does that help? 