<prompt> Human: Im a 26 year old male. My take home after tax is around 3000 a month. I have no debt currently, and a good credit rating. I pay around 1000 for living costs per month. I have had the same car now for around 9 years and am ready for an upgrade!I have 27,000 in life savings at this point in time. What percentage of my paycheck should I be saving each month? Ive read that 20 is a healthy amount, but is that enough? I dont own any stocks or have an IRA, 401k etc. My current car will trade in for about 1000 tops.I would like to save over the next few months and buy something in mid 2016. My thoughts are as follows. Summer 2016, put down between 3k and 5k for a lightly used car 2012-2015. My preferences as of now are the 2014 Mazda 3 grand touring, or a 2011-2013 Lexus CT200h. Now the frugal side of me says that I should remain economical and buy something more like an 08 civic...but honestly I want something that I will actually enjoy and feel good driving every day as I am in the car a decent bit for work..So, I could do something comfortable around 8k like a civic or scion TC, but I really would rather splurge a bit on myself, as I rarely do and in all honesty..what good is having money if you just worry and stash every penny away. You never know whats going to happen, and I would rather enjoy life where while it counts. With around 1000 a month going to bills rent, what would my best options be with a 3000 monthly salary?Is it better to finance a car at 1.99 apr for 6 years with lower monthly payments, or should I do a shorter period with higher payments? If i were to do lower I could investsave more, all while paying the same amount for the car roughly...TL;DR - Should I splurge and get a 17k car and be in debt for a few years, or be economical and get an 8k car that is just okay. 3000 monthly take home after taxes, 1000 rent utilities.Part of why I want the touring is the adaptive cruise, lane departure, backup cam, navigation etc features. Plus Im coming from an old beater and would really just like something that feels a bit more luxurious. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks  <response>: You are the only one that can answer this question for yourself. If it was me, I would get the frugal car and save the money for vacations, other hobbies, and early retirement. Prioritize what is important in your life, weigh the opportunity costs associated with the more expensive car. If having a nice car is more important than the forgone benefits of the money you could save, then get the car. I know for me, a nice car doesnt bring me happiness. But I have a good friend of mine that is a car guy, and he is happy after spending a lot on a car. I see cars as transportation. I want a car to be reliable, safe and capable of supporting my hobbies. Anything beyond that for me is a waste of money. 