<prompt> Human: Hey, I have no idea how to approach this, because I innately am averse to dropping large sums of money on things and especially to taking out debt, although I understand that sometimes it can be better to take a loan for large purchases if you can get a return on the money the cost of the loan.Anyways, Im sort of looking for a tool or some advice to understand it along the terms of:I make X, can afford y per month, look for a car at ZBut Im also looking for personal experiences of I purchased a car at this percent of my annual take home, or something like that.My confusion stems from seeing people I know getting really nice cars, and even though I feel like I make a decent amount, feeling like I cant afford anything but a beater... maybe Im missing something along the way. tl;dr - what percent of annual income would you be comfortable purchasing a car for  <response>: can afford y per monthThis is a very bad way to think about it. You should think about how much in total you will be paying. My confusion stems from seeing people I know getting really nice cars, and even though I feel like I make a decent amount, feeling like I cant afford anything but a beater... maybe Im missing something along the way.Yup. Youre missing the fact that most people live above their means. You cant make judgements about other peoples financial situation based on what the have. Those people could have thousands in CC debt and nothing saved for retirement for all you know. 