Hi Mustachians,
January of this year I started a mustachian approach to things. Granted, I'm a 20 year old guy so there wasn't a whole lot to do for my lifestyle as a college student...but I did start becoming financially educated and turned around my high-fee investments into things I was comfortable with and made a lot more sense.
In April, I started looking for a car for my internship. It would be absolutely necessary for driving all over the state. So by the time I was out of school, I would need a car. I looked over MMM's list of "cars for smart people" and researched commuter cars known for their reliability. My top choices came down to the Honda Civic and the Mazda3 (these are both high-rated cars according to MMM). I looked and looked for two months and ended up paying $8000 ($6650 base price plus all repairs) for an '07 Mazda3 - this was my budget max.
My employer pays federal max $0.56 for mileage and I drive 61 miles roundtrip commute per day. So I get about $200/week for gas and I spend $50/week on it. During school times (~30 weeks of the year) I drive 100 miles per week round trip for my other job (and can deduct federal max miles since I am self-employed). I drive no more than 8000 miles per year probably will not for the remainder of college. The car had 86k miles on it when I got it, and I will have it for around 7 years.
Warning: the following paragraph may be horrifying enough to make you sick to your stomach.
I have to say I love my car. I loved it as soon as I saw it. Although it's an older model, it's fully loaded and has some serious zip. I love the look of the Mazda3, especially the older body structures. I'm so proud of it as a first car. None of my friends have cars (and if they do, they didn't pay for them). I'll even go as far as saying it has raised some confidence about myself (something I've needed). Every day I drive it I think to myself and even sometimes say aloud "Wow, this car is awesome." It runs beautifully and has had zero problems.
So, as I re-read the above paragraph I feel like a total Mr. McFancypants and have been put into a moral/mustachian quandary about it lately. I see lots of discussion about fuel efficient vehicles (50+ MPG). My car gets 25-26 MPG, which is about half. Here's the question: Did I purchase the right car? In other words, did I deny the very principles of mustachianism that I seek every day in favor of a wasteful Fancymobile?