Your Opinion

[Unstoppable]

Tom had a car that would take him from point A to point B. Tom's car died again so he not gonna put any more money into it. Tom has an ok job and can get to it by bus no problem. So he is ok for now.

 

A)Tom also has good credit so he can get a loan and get a nice car for low, and rebuild it for low. However then tom would need a 2nd job which he don't mind to pay off loan in 2 yrs or so. The loan would be like 10,000$

 

B)Tom could also stick it out via bus for about 4 months then ship out to the United States Marine Corps. Which he likes also.

 

C)Tom could also work on an art portfolio then take out a big loan and get accepted to an art creation school for game design. He would be in debt like 60,000$ though when he graduates in 21 months he can get a job starting at 40,000$.

 

If you where tom would you pick A, B, or C and why.

[Crispy]

Well, it depends.

 

Does Tom want a car? There doesn't seem to be any practical reason why he needs one, from what you've said. Would the quality-of-life improvement from having a car outweigh the time and stress spent on the second job?

 

Does Tom want to join the Marines? It's certainly not what I'd do, but I'm not Tom. If he really wants to join up then do so; just as long as he knows about the consequences and has accepted them.

 

Does Tom want to become a game artist? Maybe it would be worth being in debt if he's doing what he loves, provided he can actually pay it off within a semi-reasonable timeframe (and doesn't realise, too late, that he actually hates the work).

[sparhawk]

C all the way. You can still apply for some funding support (odn't know how that's called in the US) for students.

[Maximius]

Tell Tom to get his ass into school and stay there. Nothing will bring a better return on his investment. Cars depreciate. Frankly, speaking as an Army veteran, the military is going to get you killed really fast or maimed or mentally shattered and then dump your ass back on your home street. Returning veterans are facing shrinking Veterans Affairs budgets, record unemployment, increased chances of homelessness, our leaders have abandoned our servicemembers. The Chimpanzee in Chief recently slashed the VAs budget by several million, what a way to welcome home all the heroes he put in harms way. And the Marines, well he will CERTAINLY see action in the Marines, he may be all gung ho now about that but it will be a different story two years in when his tour is getting extended for another six months and he's lost one fifth of his platoon to roadside bombs.

[Napalm]

Tom should only join the marines if he wants to goto into active duty, and should be prepared for at least a year or two. Depending on Toms age and schooling status though he could get education through the mil if that's what he wants. Tom should realize the coasties are much more fun though. Tom should ignore choice A because a nice car really isn't going to help that much, possibly a really cheap POS wouldnt be to bad if it can last a lil while though.

[SneaksieDave]

Brings me down when I hear that people are struggling.

 

I'd personally try to get the cheapest car I could find (you can find a clunker you can keep running and doing what you need it to do for <$1000 if you hunt and make a lucky find), and try to advance what I'm doing now.

 

I'd not go into the military (especially not in today's climate), not just out of personal preference but because it doesn't sound like it works out in the soldier's favor very often. And I'd not bother with the humongous debt and leap of faith in the art school, unless you're really, really good and confident in that. If you can do it, great, go for it. But if not, it's just going to be a burden (all that debt). And game development, unless you're one of the shining stars, is not terribly different from sweatshop labor, so it's not all that much to strive for.

[sparhawk]

Personally I always think that there are usually two approaches to a car. Either buy a rather new one, thus you spend a lot of money on it, but then you have a few years of rest worrying about breakdowns and such (depends on the treatment). Or you buy a really really cheap one, invest the minimum of repair that comes with such cars and don't care about anything else, and after two or three years sell it and buy another such car. The second method is quite cheap, because for such cars, you usually don't have much loss. So you get almost the same money back that you spent yourself (minus repair). The newer a car the higher the loss. And the advantage of an old car is that you don't need to fuss so much about it. Depends on your attitude towards car though. Some are really obsessed, while others, like me, just see it as a convenient tool, so I don't care so much wether it has some rusty spots or doesn't look so hot, as long as it works, and I can get it through the regular technical surveillance.

[Maximius]

Tom should only join the marines if he wants to goto into active duty, and should be prepared for at least a year or two. Depending on Toms age and schooling status though he could get education through the mil if that's what he wants. Tom should realize the coasties are much more fun though. Tom should ignore choice A because a nice car really isn't going to help that much, possibly a really cheap POS wouldnt be to bad if it can last a lil while though.

 

 

If he is going to join, go coasties, they don't deploy to combat zones anywhere nearly as much as the other branches. And he can prepare for more than a year, with recruitment numbers down and AWOLs way up, they will cling to his ass like glue. Some units are on their third extension of duty over there.

[Unstoppable]

Toms says thanks you guys are great.

[Komag]

I hate cheap cars - you never know when it will break down and cost you $800 to fix, or $1200 or $1400, and it's just not worth it. Buy a simple car, but low miles (under 50k at most, preferably around 30k) and only a few years old (2-4 years). Spend $5-8k and you're good. Keep for 2-3 years, repeat ad infinitum