I've gotten a 36.6% return on my investments the last two years.

So it's possible

But at any rate, more now is always better than later. So do as much down on it as you can afford (unless, as was stated, you can get a 0% for 36 months in which case invest the 10-grand and turn around and put down more at the end of the 36 months while making standard payments in the meantime)

 

First off I would like to thank all of you for the responses, I would have responded sooner but I crashed my computer today at work so I had to wait for another one to free up so I could get back on. As far as having a cash buffer is concerned, well… it’s not really a concern. Right now the apartment I have back home only costs me $475 a month with utilities so I get to add a bunch of money to my savings account each month just because of that. As far as a house is concerned, I was looking into buying one right now with the market being where it is but I’m planning on going into a new career in the USAF and moving to a new place in the Summer of 09 and I don’t feel that it would be a smart move to buy a house then sell it in less than a year. Once I move to a new area then I will be looking to buy but now just isn’t the time. As far as me being self-disciplined enough to save well, that comes and goes. Most of the time I’m a tight ass with my money but on occasion I splurge and when I do I can blow a ton of money in a heart beat. As far as 5% goes I have good enough credit that I’ll be able to get right around 5% at anytime through my credit union and when I last spoke with them they said that right about the time I’m ready to sign the contract they will be having their Fall new car specials that I would qualify for. The spring special that they just had was for 3.9% so I can expect it to be somewhere near there.

I’m still not 100% on what to do but we’ll see. Most people are saying to go for the 10K down but I think I’ll have to give Citizennobody a chance to tell me his side because sometimes the right answer to a question is the one that is unknown to most.

Hey Laughingstok, care to share your 36.6% knowledge ? - KY

 

I bought heavily in Latin America stocks back in 2005.

Check out "PBR" - My bread and butter but I have others..

Bought them at $17 a share.

http://finance.google.com

Type in PBR

 

That's awesome ! And to think that I've been so naive for so long, I always thought that Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) was brewed in Milwaukee not Latin America - KY

 

Well I basically saw oil moving, and Petrobras (the company) is a brazilian oil company that was small enough to afford and big enough to have a foot in the door.

So I took the chance.

Has paid off.

 

I'd love to have the knowledge to play in the stock market, know of a good place to obtain such knowledge? - KY

 

Not really. I just research anything I'm interested in.

Just look at what's popular and have some guts.

BUT

Never invest what you can't afford to lose! I'm no stock guru and am in no place to offer advice. If you like something and think someone else will like it, invest in the company that makes it.

That's basically it.

 

if you put more down your payment is going to be less. i put as much down as i could and i got about 6% finance, but i did get the jeep for a steal so i was happy .

 

Dude money to fall back on is not something you expect to need. In your case you have an income that is steady for the next 4 years so you know it is coming in regardless which is better than most. What you can't account for is perhaps some emergency arising that might require say a flight home for severe illness or death in the family. Of course the military usually helps out in these cases and you have medical covered as well that way. The choice is up to you but for those of us who are perhaps a little older and seen both good and bad times we always recomend hedging the bet and keeping some in savings just in case.

 

We did 30+% last year but this year is a different story all together. BRIC fund was nice. Brazil Russia Inda and China.