The Crosstrek is awesome! She will love it! I actually love to have my Sales Consultants do test drives when the snow is nasty here; The Subarus just walk out of any snow bank they are stuck in, its amazing!

 

I feel ya brother I went on 2 deployments. now im separating in march back to the veteran/civilian life. on shore duty now. no no Full time support for me. lol I wish. on my job hunt now its hard lol. but im looking forward to the freedom beard. !!!

 

Well fair winds and following seas! I actually lived in El Cajon a while back, my first command was HSC85 on NASNI. Headed up to Whidbey Island WA on the first of Feb. Growlers, so I will be seeing deployments, and I am very excited about that.

 

Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant here, also! Rock on!

 

JKU under-seat Subwoofer enclosure-building assistant.

 

Construction Engineer, wife is a Facilities Management Engineer.
We both went to Tech school in Canada, work our butts off, strive to constantly learn and eventually got "engineer" after our name based on experience (25 years now), but we are not engineers.
Together we make enough to afford that 400k home, but, the one we paid 150k for is plenty big for us as we are also DINK's.
We started off life living at the poverty line. Lived a little beyond our means and debt began to pile up. Eventually buckled down and are "comfortable" on the income we make now, but unfortunately, a great deal of it goes to retirement savings now, because, as mentioned, earlier we, well, I was not responsible.
I'm 47, and will have to work another 17 years. If I had been smarter when I was younger, I could be retiring in 3 years... like some of my friends.. but I wanted the toys that allowed me to play (with same friends when they could afford it, and, really, I could not). I neglected the future. Looking back, it wasn't about the toys, it was about the people in my life.

If you are younger, and spending at your limit or above, please, take it from someone who has been down that road, keep the costs down and save for the future. I know when I was in my 20's I though at 50 life would be over, but I tell you right now, I still mountain bike, DH mountain bike as fast as I ever did, ski, hike, shoot, Jeep, drag race... but, lots of my friends are retiring in the next 3-5 years... I gotta make up for that lost time at a point when I'm really starting to get tired of the whole "working" for a living thing. Hindsight being what is is, I could have had just as much fun when younger with less, and less expensive "stuff".

off soap box.

 

I work at a bank in the voice and video department. It is a techie job with a good pay. My wife, god bless her soul, works for a tech company and puts my good salary to shame. We have two kids and live in the over priced Bay Area. So all the benefits of our good salaries is eaten up by cost of living.

As most people here have said save your pennies and build slowly. I have some advise also. JEEP slush fund.... Separate bank account. Put some money into it every pay check. Then drool over the mods you want and get one at a time. Then wait till the slush fund grows, drool some more, (wash, rinse, and repeat)

I bought my 2012 Rubi new and I have just now gotten it where I want it. The bug to buy more has receded for the moment. Do I want the big ticket items like a big lift? Yes, 7 year old daughter and wife (when she wares a nice dress) have a hard time getting in as it is and I don't want steps. I just know I will have this jeep a long time and I can wait. My last jeep I had for 17 years till it was stolen. I got time. I want to build it right.

 

Blue Collar guy, primarily masonry. Here I'm parked next to a couple of really nice granite cabins I built

 

Retired KC-135/10 Boom Operator, 25 yrs in the AF. Currently a SME on KC-46 Tanker Courseware writer.

 

I'm a CPA and work at a Big 4 accounting firm