Buying cars using credit/finance...

[tranquilized]

Thinking about it, whether it's car finance, credit cards, interest free, whatever type of finance there is available and these days there's a lot available - it all comes down to discipline. It's an incredibly useful tool in a lot of different ways.

Credit cards for instance - my partner and I both have one of those AMEX/Visa combo cards hooked up to Qantas frequent flyers. Meanwhile we have an offset account for our mortgage. Every single item we buy goes on those credit cards - drinks at the pub are put on a tab and paid for on credit, every supermarket trip, every litre of fuel, every utility bill - all on credit. Meanwhile every dollar we earn goes straight into the offset account saving us hundreds each month in interest, and we're earning loads of flyer points on the side. A direct debit is set up to pay all the cards off in full on the due date. This setup is actually recommended by the banks. It works really well for us, but unless you're diligent in paying off those cards in full each and every month there is potentially a huge trap there waiting to swallow you up.

Can't pay cash means you can't afford it? We pay cash for almost nothing!