How old are you?

[zombiekiller]

32- no kids. Wife and a dog.

Neither the wife or I want kids.

Student loans are paid off, no CC debt.

We owe on our truck, but otherwise are debt free.

We just moved from DE to TN, so our pockets took a bit of a hit, but we're bouncing back. I have one simple rule for car hobby stuff. If I can't pay cash, it'll have to wait till I can.

We make a good buck and my level of car hobby is certainly much much much cheaper than kids!

[wellis77]

33, two jobs, full-time student, wife works full-time as a dental hygienist, living in one of the more costly cities in the world, no debt, living on a tight budget. Building my car on a cash basis scouring everywhere for the best deals on the parts I need, most of which to date have been used, with an exceptionally loving and understanding wife.

[Trevon]

20. Single, not many bills, but I'm in the military so I also don't have a lot of money to put into my car most of the time...when I do have money though it goes to my car...this deployment is helping greatly with that.

[brownz]

SRD art

good write up!

[moreHP]

40 here. And also in the no debt catagory. I use the credit card but never more than I can pay off when the statement comes. Driving the same truck I bought new for 20 years now has also helped free up income for project cars. I live very modestly without the latest and greatest stuff and I am just fine with that.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

34..

1 wife..

2 kids..

9 cars..

[79-TA]

24, just finally getting done with my engineering degree

[intocarss]

50, "Poverty is owning a race car"

[Bryce]

24, just finally getting done with my engineering degree

Congrats!

[Toadman]

I'm 42 and also in the very little/no debt category. I own a steel fabrication shop with my brother which helps a ton when I want a custom part made. I'm also super-fortunate to have a company owned pickup that I drive. As far as my car, it is definitely not a high-dollar build, but been slowly built over winters during the 8 years that I have owned it. Last summer, during my LS1 swap, was the first time the car didn't make it back on the road to enjoy during warm weather. I have been verrrrrry frugal by buying used parts when I can, and searching until a part I want becomes available. The car has come a long long way since I bought it, and It still has a long long way to go... But I'm going to enjoy it in the meantime.

[BigMal69]

32 - married with an 18 month year old. Believe it or not, I built my first car (1966 Mustang Fastback) while in graduate school. I had no wife, no kids, and a buttload of time. I am on my second build now (69 Camaro) and with the wife and kiddo, it is twice as hard.

[sr73bu]

28.... wife, 2 y/o son and a dog....

The best advice I can give is to live well within your means... no body NEEDS a huge house, a new car for every driver in the house, an Iphone and every hbo channel on the planet... especially if you have a hobby like this... Most of my friends have all of the above and really can't enjoy any of them.. because technically they dont own any of it... I get laughed at because as a designer and someone who is pretty tech savy I have the crappiest phone and the most basic cable...lol... but at the end of the day, my bills are all paid, I can do things with my family and I still have a tiny bit of money I can through at my car... of coarse, after some goes in savings (lol)... I'm also lucky to have a solid job, but I never forget that anything can happen, so before I even thought about starting to work on my car again... the past 5 years have been nothing but paying off student loans, saving money and of coarse packing my lunch at work... times get tough, back off the car, knowing its still in my garage and its mine... is the best motivation I have, even when I'm just walking by it to take out the trash for weeks at a time...

-Sean

[Ishmael]

It doesn't matter how old you are. Some guys have money. Some guys have skills. Some guys have both. A lot of guys have neither and don't do a lot of posting in project updates. A lot of guys slowly buy the parts they need when the prices are right and then are in a position to move forward so it seems like they are making progress quickly when it took years to get all the parts together. I'm 36 and fall into the "no skills no cash" group. I've owned the car since I was 15 and have only driven it for 4 years seasonally. Imagine that project update. The worst thing I did was sink money into an engine only to replace it with an ls2. I should have put the car back together and been driving it for the last three years doing small projects along the way instead of trying to do everything all at once and never having time or cash to work on it.

[LUACE]

33. Wife, 2 kids (15 month old and a week old baby). 2 homes, 5 cars (2 camaros), wife and I both have good jobs and salaries... I have all the parts to build an awesome pt car, I simply don't have time to do anything car related at the moment. Anyone interested in building it for me? J/k

[Twentyover]

56. Old enough to know better, young enough not to care.

Debt free with the exception of three mortgages.

[clancj]

north of fifty and an empty nester. thats how i do it.

[yellow1098Greg]

28 and i know exactly what u mean.....I want my car in the worst way to be "the way i want it"....and i definitley dont have the funds to pay right out for it.....I dont have alot of backround in the mechanic end of it...But i want really bad to learn and have been searching for a school that i can take at night or once a week in addition to my full time college i am in now....I am in an area (orlando) where i dont really know anyone else with my same hobby and knowlegable and willing enough to teach me anything and have been reading as much as possible to learn what i can so i can do all my own work to save money plus i really love the do-it-yourself part of it.........i actually started school late because of a minor league baseball career and my car is basically my happiness in my life and i spend every extra little dollar i have on it. I also drive a 5 thousand dollar car around because i love my hot rod so much. All my spare time is spent reading about it and its all i watch on TV. haha

[Takid455]

30 here. Started big car project when I was 24/5.

Finding deals, good job, doing work yourself and no debt. Lived at home till recently. My killer is too many cars. while I do flip some here and there, it takes away from your main projects more than it funds them I feel. There are a few I could sell for a good profit, but I opt to keep those. Also good money investments and management is key. Only spend what you can afford to loose.

I do have access to a full shop which helps. Key point is know and use your resources wisely.

[77thor]

north of fifty and an empty nester...

+1. My youngest will be 25 in Sept.

[Chris 68]

21, in college, no debt!