So You Want to… Own a Porsche Cayenne – Smart Money Africa

Everyone has a dream car, that car that they close their eyes and imagine themselves cruising down the express in. More often than not, our dream cars are well out of our financial reach, and unless your dad is Otedola, buying a dream car could mean a long-term commitment to saving, saving, and saving. 

So, say you have been dreaming of buying a 2020 Porsche Cayenne. Now, that’s worth over $66,000 and it looks good in Dollar terms right, but in Naira, we’re talking about over 27 million Naira. See that it’s not chicken change right? 

Motivational speakers like to say your dreams are valid, and honestly, I’m not even trying to say otherwise, because I mean, who no like better thing? But you see, the main point is, when it comes down to money matters, critical thinking odikwa very necessary. So, auntie, before you go and start fulfilling your Porsche Cayenne dream, here’s three things I think you should consider:

Your Net Worth

Oya ask yourself, what exactly is your net worth gan?  Do you even know how to calculate your net worth? It’s pretty easy, just add up the value of all your assets and subtract all your debts. If you get a negative value, that means you’re in debt. Obviously, you can’t be owing money and be dreaming of buying a Porsche nau, o wrong. 

Your Current Income 

The basic rule of personal finance is that the purchase price of your car shouldn’t be above 35% of your annual income. So, to conveniently afford a 2020 Porsche Cayenne, your salary should be above 77 million Naira. Hehehe! 

But let’s even assume you have the full amount needed to purchase the car saved up already, you still need to consider how much you earn monthly and your financial obligations. Can you conveniently take on the cost of fuel and overall maintenance of the car, not to mention insurance? Because why will you be driving a Porsche in this Nigeria without insurance? You self, think about it.

Your Accommodation

The day I met an Abuja man who owned a nice car but was literally homeless, I was shocked as I couldn’t understand how someone will spend millions on a car whereas, he doesn’t even have a house of his own. Turns out a good number of people do this and have turned their cars into houses. A car is not a house. It is not even an investment because unlike land, it depreciates. So please, before you spend those millions on that car, ask yourself, am I still paying rent to another person? Do I even have any real estate investment tied to my name?  

Whichever way you want to look at it, buying a dream car is a luxury that very few people can afford, so if you don’t belong in the 1% of the 1%, start saving and investing. Who knows, one day, you just may be able to afford your Porsche Cayenne.