Trying to finally get my first Muscle Car

Trying to finally get my first Muscle Car - I’m nervous

Bill Crowell said
"The GF giveth, and the GF taketh away"

No disrespect intended; this is supposed to be helpful advice: if you have to ask your GF for her permission to spend the money the way you want, what happens if you put a lot of time and money into the car, and then she decides it's costing too much? Do you have to get rid of it then? I know your mileage may vary from mine, but you can't have a wife or GF calling the shots when you're trying to restore a car because they're not a stakeholder. They're not paying for it, and they're not doing the work. That's why I always tell car guys they've got to keep their wives and GFs in their place: out of the garage and out of the financial decision-making process. I don't play the "good provider" game, wherein the guy has to make all the money but his wife gets to decide how to spend it.

And maybe that's why I'm single, but I wouldn't have any of the nice things I've got if I had to run every financial decision past my woman. But I would have granite countertops instead. Just food for thought.

That’s exactly why you’re single. It’s also why if you search “divorce” on here you get a whole ton of hits.

If you want your car hobby and your relationship to work long term, it’s best not to separate them. Just builds animosity. Yeah, you shouldn’t need “approval” for every decision you make, but you should have the respect to involve your significant other in large decisions that will effect you both. It’s about trust and respect. Buying a car is a big decision, old or new. Even if the money isn’t an issue.

Demonracer said
I guess I got lucky with my spouse. She has no problems with me & my race car, as long as I don't use household funds to finance my habit. I use my swap meet funds & part time employment to finance my habit. Sometimes we have to dip into "my" funds is something unexpected comes up, but that's rare. When we do have to use some of the race car fund, she makes sure that the money gets back ASAP. She also enjoys bracket racing because she can identify with the cars being raced.

See, that’s how it’s supposed to work. You communicated, established boundaries, and work together. If you stick to the plan you don’t need any hand holding, and if something comes up you discuss it. Heck it’s almost like you trust each other.

I have a similar arrangement. I pay for all of my projects out of “my” money (we have our own accounts). As long as the bills I’m responsible for get paid and I don’t dip into the savings account we keep for the house and emergency expenses I have pretty free reign usually. Currently I’m on a bit of a “new project” moratorium, but that’s because I have like a dozen cars so I did that to myself.