Many financial paths for sure, and it also depends on where you are at in your life. I've got two kids to put through college and I'm still trying to use compounding interest and returns to their biggest benefit. If I were older and less interested in growing and investing as I am now, I might want to have stuff all paid off so I just don't have to think about making payments on anything. We'll see when that time comes.

Everybody could have gotten 3% mortgages though, the mortgage rates were in the 3s for a long time...you just had to take advantage of them.

 

When I said "not bad", I was using a figure of speech. Yes, by today's standards it is excellent. But not long ago, I can remember when my bank actually had mortgage rates under 3%..but, of course, the Prime Rate was almost down to 0%, and you essentially got nothing on your CDs. Either way, high or low interest rate, I'm glad that I don't have to fool with a mortgage at all.

 

If I had to choose between a dirt cheap mortgage or being able to earn more on CD's, I'll take the dirt cheap mortgage all day because I don't use CD's as an investment vehicle most of the time anyway. Outside of my 1 year emergency fund, I keep everything in index funds. They've been growing well over 10% per year. Last year was exceptional at almost 30% growth.

 

Yes, I have only a few CDs. I don't depend on a lot of them because, unlike municipal bond/fund investments, what interest you get is taxable. I only mentioned it because, obviously, the less banks charge for mortgages and car-loans, the less they can pay out on CDs and savings-accounts..that's simple math.

 

Anyhow, back on topic, has anyone here in Car Chat actually bought a new Toyota directly from the factory, and by-passed the dealership?

 

Can't do it, they don't sell them that way

 

Isn't that the basic subject of the thread, though...the corporation selling directly to customers? Also, not every other country may have the same franchise-laws as the U.S., an/or the individual franchise-laws of the 50 states.

 

As has been said many times in this thread the video posted is just clickbait and isn't real.