Investing vs consuming... where to draw the line

[Ricky Cassidy]

I own a 2004 pickup truck with 175000 miles. I just took it to the shop to get a repair quote. It’s about $2000 for the main repair. There are a few other smaller things that need repair as well.

I have the cash to buy a new/used truck but I know that money should and can be used in smarter ways.

The consumer side of me is trying to justify the purchase because I own and operate a small construction company “and I need something bigger for work anyway...”

The investor in me wants to use the money to create a return... letting our money work for us.

How do you guys make these difficult decisions and if you were in my shoes what would you do with 30k right now?

Quick background. I have around 110,000.00 in cash.

No debt. Emergency fund in place. But I recently went full time working for myself (I was working a w2 as I grew my business). I do not own a home, I rent for a very reasonable price. I have a feeling a large percentage of people will say I should house hack.

I’m being told by a lender, they will use the average of my business income for the last 2 years. I only claimed around 10k in 2019. After deductions, 2020 should be around 100k.

So the average of 2 years will only be around 50k considering they will not use my w2 sense I’ve recently left.

Thanks.