I have money I want to invest/pay off bills, like my wife’s car. Everyone tells me don’t worry about the car as our interest rate is 3% and I’d make more money investing. But I hate payments and that $400 could go into stocks every month instead. I can’t invest a lot but an extra 400 would be huge.

This advice is simply “do not pay interest on things, pay cash.” And that’s fine advice, but not entirely realistic. My car loan is 2.9%. That’s practically free.

Buying cash is good but also make sure you buy an appropriate car. I paid full cash for my car but i didnt have money to eat for a few days. Admittedly should have bought a cheaper car.

Buy the car or truck according to your needs for transportation and is not more than half you annual income…if possible. In mid life with family, I needed a commuter to do 20-24k miles a year with 99% reliability. And was able to finance new vehicles and drive for 8-10 years. Working from home and live in metro setting, I walk, ride bikes, and keep a car to drive to for recreation or visit friends within an hour, twice a month. Road trips or business, I rent.

Yes, it is typically a better deal to pay all cash. However, if you want to build up your credit score, car payment is one of the ways to do so without breaking the bank. Of course, if you should negotiate for a good rate, not to pay 10% of interest.