I hear you on the car payment thing. We are lucky enough to be quite happy with our 05 Yukon that we paid cash for last year. I think the kids would like us to have a new vehicle, but they aren't the ones paying $1000+ per month for a loan payment. So far with any repairs and insurance, we have got about 25000 km/ 15500 miles and a year of driving out of it for less than $10000, and it's still in great shape.

When they become adults, I imagine having what their friends have won't be as important. If we do our jobs, that is.