At first I was a little surprised that most everyone on this thread was so financially responsible, but after thinking about it for a minute it makes sense for a few reasons:
1. Average age on mtbr is in the 40s I believe which tend to be more responsible and have more disposable income.
2. Anyone admitting to paying with a credit card then skipping payments (or making interest only payments) is going to get lambasted by the responsible guys.
3. Just because someone pays cash for a bike doesn't automatically mean he's being finacially responsible. He may be skipping other bills or not paying his child support, etc.
Having said that, it's good to see that folks are being financially responsible with non-essential expenses.
I make good money but we live on a strict budget. Live debt free including our house, have 6 months emergency fund saved, medical fund, pay cash for everything including cars. etc. (Yes we are
Dave Ramsey disciples) I only allow myself $400 a month for my bike habit, including bike trips. It's tough sometimes but I stick to it.
So buying a new bike takes some patience and planning. For my latest bike purchase I sold off or parted out my two main bikes and saved my monthly bike allowance for 3-4 months and I'll have enough when the new Chilcotin comes in March (amazing how much easier it is to save the bike allowance when there's no bikes in the garage to spend money on:thumbsup
.