I worked hard, own cars from rice to luxury, to boosted cars. since age of 18. started out with:

1992 honda accord ( riced out home painted side skirts and shit. lol )
1999 4 door integra ( $9k eclipse stereo system ) installed by me
1999 honda accord ( riced out with the whole black widow 2 kit back in 2000 and NOS )
1994 EG hatch ( stock )
2002 IS 300 ( big stereo system. 4 tv's in them and a lip kit. )
2004 acura TL ( when it first came out, 20's on them )
1995 integra GSR ( built by shop, and boosted by me )
1996 ek hatch ( sold )
1997 ek hatch ( currently working on it with a K20. WIll be sleeved and built to 2.2 and boost by me )

i do most of the work myself to save money. after awhile, you will gain knowledge and do most of it yourself. I have already invested $11k in snap on tools in the past 4 months.