The Average Car Payment Is $765 a Month. How Much Enbridge Stock Do You Actually Need to Pay Your Car Payment Every Month?

New cars have been uncomfortably expensive for a while now. Thanks to now-higher interest rates, however, payments on new automobiles have reached wildly high levels. Credit bureau Experian reports that the average payment on a new car stands at a shocking $765 per month.

For most households, buying a vehicle now means some pretty creative money management.

Here's an idea: Although it's certainly not what most people intended for their investment portfolios, why not use higher-yielding dividend stocks to help cover at least some of the cost of financing a new car?

Oil and gas pipeline operator Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) is a prime candidate. Its trailing dividend yield stands at 6%, based on a quarterly payment of $0.97 per share, or $3.88 per year. If you wanted to cover the entire monthly payment of $765 for a new car, you'd need nearly 2,366 shares of ENB, which would yield the $9,180 you'd need on a yearly basis to cover this cost. At today's prices, that's just over $109,000 worth of Enbridge stock.

Again, this isn't something that most investors were anticipating they might need to even consider doing just a few years ago. Desperate times call for creative thinking, though. At least with this scenario, you have the benefit of owning a stock that's now raised its annual dividend payout for 31 consecutive years.

The one idea that might not help as much as it has in the past? That's buying a used car. While they are cheaper, they're not leaps and bounds cheaper anymore. Experian's numbers say the monthly payment on the typical used car stands at $542. You'd still need 1,676 shares of Enbridge to cover these payments, which is nearly $77,500 worth of the stock at its price right now.

This arguably isn't the best all-around idea for actually funding the purchase of a new automobile, particularly if this money is earmarked for retirement.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool recommends Experian Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.