Can you afford it?

[Phine00Del]

My wife and I subscribe to the belief that if you cannot pay for something in full 100% at the time of purchase, then you cannot afford the item. This is true for cars, electronics, furniture, etc... Anything beyond a standard mortgage on a home.

We save up and pay for our stuff. As a result, we actually have money in our accounts instead of charging everything on a credit card and then making payments to the bank every month.

This philosophy helps us make more reasonable decisions about our purchases. It makes me ask the question "Do I want iPad 2, or will my old one be good enough until iPad 3 or iPad 4 comes out?"

Personally, unless a disaster happens and my iPad gets broken somehow, I'm holding off for iPad 3. However, to answer the original question, when that day comes, we will simply pay for it in cash because we do not believe in consumer debt.

+1.

 

[Fataliya]

My husband and I are very fortunate to both be Blackjack Dealers for the only casino in my state. We make very good money, and since we don't go out and party, we shop, lol. We live on cash. We have no credit cards, so if we want something (other than our minivan to tote the 5 kids around in), we pay cash. We also get paid weekly, so that helps too.

 

[sjleworthy]

i think peeps obviously have they're own take on credit cards.

i'm more than happy using mine, as long as it's still in it's interest free period.
if i had to wait until i could pay cash outright for anything i'd never have anything

 

[Wolfpuppies3]

Cash only

If I can't afford the purchase price on something, my home excluded, I simply save longer. That's the no surprise at the end of the month plan.

 

[dmaul1114]

If I can't afford the purchase price on something, my home excluded, I simply save longer. That's the no surprise at the end of the month plan.

But, for the gazillionith time, many of us use credit cards despite having plenty of cash in the bank as we want the reward points.

Same difference paying with cash or paying with the card and paying the balance in full each month as there's no interest charged. Difference is I earn a few hundred dollars in rewards every year, while those of you who pay cash/debit do not.

And I agree people shouldn't use credit cards to buy things they can't afford to pay for right now. With the exception of the 2-3 year no interest deals--but even then those should be done with caution if you don't have a secure job etc. as they'll take on the interest for the WHOLE period if something happens and you can't pay it off by then.

But if you have a secure job then it's not a bad idea as you can leave money earning interest in the bank rather than giving it all to the store all at once for a big purchase.

 

[chiffchaff]

If I can't afford the purchase price on something, my home excluded, I simply save longer. That's the no surprise at the end of the month plan.

But, for the gazillionith time, many of us use credit cards despite having plenty of cash in the bank as we want the reward points.

Same difference paying with cash or paying with the card and paying the balance in full each month as there's no interest charged. Difference is I earn a few hundred dollars in rewards every year, while those of you who pay cash/debit do not.

True, in fact I just got the 2010 dividend on purchases made with my card and it came to a little over $400. I pay in full every month and there is no annual fee, so basically I'm getting paid to use the card. Just saying that managed responsibly, cards aren't always a bad thing.

 

[dmaul1114]

Just saying that managed responsibly, cards aren't always a bad thing.

Absolutely. I made around $600 last year. Got it in Amazon credit as I do most of my non-grocery/toiletry/clothing shopping with them.

But I could have got the same in cash. Only difference is frequency of awards. I can request an Amazon $25 GC after 2,500 points, or a check for $50 every 5,000 point.

 

[GUSHandGO]

I'm 30 years old... and my wife & I have no kids. Apparently that really frees up the cash, according to my friends who are our age, and have multiple kids, some close to their teenage years now. They really complain a lot about how expensive their kids are.

We send them postcards when we're on vacation. Once I get my iPad, I'll just email them pictures.

 

[dmaul1114]

I'm 30 years old... and my wife & I have no kids. Apparently that really frees up the cash, according to my friends who are our age, and have multiple kids, some close to their teenage years now. They really complain a lot about how expensive their kids are.

We send them postcards when we're on vacation. Once I get my iPad, I'll just email them pictures.

Same. Though I haven't married my girlfiend yet. But yes, not having kids saves a TON of money.

Estimates tend to hover around $250K per kid from birth to college graduation for a middle class family when you factor in food, diapers, clothing, toys, insurance for dependents, college education etc. etc.

 

[GUSHandGO]

Same. Though I haven't married my girlfiend yet. But yes, not having kids saves a TON of money.

Estimates tend to hover around $250K per kid from birth to college graduation for a middle class family when you factor in food, diapers, clothing, toys, insurance for dependents, college education etc. etc.

A lot of my friends with kids say to my wife and I, "Man... you guys do so much cool stuff... you travel, you go to movies, you go out to eat, you [insert things parents with small children find difficult to do]. I wish we could do that."

They act as though we tricked fate or something. We just didn't have kids when we were 20 years old. We'll probably have some one day... who knows. For now, I kind of dig this lifestyle.

 

[tzimisce]

Here's a simple calculation of how I've redeemed my credit card loyalty points.

1. Total accrued spending in one year = $35,000
2. Credit card rewards points earned = 52,000 (1.5 points per $1 spent)
3. Transfer rewards points to airline loyalty program = 63,000 (online 20% bonus redemption offer)
4. Accumulate two years' worth of points = 126,000
5. Redemption cost for a pair of standard award transpacific business class tickets = 120,000 pts

The cash value of the same air tickets is about $15,000. This translates to an average of $7,500 worth of air travel redeemable per year, just on one credit card. (As mentioned elsewhere, it pays to do your homework for card rewards and loyalty points.)

 

[epb]

They act as though we tricked fate or something. We just didn't have kids when we were 20 years old. We'll probably have some one day... who knows. For now, I kind of dig this lifestyle.

I get that a lot, especially as a 40-something bachelor. When my friends were married, everyone was trying to fix me up. Now the divorces are starting and I'm hearing how I was a genius. The only real trick was confining my high maintenance relationships to sports cars.

 

[Jachrist]

I have the cash for the 16 gb, but I was first in line at best buy. I splurged on the 32gb and put it on the best buy cc. "no interest for 18 months" will allow me to get the better ipad now, and pay it off completely by June 1st.

As a side note, this is the only CC I have (out of 5) that I will be carrying a balance on at the end of the month. I understand the concern of people who screwed their own lives up with credit cards, but just because they did it doesn't mean everyone will. Using CC and paying the balance off every months is an awesome way to build credit at a young age. Its almost vital anymore to have at least one credit card to use when necessary.

 

[Esonera]

I have the cash for the 16 gb, but I was first in line at best buy. I splurged on the 32gb and put it on the best buy cc. "no interest for 18 months" will allow me to get the better ipad now, and pay it off completely by June 1st.

As a side note, this is the only CC I have (out of 5) that I will be carrying a balance on at the end of the month. I understand the concern of people who screwed their own lives up with credit cards, but just because they did it doesn't mean everyone will. Using CC and paying the balance off every months is an awesome way to build credit at a young age. Its almost vital anymore to have at least one credit card to use when necessary.

Caballo si tienes lOs chavos para comprarte el carote deja de quejarte y compratelo

 

[qnet]

I'm single with no kids, have a decent job and, a business on the side. I get most of my stuff from savings, then replenish it over time.; sort of like paying myself. I used the money from the sale of my Ipad 1 to pay for part of the Ipad 2 so, that helped.