Doesn''t anyone pay cash anymore???

[ladykemma]

Date: 11/19/2006 5:22:02 AM
Author: Galateia

Date: 11/17/2006 6:41:45 PM
Author: ladykemma
cash only. i tend to buy ''used'' anyway. it''s against my personal beliefs/religion anyway (lapsed mormon) to be in debt. i love and use layaway.


there was a woman on here about six months ago who was crying that she couldn''t afford to pay her bills and was planning bankruptcy, yet she was planning her next upgrade! she has serious bling on her fingers. wow was that an ulcer inducing thread.


psers were trying to get her to pay her bills, instead of declaring bankruptcy and buying diamonds on credit that she was planning in advance to default on.

Man oh man, that was some thread.

I''ve always wondered why it was deleted, especially since there was some very good cost-saving advice on there.

op asked the mods to delete it.

 

[perry]

I have my rules on what I will incure long term credit debt on: Major house items, New Vehicle, and Major Medical (what insurance will not cover).

I am within a month of paying off 44,000+ from credit card debt from when I was minimally employed or did not have medical insurance.

However, I just borrowed $9000 for a new home heating boiler and hot water system. So, in another month I will only be paying off the house and that boiler.

When buying other things - and jewelry would fall into this: It would be cash - or the ability to pay it off in a few months as sometimes timing can be important - or bring savings if you find "a deal."

I cannot comprehend spending many thousands of dollars on an e-ring or other jewelry and putting it on a couple hundred dollar (or less) a month payment plan. Yet, you are right that many in popular culture do so. Heck they fill up their entire house with items like that: Computer, TV, Furnature, Vehicles.


Perry

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 11/17/2006 2:27:14 PM
Author: Christa
From what I''ve seen, the huge majority of people who post on PS pay cash for their jewelry and discourage other posters from going into debt for diamonds.

I agree. There was a thread in LIW and it seemed most FIs paid in cash. There were a few that put it on a cc for points but then paid it off in full. My DH paid for my e-ring in cash as well.

I think people make different choices in life and only they know what is right for them.

 

[Phoenix]

NO WAY we would buy diamonds on credit !

!!! DH recenty paid cash for his 10th wedding anniversary present to me - a 3 carat plus, F VS2, excellent cut RB diamond). I''d wanted an upgrade for years but waited ''til we had the cash to pay for it.

We pay cash for most things and only use credit cards for mileage and always always pay off the balance in full at the end of every month. The only debt we have is the mortgage on our house and we fully intend to pay that off asap.

We never have and never would buy luxury items on credit ...no sense in buying something non-essential on credit (let''s face it, things like diamonds are not necessities, but luxuries) . In fact, we avoid using credit whenever and wherever possible and we absolute hate having debt in any form, no matter how big or small.

I believe PS''ers have never encouraged anyone to buy their diamonds on credit. That would be downright irresponsible.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I think that we have a credit culture . . . a lot of people don''t think twice about carrying a credit card debt. Think of all the Pay Day Loan places and ads to get people to take out loans against their mortgages.

I don''t feel right judging someone who wants sparkly bling and can''t afford to pay the whole bill immediately. I am lucky to have the means to pay for things with money in the bank (sounds funny to say "in cash" because I doubt anyone actually paid cash for their ring), but a lot of people don''t. Does that mean they have to wear some tiny speck of diamond dust until they can afford something bigger? Well, that''s up to them.

I don''t personally believe in financing an automobile because they depreciate the second you drive them off the lot, but a lot of people do that. Just like with our cars, some of us just *want* diamonds that we can''t afford in full at the moment. Perhaps the car or the diamonds are part of an image to go along with our profession and will reap more rewards down the road. In some professions, if you have a crappy car or small diamond, people will think you''re not good enough at what you do to afford them. (Luckily this does not apply to public school teachers!)

It just seems like 20 somethings today expect to have everything their parents had later in life . . . nice house, nice cars, nice things, nice vacations. But our parents had to earn these things. So many college grads have huge student debt and rather than cutting back or chipping away at the debt, they rack up more debt.

DH and I overheard some college students talking the other day. One girl said, "When I was in Europe this summer, I maxed out my credit card. It turned out the limit was only $500."

Another girl said, "Oh, I don''t think my card has a limit. Is it possible for it not to have one?"

A third girl said, "I don''t know, does that mean you pay your own credit card bill? I don''t. I don''t even know what mine is each month."

Boy, when these girls graduate, they''ll be charging a $50k engagement ring before you know it!

 

[Sparkster]

FI paid cash for my $8,000 ring. We could afford to buy it. It may seem like a large amount of money for a ring but I was in my 30s and FI was in his 40s, so it was not like we were young cash strapped kids.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 11/19/2006 4:26:33 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
I don''t feel right judging someone who wants sparkly bling and can''t afford to pay the whole bill immediately.

HA! I know ... let''s ALSO start judging people who take out home equity loans to "bling out" their already servicable kitchens with stainless appliances & granite countertops etc etc.. That''s putting your HOUSE on the line for "bling" that only gets recouped if you SELL the place ... but somehow that''s more socially acceptable. Or how ''bout LEASING a car you couldn''t afford to BUY ... is that "smart" or "throwing $ away". Depends, right?

Everyone has their own priorities ... stones, glass houses ... we should all know the drill by now.

 

[poptart]

I really admire people who pay everything upfront with cash, and this is a habit that my DH and I are definitely trying to get into. He is currently paying off one loan for a car, and I am paying off a credit card from wedding stuff, but it isn''t an overwhelming amount, even when combined. I think the problem with young college students is that they don''t know how to manage it because no one ever taught them. In my high school we took a government class which also included a little bit of financial management, and it was SO helpful. If parents are allowing their children to have credit cards during college, then the kids need to pay them off, no questions asked. Parents can''t expect kids to learn without making them take responsibility. That''s when these fresh college grads start paying 50K for an engagement ring, and incurring years of debt, as someone already said!

*M*

 

[codex57]

Date: 11/19/2006 5:26:28 PM
Author: decodelighted

HA! I know ... let''s ALSO start judging people who take out home equity loans to ''bling out'' their already servicable kitchens with stainless appliances & granite countertops etc etc..

Err, around here, there are a lot of people who take out home equity loans to buy plasma TVs and new cars. Stuff that doesn''t go with the house if it ever gets sold. Now that''s moronic.

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 11/19/2006 7:06:24 PM
Author: codex57

Date: 11/19/2006 5:26:28 PM
Author: decodelighted
HA! I know ... let''s ALSO start judging people who take out home equity loans to ''bling out'' their already servicable kitchens with stainless appliances & granite countertops etc etc..

Err, around here, there are a lot of people who take out home equity loans to buy plasma TVs and new cars. Stuff that doesn''t go with the house if it ever gets sold.

If the housing market keeps dropping ... those plasma TV''s and cars might actually HAVE TO "GO" with their houses ... as *incentives* to the buyer to beef up the home''s deflated "value" enough to cover the outstanding mortgage(es).

There was a New York magazine article recently that said it''s the first time since the early 90s when it''s possible to LOSE money on a Manhattan apt.

 

[Aurelia]

My fiance paid with credit to bump up our frequent flyer miles... then paid the balance in full the following night from our savings account...

so um, for 24 hours it was un-paid for... but hey, the miles were worth it!

Aurelia

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 11/17/2006 4:09:08 PM
Author: anchor31
My main condition when we started talking about engagement and a ring was that he paid cash for it. Whether it was expensive or not didn''t matter, but under no circumstances was he to go into debt for it. I even wanted his credit card to be paid off before he picked up the ring and was ready to wait for it. My FI used to have bad spending habits, no bad credit because he always paid the minimum, but his cc was never empty and he barely had any extra in case anything happened. Thankfully, saving up for my ring helped him learn to have heathier spending habits! It took him 6 months to save up for my ring, and he''s very proud to have made this effort for me. I''m very proud of him taking control of his money!

As for the wedding, my parents are offering to pay for half of it and I already have the other half put away especially. Not bad for a 21-year-old college student (my tuition fees are only 1k per term, so I have to say that helps...)!

J is now saving towards a downpayment on a house we''d like to make in 2-3 years.

It''s so GREAT that your FI changed his saving/spending habits by being motivated to buy your ering. What a special memory this will be. And a great start to your marriage.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 11/19/2006 4:26:33 PM
Author: phoenixgirl

It just seems like 20 somethings today expect to have everything their parents had later in life . . . nice house, nice cars, nice things, nice vacations. But our parents had to earn these things. So many college grads have huge student debt and rather than cutting back or chipping away at the debt, they rack up more debt.

DH and I overheard some college students talking the other day. One girl said, ''When I was in Europe this summer, I maxed out my credit card. It turned out the limit was only $500.''

Another girl said, ''Oh, I don''t think my card has a limit. Is it possible for it not to have one?''

A third girl said, ''I don''t know, does that mean you pay your own credit card bill? I don''t. I don''t even know what mine is each month.''

Boy, when these girls graduate, they''ll be charging a $50k engagement ring before you know it!

Well I remember talking with one of my college friends right after graduation about how we were used to living at our parents MONEY level and now it was hard to adjust to being so low down. We knew that we were at the bottom. I don''t think either of our sets of parents had to tell us this. Probably because we paid our own credit cards in college. LOL

No seriously it''s probably because the economy was so BAD when we graduated that we had to live very cheaply. No good jobs were out there. In talking with a younger friend she EXPECTED to walk out of college and make TONS of money. So some younger people budget on those expectations. Us older folks remember tougher times.

 

[kcoursolle]

Cash only here, and if that means waiting for the diamond size and upgrading later I''m fine with it. Besides, the bank wire discount is always nice.

 

[poptart]

Date: 11/20/2006 2:46:16 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Well I remember talking with one of my college friends right after graduation about how we were used to living at our parents MONEY level and now it was hard to adjust to being so low down. We knew that we were at the bottom. I don''t think either of our sets of parents had to tell us this. Probably because we paid our own credit cards in college. LOL

No seriously it''s probably because the economy was so BAD when we graduated that we had to live very cheaply. No good jobs were out there. In talking with a younger friend she EXPECTED to walk out of college and make TONS of money. So some younger people budget on those expectations. Us older folks remember tougher times.

This, right here, is EXACTLY what I am terrified of when I graduate. My husband makes the majority of the money even though I have a part time job, but when I am done with school in May I have this eternal fear that my salary will be so minimal that we won''t know how to work with it... ick.

*M*

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 11/20/2006 3:52:07 PM
Author: poptart

Date: 11/20/2006 2:46:16 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Well I remember talking with one of my college friends right after graduation about how we were used to living at our parents MONEY level and now it was hard to adjust to being so low down. We knew that we were at the bottom. I don''t think either of our sets of parents had to tell us this. Probably because we paid our own credit cards in college. LOL

No seriously it''s probably because the economy was so BAD when we graduated that we had to live very cheaply. No good jobs were out there. In talking with a younger friend she EXPECTED to walk out of college and make TONS of money. So some younger people budget on those expectations. Us older folks remember tougher times.

This, right here, is EXACTLY what I am terrified of when I graduate. My husband makes the majority of the money even though I have a part time job, but when I am done with school in May I have this eternal fear that my salary will be so minimal that we won''t know how to work with it... ick.

*M*

You''ll be OK After all you won''t be paying tuition and you''ll be bringing in some money. That''s a GAIN! Plus we can all pray that the economy will be good for you in May.

What type of degree are you getting?

 

[poptart]

Date: 11/20/2006 8:54:46 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Date: 11/20/2006 3:52:07 PM
Author: poptart

Date: 11/20/2006 2:46:16 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Well I remember talking with one of my college friends right after graduation about how we were used to living at our parents MONEY level and now it was hard to adjust to being so low down. We knew that we were at the bottom. I don''t think either of our sets of parents had to tell us this. Probably because we paid our own credit cards in college. LOL

No seriously it''s probably because the economy was so BAD when we graduated that we had to live very cheaply. No good jobs were out there. In talking with a younger friend she EXPECTED to walk out of college and make TONS of money. So some younger people budget on those expectations. Us older folks remember tougher times.

This, right here, is EXACTLY what I am terrified of when I graduate. My husband makes the majority of the money even though I have a part time job, but when I am done with school in May I have this eternal fear that my salary will be so minimal that we won''t know how to work with it... ick.

*M*

You''ll be OK After all you won''t be paying tuition and you''ll be bringing in some money. That''s a GAIN! Plus we can all pray that the economy will be good for you in May.

What type of degree are you getting?

You are definitely right about tuition. Scholarships at my school are a joke. For example, I have been on the dean''s list every semester and my old school had a scholarship for this, but not my current one! Goodness. Also, I am an English major (with an emphasis in creative writing), and I am planning on working in a publishing firm, because I like editing (yes, I''m aware this is odd, haha). Luckily I just got my Strong Interest Inventory back and it gave me some good ideas and companies to work with, so I''m hopin''!

*M*

 

[anchor31]

Date: 11/20/2006 2:24:04 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Date: 11/17/2006 4:09:08 PM
Author: anchor31
My main condition when we started talking about engagement and a ring was that he paid cash for it. Whether it was expensive or not didn''t matter, but under no circumstances was he to go into debt for it. I even wanted his credit card to be paid off before he picked up the ring and was ready to wait for it. My FI used to have bad spending habits, no bad credit because he always paid the minimum, but his cc was never empty and he barely had any extra in case anything happened. Thankfully, saving up for my ring helped him learn to have heathier spending habits! It took him 6 months to save up for my ring, and he''s very proud to have made this effort for me. I''m very proud of him taking control of his money!

As for the wedding, my parents are offering to pay for half of it and I already have the other half put away especially. Not bad for a 21-year-old college student (my tuition fees are only 1k per term, so I have to say that helps...)!

J is now saving towards a downpayment on a house we''d like to make in 2-3 years.

It''s so GREAT that your FI changed his saving/spending habits by being motivated to buy your ering. What a special memory this will be. And a great start to your marriage.

Thank you! We''ve learned a lot about ourselves and each other during my time as a LIW, the transformation is pretty amazing. I''m really glad that he now has a "paying cash later" mindset now instead of "I want it now, so I''ll just put in on my cc and pay it later"...

phoenixgirl - What I see around me in college is scary!

I see a lot of students wasting their loans in clothes and alcohol, it''s horrible.

 

[the other Jake]

Date: 11/19/2006 5:35:28 PM
Author: poptart
I really admire people who pay everything upfront with cash, and this is a habit that my DH and I are definitely trying to get into. He is currently paying off one loan for a car, and I am paying off a credit card from wedding stuff, but it isn''t an overwhelming amount, even when combined. I think the problem with young college students is that they don''t know how to manage it because no one ever taught them. In my high school we took a government class which also included a little bit of financial management, and it was SO helpful. If parents are allowing their children to have credit cards during college, then the kids need to pay them off, no questions asked. Parents can''t expect kids to learn without making them take responsibility. That''s when these fresh college grads start paying 50K for an engagement ring, and incurring years of debt, as someone already said!

*M*

Do you have a link to that ring? I wanna see it

 

[poptart]

Date: 11/21/2006 7:56:08 PM
Author: the other Jake

Date: 11/19/2006 5:35:28 PM
Author: poptart
I really admire people who pay everything upfront with cash, and this is a habit that my DH and I are definitely trying to get into. He is currently paying off one loan for a car, and I am paying off a credit card from wedding stuff, but it isn''t an overwhelming amount, even when combined. I think the problem with young college students is that they don''t know how to manage it because no one ever taught them. In my high school we took a government class which also included a little bit of financial management, and it was SO helpful. If parents are allowing their children to have credit cards during college, then the kids need to pay them off, no questions asked. Parents can''t expect kids to learn without making them take responsibility. That''s when these fresh college grads start paying 50K for an engagement ring, and incurring years of debt, as someone already said!

*M*

Do you have a link to that ring? I wanna see it

I wish, haha.

*M*

 

[erica k]

I wonder if the people who DO finance their diamonds are keeping quiet because of the high level of expectation/morals expressed in this thread. Well, I don''t think I''m representative of those college girls wanting $50,000 rings, nor am I someone who needs to justify credit card use by clarifying that it was used for points and the balance was paid immediately.
I''m a 26 year old PhD student in architectural history. My partner just started a Masters in Architecture program at my university. We both have about 4 years to go before we''re on the job market. My partner has taken out federal loans for both tuition and living expenses, and I "earn" about $20,000 in grants from my school and other institutions. I went to a private college and now have about $10,000 in loans that have been deferred until I obtain my doctorate. With the help of my parents, we bought a condo in Cambridge, MA, which isn''t the cheapest place to live. Our mortgage roughly equals a typical lease ($1800/month).
I have a lot of credit card debt. ALL of it is my own fault. I have a love of fashion and have charged too many things and am now paying for it through high interest rates. My parents raised me to avoid the credit card, since they are immigrants who had to put their plane tickets here on a card and only after 20 years of hard work were able to free themselves of debt. They taught me to balance my checkbook and save money for special purchases. Somewhere along the way, my spending got out of control. I don''t want to use my longterm depression and anxiety as a crutch, but I have definitely developed the bad attitude that only material things will make me feel better, especially after I''ve spent another 10 hour day in the library working on my dissertation.
Honestly, I was never interested in jewelry until we decided to marry. I was one of those people against diamonds but finally decided to get a Canadian diamond from a jeweler who donates money to African and Burmese NGOs. I also decided on a recycled gold band, in order to avoid the question of mining ethics. It was after my wedding that I discovered pricescope and have become quite interested in all the information and help offered on this site.
This is why I''m sorry to see that so many members are taking the high ground on this issue. There are many reasons why someone will go into debt. I don''t think that debt is ultimately a good thing considering these banks and financial institutions "own" the things you purchase until you pay your balance. But I''m not sure one should look down on people with debt as if they are frivolous and lazy. Yes, it''s a problem that people my age have higher standards of living than they actually can afford. But it''s also difficult when all my i-banker friends are making $500,000 a year on the same education I obtained. Keeping up appearances is bad, and I''ve come to realize this over the past year as I assessed my finances.
That said, my lovely partner put my .52 ct. solitaire and wedding band on his credit card. I don''t think it''s paid off yet, but I imagine it will be someday, maybe in 5 or 6 years when he''s actually working rather than concentrating on school. Anyone who is familiar with M.Arch. programs know that it''s almost impossible to take a part-time job during your first two years, especially at a high-pressure school like ours (he spends about 10 hours in studio every day, and 6 hours on Sat. and Sun.). It''s like med/law school, but the payoff will be much less financially, unless of course you go the nonprofit route in medicine or law.
So, the wedding set cost about $4,800 (I know, peanuts in pricescope-speak). I admit, I shouldn''t have asked for a wedding band with diamonds, but I was turning into a raccoon in love with shiny things during this period.
But really, all I want to say is that one shouldn''t be too quick to judge in any circumstance. When I look at my rings, all I can think is how wonderful my partner is for trying to give me something I wanted even though he knew he wouldn''t have any disposable income for at least four years. Yes, it''s too bad that he had to use a credit card, but he''s an extremely frugal person (unlike me, thank god!) and was willing to do this even though he really dislikes carrying a balance. This was the only solution we could think of aside from asking my parents to buy the ring (they were paying for the wedding. my mom has a .25 ct. that she has never upgraded, but she wanted me to have something bigger). Sure, we could have decided to wait on the ring and bought simple gold bands, but at the time i thought it was important. Someday we''ll be working real jobs. But, I know we''ll never be wealthy enough to buy something really amazing because we''ll have children and mortgages and other things to worry about on our meagre academic job salaries (apparently architects are some of the lowest paid professionals, and my husband wants to pursue a PhD after his Masters, so that means 7 more years of $20,000 yearly stipends for him, and maybe $50,000 if I can find an associate professor position somehwere). I wanted to get something I liked that I could be happy with for a long time, rather than sulking, which I knew I would do, even though I have no right to be dissatisfied since I''m so poor (right?).
So, to summarize our situation: Until I''m about 40, our family (we''re hoping for children, maybe two), will be subsisting on $50,000-$60,000 a year. My 20s have not been spent well, so far. I am trying to rectify my past mistakes by living on a strict budget of pb&j sandwiches and no more new clothes (except underwear, of course) or shoes until my cards are paid off (believe me, I have so much clothing, and all of it is very nice, I don''t need to buy anything as long as I don''t change sizes, and on my pitiful diet, I doubt it''ll happen). I don''t want to condone extravagent purchases like $20,000 financed diamond rings, but I wanted to speak up for people who know they won''t be making decent wage for a long long time yet still want some of the nicer things in life. I was raised to appreciate high quality things. The problem is, I''ve bought too many of them, and now I''m paying for it. I don''t consider my wedding-set to be excessive. Certainly it was more than we could afford, but I love wearing my rings because they always make me think of my partner. Along with all those cross-country plane tickets from the two years we were living apart, these rings are the only things I am ok with on his or my credit card bill. I wish we had more money, but we''ve chosen careers that are less than lucrative. Maybe I shouldn''t be allowed to have diamonds because I can''t afford them, and certainly they are a luxury item. But, I love having my little fiery diamond, and I think the day we pay it off will be a very happy day. Until then, it keeps me company and makes me smile.

 

[tawn]

Unfortunately, we''ve noticed a trend where "salespeople" are completely amazed when we''re actually paying cash for *big* ticket items! Apparently, people (our age especially) who pay in cash are few and far between...

The Volkswagen dealer just couldn''t seem to comprehend the fact that I was going to run over to the bank and get a cashier''s check to pay in full for my new 2007 Jetta! They seemed sceptical about me actually coming back with the money...which I did about an hour later. They even seemed unsure of how to handle the title since it wouldn''t be going to a lienholder!

Same thing when my husband bought his new tank...er, truck recently. They asked us if we could put down $2-3K, and were amazed when we put down $20K instead. My husband also bought a new dirtbike (to go w/truck) and paid cash which was just bit over 6K. Our neighbor financed his, and is going to end up paying almost 9K for that bike in the end...and it will almost be time for a new one by the time it''s paid off! I told my hubby he was lucky we had the $$, because there is no way in h*ll that I would finance a dirtbike and he would have still been riding his old one!

We made our share of bad financial decisions in our twenties, but fortunately our real estate decisions paid off so we''re all good now!

Live and Learn!!

 

[Kit]

Tawn,

I hope you don''t take this the wrong way because I am really impressed by and have a lot of respect for people who can work hard and do well financially. But the reality is, people like you and your DH ARE few and far between. The median household income in the US is something like $45k annually. And, income in real dollars has declined over the past few years due to falling wages. Not many people have tens of thousands of dollars just sitting in the bank. Clearly you have done well for yourselves but you are in a tiny minority of households in this country. I mean, really, Congratulations!!

Just a reality check.

 

[anchor31]

Date: 12/1/2006 1:18:04 PM
Author: Kit
Tawn,

I hope you don''t take this the wrong way because I am really impressed by and have a lot of respect for people who can work hard and do well financially. But the reality is, people like you and your DH ARE few and far between. The median household income in the US is something like $45k annually. And, income in real dollars has declined over the past few years due to falling wages. Not many people have tens of thousands of dollars just sitting in the bank. Clearly you have done well for yourselves but you are in a tiny minority of households in this country. I mean, really, Congratulations!!

Just a reality check.

Agreed. My parents make good money, but they still financed the car they bought last May... Why? Because it was high time they changed my mom''s car, and it was either paying the car in cash or helping their three kids with college. Sometimes credit is inevitable, of course it''s a question of choices and balance.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 11/30/2006 8:16:51 PM
Author: erica k
Sure, we could have decided to wait on the ring and bought simple gold bands, but at the time i thought it was important.

I can relate to this except I opted to go with the simple gold bands and spent 15 years pining for something, waiting for something.... just to end up with more than I dreamed of and having it fall a bit flat in a way because I realize I never needed it. I really think had my dh put himself in that debt then I wouldn''t have ever even thought to find pricescope or wanted something bigger and I would have not only been happy with what I had - but i would have been happy for the entire past 15 years that I had it. Sure, that debt would have likely cost us more than the 5k over the years but I just blew all of that *anyway* LOL maybe more! So I am not sure how much better off I am other than that I have a rather large diamond *now* after years of having nothing. There is definitely a part of me that wishes we''d just financed something way back when.... even if I got something later it would have been THE ring I got engaged with rather than this "engagement" ring that really has no "engagement" attached to it after all these years....

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 12/1/2006 1:18:04 PM
Author: Kit
Tawn,

I hope you don''t take this the wrong way because I am really impressed by and have a lot of respect for people who can work hard and do well financially. But the reality is, people like you and your DH ARE few and far between. The median household income in the US is something like $45k annually. And, income in real dollars has declined over the past few years due to falling wages. Not many people have tens of thousands of dollars just sitting in the bank. Clearly you have done well for yourselves but you are in a tiny minority of households in this country. I mean, really, Congratulations!!

Just a reality check.

I don''t know many people who have tens of thousands sitting in the bank because most everyone I know invests their money in one way or another. In fact if all you do is look at my local account I can barely afford gas!! haha

 

[goldenstar]

Erica, your story is really refreshing, thank you for sharing. I agree that maybe some people are not talking about financing because of the stigma associated with debt. It is always important to live within your means, but I think that if you make the right choices about priorities and what to finance, then its okay if its done thoughtfully and all your ducks are in a row.

Cehra, I can totally relate. I'm still an LIW, but I know I'd be like you, pining for something for years. The stone we are looking at would keep me happy forever, and I don't want to upgrade because I want to always wear the stone I got engaged with. I'm an LIW because he's saving his cash for the ring, and waiting to see how his stocks do after Christmas. He'll likely pay for 75% of it in cash, and finance the balance. Of course, we could pick a less expensive stone, so he wouldn't have to finance at all, but he wants to get the one that will make me happy. The stone is a small stretch, but definitely doable. We both wouldn't want a $50,000 ring that would put us in a bind. He makes a good salary and the financing part would not cause hardship, just a little bit of sacrifice from both of us. Which is completely fine, its give and take. If we want to spend on a ring, we have to cut back elsewhere. We both don't have any other debt, except for my student loans. we don't want to wait until he has all of the amount in cash because the timing is right and its important to us.

 

[Londonchris]

Date: 11/17/2006 2:56:07 PM
Author: codex57
I paid cash for the ring. Biggest check I ever wrote at the time.

Sorry for being from London and not knowing all your wordings,but the above quote made me chuckle.

 

[allycat0303]

Kit,

I don''t think the people are taking a high ground here but rather giving their experiences. I remember reading in a book that the majority of the people make enough money to live (I know there is some discrepency in the working poor in America, where a single mother with kids, working two jobs at minimum wage can barely get by) I think what Tawn was saying is that we live in a credit society, so most purchases including cars, furniture, etc., are put on credit.

I think that buying a house and car are big ticket items that can be financed. Personally I wouldn''t, but that''s because althought I LOVE LUXURY CARS, almost as much as diamonds, I find they have a lot of frill costs like insurance, gas etc., so the car financed ontop of insurance and gas and parking permit seems like a HUGE financial committement to me. Of course there''s a matter of how much of the purchase, and whether a 15 000 car or a 50 000 car is necessary in terms of your financial situation. For example putting 2000K down for a 15 000 car is somewhat more reasonable then 2000K for a 50 000 car.

I don''t think Tawn is living in a different world. I think she''s older then many 20 somethings and spent a lot of time saving up for something she really wanted to buy, except the people at the dealer are SO USED to financing that they think twice when someone pays cash for something. I think that is the point she is trying to make. I do remember that she waited (I believe) something like 10+ years to get her e-ring upgrade that she has now.

 

[allycat0303]

double post, sorry