Keeping Out of Debt - The Speakers
Posted on October 12, 2007 by Eric
Filed Under Debt, Savings
I’ve got some pretty crappy speakers. They’re from a set I bought almost 15 years ago. They work (well, 3 of them work and that’s enough.) But they aren’t very good quality and I’m not sure how much longer they’ll last. They don’t sound too great, but they are making do.
They definitely aren’t essential, but they sure do make watching movies nicer than just using the speakers on the TV. And for music or radio from the stereo receiver, it’s kinda tough to get that working without them. I do have a portable Sony CD player that gets radio though. That should be enough.
If they go out tomorrow, I’ll be fine. I’ll “suffer” through. But part of me wants new speakers. So now I’ve started allocating some money in a separate account (thanks to the sub-account functionality at ING) and I’m saving up until I have enough to buy them. This will ensure that I don’t get into debt for something I view as a luxury and not a necessity. I’m not saving much, only $25 a month (my entire “fun money” budget), but that will add up over time. Even though it’s in a high interest savings account it won’t earn much quickly, but at least it will earn some interest.
When I’ve got enough money to buy the speakers, I’m going to look for a deal where I can buy the speakers I want, at a reasonable price, and possibly take advantage of a 0% interest and no payments plan. Why would I do this instead of just paying for them outright? I guess it’s kind of like the credit card arbitrage game. I’ll have the money set aside earning interest but I’ll wait to pay off the debt until the end of the 0% deal. I’ve never played that game, but when it comes to a situation like this, I think I would take advantage of it. I have pretty good discipline when the money is out of sight and out of mind. I would just need a reliable reminder when the 0% timeframe is up. I think I can handle that.
The reason the speakers are on my mind now is that in our new house the living room will be wired for surround sound. I haven’t had surround sound for a long time, and I don’t have enough speakers to get it to work now. It’s definitely a luxury, but it’s one I think I would make good use out of.
That’s my plan. It’s not much, but it will be the first time I’ve saved up for a big purchase rather than just splurging and trying to rationalize and deal with the debt later. It’s something I’ve been telling myself I need to do for these kinds of purchases, but haven’t followed through on in the past. Since I’ve been developing my new, more frugal habits, I think I’m ready for this. I’ve kept myself from buying much of anything “for me” for a while now. I think it’s time to start the new habit of saving before buying.
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We’re having a problem like that with our tv picture looking a little funny. It’s not enough to justify getting a new tv, but it’s not as good as it could be.
If you do the arbitage-type game, remember to set lots of alarms like on Outlook or Google calendar, maybe even a month in advance to suggest you pay it off soon. Because for most, I believe, they’ll charge you back-interest for the interest-free months.
Mrs. Micah - I’ll definitely have several alarms, and at different times. Good point about the back-interest. I think you’re right that most stores have something like that in the details. It’s a risk, so I’ll be sure to have myself setup with a ton of alarms if I decide to go this route.
Eric,
Back in the day when I was young and single, I had a little savings game I’d play with myself. Let’s say I wanted to upgrade my car’s factory-installed radio to one that had AM/FM AND a tape deck (yup, I’m that old). And let’s say that new radio would cost $300. I’d make myself save $600 before I could spend the $300 on my “toy.”
Elizabeth - That’s a great idea actually. I hadn’t thought about saving up twice that much to justify my spending.
I actually remember when cars didn’t have tape decks either. It wasn’t *that* long ago :)
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