The pull to spend money never ceases. As concerned as I am about the overall economy, you’d think I’d be sitting in my home letting the cash pile up from cracking down on our spending. It’s just not that easy. I’ve been conditioned over a long period of time to crave things. What kind of things? The standard stuff. I’d love to buy a new mini laptop to wander around the house with, as if being glued to the computer in my office for 12 hours a day isn’t enough. I’d also love to upgrade my wife’s car. We’ve owned it since 2000 (for the most part), and it is showing it’s age. I’d also like to get the better gas mileage that a 4 cylinder Honda Accord would offer. I bet I’ve looked at Craigslist about 20 times to see what’s out there. The thing is, I’m not going to buy one. It makes absolutely no sense to shell out $17-18K to buy a one year old Honda when we have a car that starts and runs just fine each day. It’s really kind of pathetic that I’m still feeling the urge to upgrade.
Yesterday we had a new timing belt, water pump, fan belts, and front seals installed in the Honda. It has 93,000 miles on it and it was overdue for the timing belt replacement. Total cost for the repair work: $893. Ouch. Oh, we had the oil changed as well. I also waxed both the cars last weekend so we should feel pretty good about driving these cars for the foreseeable future. So, both our cars are running fine so why do I still feel the desire to drive a newer car? Like I said, pathetic.
In general I’m starting to feel like a QVC addicted shopper except my addiction is the Internet. (Gosh it’s easy to find stuff to "want" on the Internet) I guess I should feel good that I’m at least recognizing the ridiculous thoughts I’m having. The whole thing furthers my belief that, unchecked, we are all consumers and need to control what we consume for our own financial well being as well as for the good of the earth in general. Anyway, just a bit of ranting for a Friday.
I don’t remember if I mentioned this or not previously, but our friends have decided to sell their house and buy a larger house that will accommodate their growing family. When I first heard that they were going to sell I thought, "Those poor bastards. In this market that’s going to be an ugly proposition." Well, boy was I wrong. They put a contingent offer in on a house and then immediately put their home on the market. Incredibly they sold their house in one day and had to choose from two full price offers. The amazing thing is that they got top dollar for it as well. Apparently the neighborhood that they live in, in the north area of Seattle near the University of Washington is a very desirable place. I had no idea. So, if you are thinking about putting your house on the market and live in a high demand area, you just may be in luck.
Happy Friday!!
I completely agree with you. The internet is not your friend when it comes to wants vs. needs. Currently in my house, I sit with a 10+ year old Samsung CRT TV. The one thing I want is a nice 46″ flat screen TV. At least once every 2 months, I surf the internet looking at all the newest TV sets and pine over them. Then I think, what else could I do with at $2K? Maybe put it towards some of my wife’s and I student loans? Pay off more on our car loan (I already pay extra when I can)? Or put it towards the home loan?
And of course it is frustrating going over to friend’s houses who have these, and I know for a fact that they are struggling with cash and credit card debts, but they have them.
The internet is EVVVVIL!
JonnyV,
Don’t buy one yet. I just read an article that says LCD tv’s are due to crash hard on price. They expect by Black Friday that a 32″ LCD tv may go for under $350 and 40-46″ LCD’s will go under $1000 at about the same time. With the increase in production and the massive drop in the economy, there is an expectation that there will be far more supply than demand!
Yeah, I have heard similar things Hazzard. And at this point I would wait until Black Friday anyway. I keep trying to give myself reasons, aka: If the Brewers made it to the Series then I would buy one. But that didn’t happen. :(
Either way, I won’t be buying one this year. I just have to keep looking at my only 3 debts (Mortgage, Student Loans, and Car) and motivating myself that it is always better to pay off a loan. Maybe once the $9K car loan is paid off later next year.
WoW! I am so glad I found your page! I am reading a book right now, called “Its Not About the Money” by Brent Kessel. The first chapter hits on EXACTLY what this post is all about! Rather than explain it to you, I’ll let you check it out yourself. You should really enjoy it!
There’s a link to his book on his site.
Happy reading!
http://brentkessel.com/wordpress
I feel what you are going through. I had a car that was working just fine, until I decided I want a new car. My reasoning for this was that I would have a care that was under warranty so I wouldn’t have to worry about repairs. Unfortunately I was wrong. I just chipped the windshield and it cost me a substantial amount of money for it to be replaced because it wasn’t covered under the warranty. Be comfortable with what you have, Save for your retirement and be more thrifty with your decisions.
You spent $893 for a timing belt and those other items change?
As a recommendation, I recommend you stop by a honda dealership, I did mine at 120,000 miles for $300.