How do you justify large purchases to yourself?

[zassou]

me deciding on a big purchase:

 

- do i need this?

yes.

- can i afford it?

(ceiling maths)

yes.

- buy it.

 

(buy two bags of crisps)

[SkilledRebuilds]

I was about to drop $900 AUD on a Budget for a Ryzen8core CPU/MOBO/RAM/COOLER combo and recoup the rest from my 4790k ie PSU/SSD. HDD, GTX1070 and all that.

Then sell the old platform basics..

 

But I hobbyist encode, game less than I used to, and found my 4c8t 4.7Ghz sweetspot Paired with 2600MhZ OC Cl13, temps are great, Performance is spot on as expected.

 

I didn't NEED it, just Wanted it due to 4K 60fps Youtube encodes for 6-11m videos.

 

Ended up not doing the upgrade as yet, It's not yet feasible for my typical usage which is much less than it used to be because life is random and random things change off and on, time for Gaming always being up and down.

 

As per the usual shtik.. It it works for your usages and its only a minor gripe VS a new platform amount of cash.  Vote with your priorities.

[TheSpaceOtter]

Usually when I see something I really want, I'll give myself a week to sit on it. If I still want that item by the end of next week I'll probably just buy it.

 

Terrible

[bimmerman]

entirely depends on the thing, the need for the thing, and what else I could do with the money I want to spend on the thing.

 

Eg, during racing season, new shiny is less important than money for entry fees and tires and repairing what broke. New GPU purchase is about the cost of a tire or two, but GPU doesn't make the car go faster or repaired to get back on track, so it is much harder to justify. $500 for 20 more FPS or $500 to haul ass in the Corkscrew....

 

This is also assuming things like rent, savings, food, etc are already paid for. The play money fund then gets allocated depending on need, with as much resistance to new shiny as possible to ensure actual needs (tires) are met before wants (gpu).

 

Generally though if it's on the order of an hour or three's pay, I don't think about it. If it's a day+ of pay, then the thinking brain engages.

[wasab]

27 minutes ago, bimmerman said:

entirely depends on the thing, the need for the thing, and what else I could do with the money I want to spend on the thing.

 

 

Opportunity costs is the smart way to ponder about purchases. Always think of what else you can do with the money you plan to spend and weight the options. Should I spend it on this right now or should this go into the  pool for a house, a car, or investment in bussiness?

[Benjeh]

Do I like that thing? Yep
Do I have money to buy said thing? Yep

 

Justified.

[wANKER]

'Fuck it' 

 

usually 

[Dedayog]

16 hours ago, Arika S said:

This is a conversation i was having with one of my friends about 2 hours ago.

 

per the title, how do you justify making large purchases? not just tech, but anything

 

She was telling me that she regularly spends large amount of money and that if something costs less than her fortnightly pay (that's every 2 weeks) then she doesn't feel bad about buying it, obviously as long as she doesn't spend more than her pull pay within that 2 week period. This just feels weird to have that kind of mindset.

I feel like i have to budget for weeks before buying anything large, and if something else comes up first it pushes it back further. it sometimes takes me a month or more between "i want this" to actually buying it, it's not for a lack of money it's just that i feel like i have to prepare to spend large sums.

 

Maybe i'm the weird one?

  Reveal hidden contents

though the above was never up for debate, i'm weird, but in other ways.

 

Also depends on what your 2 week pay is.  I would have trouble just easily dropping $2k just cuz it met her requirements.

 

Like was said above, there are various levels of need vs want that you have to figure in too.  A $2k night of hookers is vastly different than a $2k repair on your car which is vastly different than a $2k vacation.

[XR6]

If I buy anything over £100 then I'll ask myself this:

Do I need it? 

Will it be of any use to me?

Is it worth buying?

If all of the answers are yes, I'll buy it.

 

Any bigger purchases like my phone (which was £500) I justify it by thinking "well I'll use it for another 2 years at least. If I use it for two years it'll cost me £20 a month, that's not bad at all". 

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Ravendarat said:

For anyone saying they cant justify that much on clothes just remember those people buying the clothes probably couldnt justify spending what we do on hardware, for them the 299.99 laptop on sale at best buy is just fine where as on here most of us wouldnt use that for anything besides a door stop. As for the OP, it just comes down to how much disposable income you have. If you make 5 or 6 grand a month and your monthly bills are like 2 grand than it would be pretty easy to justify a $1000 expenditure, not on a weekly basis but definitely far more often than someone who makes 2 grand a month and has 1600 in bills

This is a tech forum... Im sure that people on here know the price per performance and quality rather than an off brand $300 no name chinamium laptop... I'm not speaking on behalf of everyone, but in this scenario I can safely say that @Arika S has the knowledge to distinguish this... But I do see where you're coming from re the average consumer.

[Guest]

Regret. 

Checking refund laws. 

Requesting exchanges 

[aezakmi]

22 hours ago, Arika S said:

the one we were talking about was like $1200 AUD worth of clothes/accessories

I'd spend $1200 on components but not even $120 on clothes so I guess it depends on how are you willing to spend your money

[Giganthrax]

Plan big purchases months in advance. Set money aside. 

 

This way, you'll have plenty of time to think and plan out your big purchase. If you still feel you need it after all that time saving, then it's justified. 

 

EDIT: WTH do you people mean by 1200 AUD clothes? What the heck are those clothes made of? Platinum threads?

 

Aside from a leather jacket that cost about 200 EUR, I don't remember the last time I spent more than 20 euros on a piece of clothing. 

[Skanky Sylveon]

 

Every time.

[Type 2501]

To begin with, I am very cheap on buying stuff that won't make money for me. My phones and tablets are second handed, half of my PC is made from second handed parts. I only buy clothes or shores on sales.

 

Last week I really have to fight my instant to go cheap when shopping for a enhancement ring (shh… I want to keep it a surprise).

 

But I never tries to underpay anyone for good services.

 

And tools, I don't mind to buy nice tools and stationary because I really hate to work with badly made one. It really gets on my when my pen is skipping or cutter blade not sharp.

[jones177]

I have a toy bugget.

Money is put into my "toys" account on a monthly bases.

It is not part of the money I put aside for savings and investment.

It is a carry over from my hardware budget I had when I was a freelancer.  

 

If there is not enough money in my "toys" account to get what I want I have to wait. 

The limit to what I spend is demanded by my ability to wait.

 

Since I have a toys bugget I feel obligated to spend the money in it.

 

I am justified.

  

[soldier_ph]

My Money - My Problem

[Dredgy]

I have the benefit of a high salary, but basically I just put a certain amount of my cash towards hobbies. I also have the benefit of work paying for 100% of my living expenses (phone, house, food etc), so technically 100% of my income is disposable but most of it goes into investments and savings.

 

Exactly $750 a week is my budget for hobbies, which is great when I’m focused on things like PCs or scuba diving, but paltry when I’m caught up planning a big trip which I am right now.

[Underi]

My only "big" purchase I've done myself is my computer, which was ~400€ worth of new components. I told my mother that I need it, while later on I realized that I didn't need it and that my 4th gen i5 would've worked perfectly fine for a bit longer. Oh well. These parts will hopefully last for 3-4 years though, so it wasn't a bad choice after all. My father always tells me not to waste money and to only buy Finnish and/or long-lasting products. I don't always remember that. I have a bad habit of getting a stupid idea and then ordering a whole bunch of electronics from China and then think about my life mistakes.

[Guest]

I don't, I do not have any incomes from my parents and the only money I get is doing favors to my relatives for their computers and I got like 7/8 uncles who every time give me something like 50€ for every holiday like (Christmas, birthday, Easter)

 

And I know pretty well when I need to buy something, sometimes I try to sell my things when their value goes up for some reason and buy when they are low (example for graphics card because mining)

 

I ended up buying my most expensive things without any regret like my XPS 15, my main desktop (my dad paid the old one I sold at a advantageous price for me) and the OnePlus 6 just in this way

 

But I also thing it depends on what I need, for example, I would need definitely justifying myself for buying a video game since I'm really not the  person who buys something I do not even know nothing about

 

Another example is I would definitely buy a new server but I'm not running intensive applications anyway so the old crappy one I got is enough, and I can use that money for something I need in the future

 

Let's just say I found a way to not regretting any decision in buying things. If I had a job probably I would definitely start buying things like a normal person and do not care if I need something or not if I like it, example a fancy looking small factor server and an expensive case if I can afford it while being able paying the bills

Edited February 23, 2019 by Guest

[Lathlaer]

I don't drive a car and I can't drive a car. I inherited one apartment after my grandmother died and I'm set to inherit another after my grandfather. My cost of living is low enough so that when I see something I enjoy, I usually don't have to feel guilty about buying it. 

 

Not much justification needed to myself as a result. Justification to others - if asked - is a whole other matter.

[tikker]

Below €500, it's mostly just "I want this", then I think about it for a week or two, maybe a month, and if I still want it/need it I buy it. I do consider my financial situation by budgetting stuff out. I know pretty much exactly what I can spend each month and I try to keep some water in the well should I (un)expectedly need some.

[PlayStation 2]

Because I know that I'll just waste it anyways.

[straight_stewie]

On 2/20/2019 at 8:47 PM, Arika S said:

She was telling me that she regularly spends large amount of money and that if something costs less than her fortnightly pay (that's every 2 weeks) then she doesn't feel bad about buying it, obviously as long as she doesn't spend more than her pull pay within that 2 week period. This just feels weird to have that kind of mindset. 

I feel like i have to budget for weeks before buying anything large, and if something else comes up first it pushes it back further. it sometimes takes me a month or more between "i want this" to actually buying it, it's not for a lack of money it's just that i feel like i have to prepare to spend large sums. 

Not to be a dick about it, but the difference between you and her is that you will be relaxed in your own house during your well planned retirement. She will struggle every week to pay her rent/mortgage and never be able to truly afford retirement (disregarding things like marriage, inheritance, or random windfalls, of course).

For myself, I tend to view every optional item greater than about $50 as a major purchase, and every non optional item a major purchase no matter the cost. I justify the purchase by researching all of my options about a solution to what problem I'm trying to solve or whatever product I'm trying to buy.

At the end of the research, one of three things will happen:

1. The product is the best choice, and I actually need/want it. So I get it.
2. I actually need/want it, but there is a better option, so I get the better option.
3. During my research, I decided that I didn't actually need/want whatever it was (this is the most common result).

That has the benefit of preventing buyers remorse as well.

Of course, there are levels to that. Clearly a $50 trinket is less of an issue than a $2500+ sail for my boat, and the two involve different levels of research and mulling it over.

[it_dont_work]

Bought a tractor bucket/backhoe because I wanted to play with it. I mean I did build a new driveway, irrigation trenches and put in a new fence. 

 

It was cheaper than paying a company to do it, and I ended up kinda with a free tractor after that. But really I just wanted to play with it.

 

That's about the only thing I've had to justify in years, generally if i spend money I know where its coming from budget wise