How do you justify large purchases to yourself?

[Arika]

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?

Spoiler

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

 

[Jtalk4456]

i think this depends greatly on what the purchase is

[Guest]

I always say it'll pay itself off, or I've been thinking about this far too long, I should just get it. More onto the cost side of things, I'm a big AfterPay addict, throws your budgeting for the week off slightly because you think its just $20 a week etc. 

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

Well, everyone has their own "budget" and "value", cant argue on that.,

so as long as there is low opportunity costs/ doesnt affect living, their purchase isnt big to them

[Arika]

14 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

i think this depends greatly on what the purchase is

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

[Ja Krispie]

I set the money aside. Then it's no worries since it doesn't effect my budget

[Guest]

"I can buy this today, it breaks tomorrow, but that one is $150 more expensive, but it'll last me a lifetime".

 

$1200 AUD on clothes/accessories is for me, too far.

 

For me it's: "Do I buy this $500 winch that's been known to die or this $1000 winch that will go a lifetime"

 

And then I just reduce the amount of money spent elsewhere. No fast food, no large purchases of stuff I don't need etc.

 

 

[Jtalk4456]

14 minutes ago, Arika S said:

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

clothes is harder for me to justify if I have decent clothes. If my holes are torn up it's as simple as a necessity, but at that much money, I wouldn't be able to justify. I could get by with 500 for a pretty extensive wardrobe update. 
Anything past that is me getting name brands which isn't necessity. I tend not to buy expensive clothes personally. If I already have good clothes and I just want more or new, I wouldn't justify it unless I was a lot more wealthy

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Arika S said:

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

if its good quality though why not. I just don't buy budget shoes or jeans or shirts etc because they don't last long at all, but now buying premium they last forever. Its a good value option really. 

[LukeLinusFanFic]

For me it's either:

An "investment" (something I'll need or use for a long time)

Or "But I need it for my studies!! #sadface".

You know, just secondary stuff. Secondary laptop, MX master (because I gotta control all these devices!), Wireless keyboards, 60% mechanical keyboards (for class!! Even though it's all mathematics)

 

For smaller stuff it's more like: "You know you're going to be sad soon and give in and buy it. Might as well get it already."

 

And my favourite quote from my friend regarding AliExpress: "You don't buy what you need right now. You what you'll need two months for now" 

 F me honestly

 

[Ravendarat]

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

[minibois]

Depends on the sort of purchase, but I like doing the "how much does this item cost me per hour that I will use it/how much it costs me per hour saved".

So for example, if a 100 USD item saves me 100 hours in a year, that is a worthy purchase.

 

Otherwise I don't spend a ton of money (I think?) on luxury items. With things like clothes I am super utilitarian, meaning I just buy what I need, just not for high prices (like brand clothes).

[Stefan Payne]

7 hours ago, Arika S said:

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

Depends on what it is, what it is for and especially:
How long I intend to use it!

A Miele Washing machine can be justified by "well, I pay 1000€ for it now, but I will use it the next 15 years, that's just 66,70€ per Year, that's pretty cheap!"

7 hours ago, 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.

To be blunt:
It sounds to me that she doesn't have no purpose in life and needs something to do because she doesn't have anything else.

 

Well, problems of modern societys, where people are told the wrong things, shit that doesn't really matter that is, in the long run, not forfilling for the people that are told these lies...

But if you went down the Rabbit Hole too much, its hard to come out of it and go for what you really want/need.

Hint: Its nothing you can buy with money.

[cluelessgenius]

well i mean what is large really. for me anything above 100 bucks i dont buy just right away but i first research way too long on whats the best price to performance product and where could i get a good deal. for example i will buy alot of tech stuff used. just cause theres not much that can age really. at lest in my experience all my tech stuff was perfectly fine. 5.1 dolby by teufel was fine. 55" Sony TV was fine (actually half price compared to new). 1080 ti was fine. also if its worth it then its worth like the gpu was the most expensive gpu ive bought ever but again i got a good deal and im happy with it. my last chair was a bummer though i spent 400 bucks (also the most i ever spent on a chair) and it was just pure fancy looking but shittyly built china crap. 

some things just cost more. but think if i got a good deal compared to market price then its fine. i spent 800 bucks on a frigde but the justification was that its a quality brand and should last me a "life-time". same thing for the bed. i spent 1000 bucks but its a special order with harder matresses and perfectly worth it to me. 

right now i have a shopping cart at EK that im hesitant to comfirm and order since its like 300 bucks in watercooling supplies and its not a neccessary product but just a hobby so i wait until i feel like i deserved it somehow

[Tamesh16]

if it like helps a skill, i usually get it, not for total enjoyment per say, like my new system, i play games on it, but its also much better for content creation and engineering programs, so it helps be become better at my skill 

and also if it saves me time , thats a bonus too

[TempestCatto]

For me, I think of the long term benefits. Like college for example, I'm expecting to have to take out student loans. However, I feel confident that I'll succeed, in which case I'll have a nice paycheck to not worry about it. With building a new pc (just under 2,000 USD) I think about what I'm actually getting. Hardware that is not only top grade, but that is up-gradable in the near future. I can then sell the 'old' stuff and help pay for the new upgrades; when they happen. I don't normally buy things if I don't have the money. Buying my truck and going to school are the only exceptions right now (though buying land and building a house will be another). At the end of the day, I'd say it's all about what the purchase is worth to you in any-other value than monetary. I have my first car that's in a state if disrepair right now. It's worth about 400 USD in it's current state, but there's more than enough sentimental value for me to not care how much I spend on restoring it (probably closer to 10,000 USD when it's all said and done). 10k seems like a lot, but at the same time, I'm expecting it and will be overjoyed when it's done. So I guess it's all in your mindset and how you value what you spent, on a non-monetary level.

[kilgore_T]

I'm awesome...that's justification enough

[jiyeon]

I recently bought a £520 Asus ChromeBook, and I justified it using the following questions to ask myself, and I have to answer 'Yes' in order to get the green light.

• Do you need it?
• Will you be financially stable after this purchase?
• Will you be happy after this purchase?

I answered yes to all, and so allowed myself to shell out £520 for it. One of the best purchases I've made in recent years, as when I'm out and about, it has the processing power and aesthetics that I've dreamt about for years.

[TetraSky]

When I don't owe anything to anyone and when I have enough money to spare. Which is usually always because I don't waste it in the first place.

[Bananasplit_00]

I WANTS GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!!!!!!

 

or something like that?

[bloodthirster]

Do I have the extra money to spend (even after moving my normal amount to savings, after bills etc)?

Will I still use it 2-3 years (more or less depending on item) from now?

Will it offer me a noticable benefit from what I have now?

Is the price reasonable for what it is?

 

If yes to all of those, I generally have no regrets buying something.  Although I'm the type that researches before buying so I rarely impulse purchase something.

[ELSknutson]

I justify it by how much I am going to be useing the item  take my car for instance.   I have at least an hour drive to and from work, plus I usualy eat lunch in my car or take a nap during lunch in my car  so though out a normal week I spend around 20+ hrs in there so Im ok with spending more on that. 

 

the things i tend to cheap out on are things like soap, food, tv subscriptions, flashy watches, and useless items like tattoos, alcohol, candy,  apps things like that.  

[Ithanul]

Mostly set money aside each month for possible items I want down the road.  But, I still a sticklier on finding the lowest price even on big items.

I will hunt for a few months for lowest price I can get while checking historic lows.  Heck, I hunted over a whole year to nab my current main monitor (bought barely used).  Even if I have the money to out right buy a item at full price, I still going to hunt or wait for the best deal I can get or just not buy it if the item never gets to a price I'm willing to pay. 

[wasab]

I don't like living paycheck to paycheck. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

12 hours ago, Arika S said:

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

Why y'all gotta spend so much money on clothes?