Use money to buy a PC or save it

[Ross Siggers]

55 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I assume that's pound and not dollar though, yes? You also have to look at what things cost. The values aren't the same.

 

@dizmo No, I did the conversions hence the $ sign...hard to believe no? Not to mention living costs are generally quite high in the UK too.

[ThePinkPiggy]

Think if you'll need to spend a lot of money in the near future - car, college, etc - and set that aside.

If you have anything left over, feel free to buy a gaming PC. But keep in mind that you can get a very good system for under $2000.

Another reason for buying a PC now - if you're 17 and living with your parents, you probably have a lot of free time to game. This time will be decreasing as you get older due to things like moving out and getting a social life, going to college, working a full-time job...

[ThePD]

4 hours ago, jasonwj322a said:

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll definitely look into the forum you linked. I assume its similar to something like r/personalfinance on Reddit? Or does it have a broader range? 

It really depends. I find both to be great places to ask questions like this one. The money.stackexchange one can sometimes dabble more seriously into talk about taxes etc.

[Syntaxvgm]

That's badass pc price range. Get yourself a good pc (mainly the base part, you can skimp on the gpu) and get good peripherals, monitors, etc. 

I really think if you don't have a pc worth gaming on, and one is offered to you, take it. I say this because you already have some money saved up. 
I just built a friend a pc based on the 8700k for about 950$ (no gpu) and we slapped a used 970 in it for 110$ since a good workstation was more important that the best gaming pc possible for that price range. 

Point is he has a great base pc, and a gpu upgrade later is cheap. If he feels that 970 isn't enough later and it starts to struggle to play games he wants, we'll put another sub-200$ gpu (possibly used again) and he'll be great. 
For for 3k, get a good gpu and good build sure, but don't go super overboard, like getting 2 gpus or something idk. Like you don't need a 2080ti. I'm sure the money is better spent on things like screens or more storage, whatever you want. Typically a 400$ gpu now and a 400$ gpu later is better than an 800$ gpu now. 

[dalekphalm]

7 hours ago, jasonwj322a said:

I really do want a job, especially now when living with my parents. Though as someone dealing with social anxiety it's extremely difficult for me. 

I know multiple people who had really bad social anxiety.

 

First things first, see your doctor, to make sure there isn't a physical cause of your anxiety. After that, see a therapist/counsellor/psychiatrist, to work on it long term.

 

Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of, but you need to treat them like getting sick, you need to seek treatment.

 

But definitely, "getting out there" is a good first step. If at 17 you've never held a job, you're already at a disadvantage in the workforce for when after you graduate school (whether that be high school, or college, etc). All of your competitors for a job interview will likely have previous work experience.

5 hours ago, Ross Siggers said:

Fucking hell. I need to move to America then, national minimum wage here is $10.05, and for large cities like London, the uplift places it at $11.70.

Your minimum wage is more than I earn hourly, and I'm nowhere near the UK minimum wage...

That's Seattle, which is also an expensive place to live. Minimum wage varies per state (I think there's a Federal min but it's very low).

 

@dizmo you're assuming he's going to easily get a full time job - which is very unlikely considering he has zero job experience.

 

My opinion: Save the money. Once you have an income from a job, then you can start spending it on stuff like a PC.

[Syntaxvgm]

49 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I know multiple people who had really bad social anxiety.

 

First things first, see your doctor, to make sure there isn't a physical cause of your anxiety. After that, see a therapist/counsellor/psychiatrist, to work on it long term.

 

Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of, but you need to treat them like getting sick, you need to seek treatment.

 

But definitely, "getting out there" is a good first step. If at 17 you've never held a job, you're already at a disadvantage in the workforce for when after you graduate school (whether that be high school, or college, etc). All of your competitors for a job interview will likely have previous work experience.

That's Seattle, which is also an expensive place to live. Minimum wage varies per state (I think there's a Federal min but it's very low).

 

@dizmo you're assuming he's going to easily get a full time job - which is very unlikely considering he has zero job experience.

 

My opinion: Save the money. Once you have an income from a job, then you can start spending it on stuff like a PC.

federal min is 7.25, but most places are desperate to hire now, and those not offering a competitive wage are short staffed and likely only can hire people who have a bad work history (many times fired, criminal record etc)
The federal min should be higher of course, but right now he'd have a good chance of getting paid a lot more. I think even walmart is moving to 11$ an hour, and I see much higher in certain entry level jobs around where I live 

still, save the money is not a bad idea. 

[Tristerin]

Money doesn't grow on trees, and if you aren't a trust fund baby then take the cash. 

 

I paid my house off by 30, and have zero debt sans 2 credit cards I use to keep my credit score in the 800's.  I chose to be very financially responsible.  Compared to everyone around me...I can live like a King lol.

[Mooshi]

5 hours ago, Ross Siggers said:

Fucking hell. I need to move to America then, national minimum wage here is $10.05, and for large cities like London, the uplift places it at $11.70.

Your minimum wage is more than I earn hourly, and I'm nowhere near the UK minimum wage...

The moment you need a doctor, though..you're F'd.

 

$15 isn't standard in the US either. The federal min wage in the US is only $7.25.

[Ross Siggers]

@Mooshi I mean, I'm in the UK we have the NHS. Hell, I work for the NHS...

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Ross Siggers said:

@Mooshi I mean, I'm in the UK we have the NHS. Hell, I work for the NHS...

OP is in Murika though - so must be considered.

[Ross Siggers]

@dalekphalm I mean, yeah. But that specific comment was aimed at me. Ignore me I read it back

For the record I still think the idea that OP can jump into a job and make/save $2k a month is silly.

[wasab]

9 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

 

 

Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of, but you need to treat them like getting sick, you need to seek treatment.

 

unless you are diagnosed as a psychopath, sociopath, mentally retarded, compulsive liar, pedophile, ect ect ect 

you may not wish to share these facts with just about anyone.  

[wasab]

8 hours ago, Mooshi said:

The moment you need a doctor, though..you're F'd.

 

$15 isn't standard in the US either. The federal min wage in the US is only $7.25.

it is the standard minimum here in NYC by 2020 

[dizmo]

10 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

@dizmo you're assuming he's going to easily get a full time job - which is very unlikely considering he has zero job experience.

There are loads of places that will give you full time work with no job experience. Retail stores, McDonalds day shift, fast food day shift, etc.

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, wasab said:

unless you are diagnosed as a psychopath, sociopath, mentally retarded, compulsive liar, pedophile, ect ect ect 

you may not wish to share these facts with just about anyone.  

Your medical history is no ones business - period. Regardless, all of the things you mention are even more important to seek treatment for.

32 minutes ago, dizmo said:

There are loads of places that will give you full time work with no job experience. Retail stores, McDonalds day shift, fast food day shift, etc.

Maybe during seasonal rush hours, but most of those places will typically start with part time hours. Why would they give someone with no experience full time hours when they can almost certainly find other interviewees who have previous experience in said industry.

 

Certainly some locations may be experiencing enough of a labour shortage to justify hiring someone full time immediately with no experience, but that's definitely not normal.

[Paul Rudd]

On 10/24/2018 at 5:40 AM, jasonwj322a said:

sub $3000 PC or $2000 cash

Build a PC for sub $1000 and call it a day. 144 fps in 1440p can easily be achieved with $1000.

[dizmo]

On 10/26/2018 at 9:01 PM, dalekphalm said:

Certainly some locations may be experiencing enough of a labour shortage to justify hiring someone full time immediately with no experience, but that's definitely not normal.

Companies need employees. Big box stores, for example, often need about 150 people. Sure, part timers fill some of those spaces, but a large amount are also full time, and a lot of them are minimum wage. Jobs like that don't need experience since there's high turn over, and most of the tasks can be accomplished by someone with very little training. If you're willing to work later shifts, you're more likely to get hired. Those shifts often aren't wanted by people with experience, as they use scheduling in exchange for wage.

[zassou]

i dont know your situation, for me, if i need a pc to game on, i will move heavens to get one.

 

but i heard a saying which i think makes sense, it goes something like this:

if you want to buy something because its price, dont; if you dont want to buy something is because its price, buy it.

 

expand that, first half i think is not succumb to impulse purchasing, you see all those discount sign on shops physical and mortar and online ones, are alluring you to hand over them your money. however, if you arent sure whether you want something, but limited by your budget, you should buy it, if that means making some compromises.