Fighting the Urge to Splurge

[ProspectiveBum]

Lately, I've found myself lusting after a new (to me) car. Cars are a life-long interest of mine, and I've spent many an hour reading car magazines and surfing online car forums. In the last week, I became aware of a used car at a lot near me. It's an older model of a high-end car that I've long lusted after. I haven't driven it yet, mostly because I'm afraid the temptation to buy it on the spot would be too great.

There are a number of practical reasons for me NOT to buy this car: my current vehicle is getting a little old (almost 9 years old), but in the last few years I've paid for extensive maintenance on it that should allow it to easily run another 5-8 years without further significant investment. This "new" vehicle is an unknown maintenance-wise, and is a European brand that will likely be more expensive to maintain and insure. My current car (an SUV) suits my needs in that my kids fit in it, and I occasionally use it for light off-roading and desert exploration.

The difference between what I'd pay for the "new" car and what I could sell my old car is probably around $4k. Given the current economy, dropping $4k on a non-essential seems like a foolhardy move.

Those are all very rational reasons to forget about my object d' lust, and soldier on with my current ride. But I can't let it go. I keep daydreaming about this new toy, and how much I'd enjoy it.

Does anybody else suffer this affliction (doesn't need to be cars, obviously)? How do you handle the irrational desire for [whatever]?

 

[NW-Bound]

Is your job secure? How much is that $4k in terms of your net worth?

Cars are just transportation to me, but I have spent a lot more than that for foreign travels over the last few years. I have no immediate plan for foreign travel now, not because the expense really puts a dent (I lose or gain 2 to 5 trip worths a day), but because I would not feel good doing it now. If it brings my wife and myself happiness, I would.

So, if that car brings you happiness, and you feel reasonably safe with your job, then go for it.

By the way, the $4K seems low as a difference between new and old cars.

 

[Dog]

Yes - I can relate. For some reason I've always dreamed of owning a BMW 3 Series. Until recently I could have easily afforded the car but just couldn't justify - same reasons you outlined ( I was laid off on 12/31/08). Side note: I lost about 85k in my IRA in November - I couldn't help but think about the brand new BMW 335i I could have bought with that money! Sigh

 

[FIREd]

We are usually pretty frugal, but once in a blue moon, we dream of something big.

For my wife, it's a very expensive watch. She has dreamt of that watch for 10 years and last week I finally bought it for her. But I didn't buy it new. Given the state of the economy, I took advantage of the fact that lots of people are desperate to raise money by getting rid of their stuff. So I was browsing the offerings at an estate (second-hand) jeweler and happened to find the exact watch my wife had been lusting after for years. It was only 1 year old, looked like it had never been worn and worked perfectly. I dropped $4.5K for the watch, about half the price I would have paid in a regular jewelry store. For a while I felt guilty to spend that kind of money in the midst of a recession, but what the heck, when am I going to find another deal like that? Plus it's not like we can't afford it. I also like the fact that those watches hold their value pretty well and can easily be resold in a pinch.

As for me, I want a new couch. Ours is 30 years old and it is getting to be very uncomfortable. I reupholstered it myself 8 years ago (changed everything except the frame and springs), but I think that it's time for something new...

 

[RonBoyd]

Does anybody else suffer this affliction (doesn't need to be cars, obviously)? How do you handle the irrational desire for [whatever]?

Warning Will Robinson!! This could happen to you:

The collection consists of all Chevy Convertibles

 

[W2R]

Sometimes it helps to think of time and money as being the same thing. How much earlier could you retire if you had that money? Maybe not at all, but maybe several months.

I know you didn't ask for this... but sometimes I have found that if I can identify what I truly want, and buy THAT (rather than a million little consolation prizes for myself), I end up spending less overall because I am happy and satisfied.

 

[cantlogin]

Sometimes it helps to think of time and money as being the same thing. How much earlier could you retire if you had that money? Maybe not at all, but maybe several months.

I know you didn't ask for this... but sometimes I have found that if I can identify what I truly want, and buy THAT (rather than a million little consolation prizes for myself), I end up spending less overall because I am happy and satisfied.

That approach works perfectly for me. Since accepting the fact that I can't afford to buy everything in the world I compare the cost of what I'm considering to the cost of other things including investments and stress reducing cash balances. When I make my choices this way I ALLWAYS get what I want the most and I never feel as though I'm depriving myself of anything.

I too have a weakness for stuff with wheels and include the future residual value of these things when calculating their actual life cycle cost. If at some future date you can sell your desired replacement vehicle for $4,000 more than your current SUV your net cost is nil. I know this ignores opportunity and maintenance costs but it does represent a factor to consider.

 

[Moemg]

[-][/-]I had been lusting over a GPS . I am directionally challenged and have been known to get lost driving around the block but being frugal I just travel with maps . Well my SO just surprised me with one for my birthday . So now I can turn my lusting elsewhere .

 

[Walt34]

More power to you if you can resist. I succumbed to temptation.

It started out when I got the job last summer that is 3.4 miles away. So I thought maybe a 50cc scooter would be a good commuting vehicle. But for about a 1-mile portion of the commute I need 50 mph uphill, otherwise I'd get run over and a 50 cc engine can't do that. Then I started thinking about a 250 cc Honda motorcycle but they weren't discounting them when gasoline was $4/gallon, and I noticed a 650 Suzuki was only a grand more.

But down the row of motorcycles from the 650 was this beautiful dressed-out Suzuki C90T (1462 cc) touring motorcycle that was heavily discounted.

Agonizing over it for months, and searching E-bay and Craigslist during that time, I bought it a couple of days after Christmas. So now I have this motorcycle that can probably climb 45 degree hills at 90 mph with two very large people on it.

I think that's how rationalization works.

 

[ziggy29]

I've had that lust from time to time. But as long as my paycheck is a single point of household financial failure in a terrible job market, I have the opposite problem; I have to fight the urge to be an extreme miser and squirrel away every extra cent we have to our name. There's still a little living to be done today.

But I do tend (as mentioned above) to think of large purchases in terms of the amount of extra time I would *have* to work in order to pay for it.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

Thanks for the feedback, everbody! Comments below...

Is your job secure? How much is that $4k in terms of your net worth?

Cars are just transportation to me, but I have spent a lot more than that for foreign travels over the last few years. I have no immediate plan for foreign travel now, not because the expense really puts a dent (I lose or gain 2 to 5 trip worths a day), but because I would not feel good doing it now. If it brings my wife and myself happiness, I would.

So, if that car brings you happiness, and you feel reasonably safe with your job, then go for it.

By the way, the $4K seems low as a difference between new and old cars.

You enabler, you! You're right, the $4k difference isn't much in the grand scheme of things. Part of the reason for the low cost difference is that this "new" car is actually a year older than my current SUV. If it weren't for the fact that this vehicle will need to get me to work, and my kids to school, I'd probably just pull the trigger without fretting over it as much. It's knowing in the back of my mind that the future repair and maintenance costs on this are totally unknown, and could be very high that is giving me pause.

Yes - I can relate. For some reason I've always dreamed of owning a BMW 3 Series. Until recently I could have easily afforded the car but just couldn't justify - same reasons you outlined ( I was laid off on 12/31/08). Side note: I lost about 85k in my IRA in November - I couldn't help but think about the brand new BMW 335i I could have bought with that money! Sigh

Sorry to hear about your job loss, that sucks. The car I'm interested in is also a BMW, a 540i. I don't care about the prestige factor, but the car magazines all make BMWs out to be God's own chariot, and Lord knows I love driving.

We are usually pretty frugal, but once in a blue moon, we dream of something big.

For my wife, it's a very expensive watch. She has dreamt of that watch for 10 years and last week I finally bought it for her. But I didn't buy it new. Given the state of the economy, I took advantage of the fact that lots of people are desperate to raise money by getting rid of their stuff. So I was browsing the offerings at an estate (second-hand) jeweler and happened to find the exact watch my wife had been lusting after for years. It was only 1 year old, looked like it had never been worn and worked perfectly. I dropped $4.5K for the watch, about half the price I would have paid in a regular jewelry store. For a while I felt guilty to spend that kind of money in the midst of a recession, but what the heck, when am I going to find another deal like that? Plus it's not like we can't afford it. I also like the fact that those watches hold their value pretty well and can easily be resold in a pinch.

As for me, I want a new couch. Ours is 30 years old and it is getting to be very uncomfortable. I reupholstered it myself 8 years ago (changed everything except the frame and springs), but I think that it's time for something new...

Good point on the resale value of the watch, I'm sure that made it easier. Just thinking about it, I realize that if this was something my wife wanted, I wouldn't even bat an eye. Funny how sometimes we torture ourselves over things that we'd gladly give to someone else.

As for the couch, that doesn't sound like a splurge to me.

Warning Will Robinson!! This could happen to you:

The collection consists of all Chevy Convertibles

Wow, that was amazing. That gentleman must have an unholy amount of money tied up in those beauties. Not an option for me; I'm pretty sure my wife would be loooooong gone before it ever got to that point!

Sometimes it helps to think of time and money as being the same thing. How much earlier could you retire if you had that money? Maybe not at all, but maybe several months.

I know you didn't ask for this... but sometimes I have found that if I can identify what I truly want, and buy THAT (rather than a million little consolation prizes for myself), I end up spending less overall because I am happy and satisfied.

That's a good idea. I'll have to chew on that question (what do I *really* want) a little.

That approach works perfectly for me. Since accepting the fact that I can't afford to buy everything in the world I compare the cost of what I'm considering to the cost of other things including investments and stress reducing cash balances. When I make my choices this way I ALLWAYS get what I want the most and I never feel as though I'm depriving myself of anything.

I too have a weakness for stuff with wheels and include the future residual value of these things when calculating their actual life cycle cost. If at some future date you can sell your desired replacement vehicle for $4,000 more than your current SUV your net cost is nil. I know this ignores opportunity and maintenance costs but it does represent a factor to consider.

Good point, I should factor the residual value into my cost/benefit analysis.

I had been lusting over a GPS . I am directionally challenged and have been known to get lost driving around the block but being frugal I just travel with maps . Well my SO just surprised me with one for my birthday . So now I can turn my lusting elsewhere .

I'll bet your SO has some ideas.

More power to you if you can resist. I succumbed to temptation.

It started out when I got the job last summer that is 3.4 miles away. So I thought maybe a 50cc scooter would be a good commuting vehicle. But for about a 1-mile portion of the commute I need 50 mph uphill, otherwise I'd get run over and a 50 cc engine can't do that. Then I started thinking about a 250 cc Honda motorcycle but they weren't discounting them when gasoline was $4/gallon, and I noticed a 650 Suzuki was only a grand more.

But down the row of motorcycles from the 650 was this beautiful dressed-out Suzuki C90T (1462 cc) touring motorcycle that was heavily discounted.

Agonizing over it for months, and searching E-bay and Craigslist during that time, I bought it a couple of days after Christmas. So now I have this motorcycle that can probably climb 45 degree hills at 90 mph with two very large people on it.

I think that's how rationalization works.

So, you're saying I should aim higher with my purchase? Hmm, a new M5 would be nice... Are you at least enjoying your new toy? Any buyer's remorse?

I've had that lust from time to time. But as long as my paycheck is a single point of household financial failure in a terrible job market, I have the opposite problem; I have to fight the urge to be an extreme miser and squirrel away every extra cent we have to our name. There's still a little living to be done today.

But I do tend (as mentioned above) to think of large purchases in terms of the amount of extra time I would *have* to work in order to pay for it.

"There's still a little living to be done today". I'm definitely not a miser, but this phrase, or some variation of it, is usually how I start rationalizing a purchase like this.

I've read "Your Money or Your Life", and do try to think of large purchases in terms of hours spent working. Part of my issue there is that my time horizon for retirement is so far off (15+ years) that a month or two doesn't seem like a big deal. Those do add up, of course.

Thanks again, everybody!

 

[CuppaJoe]

Since I retired and can now stroll the neighborhood at mid-day, I’m developing an interest in the cars parked around here. Some guy seemed to have two of these, but now I think he is a repairman. The other one is yellow. Which comes first, interest or lust? Good luck, Bum, there's a lot of temptation out there.

 

[NW-Bound]

...
It's knowing in the back of my mind that the future repair and maintenance costs on this are totally unknown, and could be very high that is giving me pause.
...

Here's something to ease your conscience: learn to do car repair yourself. Search for "car repair" and "grease monkey" in this forum.

Seriously, car repair aside, if you are really that lusty over this car, and once you have it, have no other immediate desires, then I would say to go ahead.

Several things can happen.

One, you buy it and it is just like what you expected. You are so happy with it that, if necessary, you don't even mind cutting back on other leisure expenses to make up for it. Then, it's money very well spent.

Two, you buy it, and it turns out all that German engineering is all hype. Then you should be glad that it only costs $4K, and you did not spring for a new one. I would say it's worth $4K to experience it, since you wanted it so much. I wouldn't regret it. Not every thing in life can work out the way you plan. This disappointment is still fairly cheap.

Three, you buy it, and find out it is good, but not good enough. Now, you want something else. Now, that would be tragedy.

It's OK to splurge, as long as one does not make a habit of it.

Again, I myself have no desire for fancy cars. As mentioned, we love to travel. Some people say travel expenses leave no tangible results, other than some photos and videos. Oh, but travel lovers know better than that. I know that no matter what happens to me financially in the future, I will never regret money spent on that trip to Sorrento, the place that I got lured to by a song of the same name. I will not, on my deathbed, regret not having done something that would bring so much pleasure for so little money.

 

[haha]

I had been lusting over a GPS . I am directionally challenged and have been known to get lost driving around the block but being frugal I just travel with maps . Well my SO just surprised me with one for my birthday . So now I can turn my lusting elsewhere .

SO better take his vitamins.

Ha

 

[freebird5825]

I paid cash for this baby in 2005. It was an early 50th birthday present, bought at age 46.
I needed to cheer myself up big time.

Need I say more?

disclaimer - this is not my neighborhood.

 

[TromboneAl]

This reminds me of a thread over on the bike forum. A guy asks "Should I stick with my current bike or buy Model X (which costs $3,000)?"

Responses are overwhelmingly: "Yes, buy the bike. You deserve it. Go for it."

Not sure this is the best way to make the decision.

 

[NW-Bound]

That would be irrational splurging. I would not pay $3K for something that does not have a motor.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

That would be irrational splurging. I would not pay $3K for something that does not have a motor.

I certainly hope you didn't skip the wedding ring for the Mrs.

As for bikes, for those who ride a lot, it's a combination of tinkering, exercising, and socializing. It becomes a way of life because how much time it takes to maintain yourself and your equipment in tip-top shape. After a while, you're so used to seeing $3000-$5000 bicycles that your $1500 bike looks like something from the Salvation Army. As far as addictions go though, it's probably one of the better ones.

 

[NW-Bound]

I certainly hope you didn't skip the wedding ring for the Mrs. .

Maybe I spent $2999. It's been a while.

As for bikes, for those who ride a lot, it's a combination of tinkering, exercising, and socializing. It becomes a way of life because how much time it takes to maintain yourself and your equipment in tip-top shape. After a while, you're so used to seeing $3000-$5000 bicycles that your $1500 bike looks like something from the Salvation Army. As far as addictions go though, it's probably one of the better ones.

I will admit that I do not appreciate these bikes enough to see that a $5000 bike is worth that much more than a $500 bike. But hey, my philosophy has always been that if it is worth that much to you, and if it brings you pleasure year in year out, then why not?

What I find dumb are people who spend money on expensive stuff just because of peer pressure, or to acquire status symbols without really knowing to enjoy and appreciate their purchase.

Example: I have a couple of brother in laws who spent quite a bit of money on their stereo. But the truth is they are tone deaf. One asked me if wiring speakers to the wrong polarity would blow them up. I said "no, it only affects the phasing of the sound". I told them to experiment, to wire one out of phase with the other, and then test listen. They should be able to hear the difference, particularly in the bass. They could not hear a darn difference. What's the point of spending that money, let me ask you? They did it just because...

 

[Walt34]

So, you're saying I should aim higher with my purchase? Hmm, a new M5 would be nice... Are you at least enjoying your new toy? Any buyer's remorse?

Not a bit of remorse. I am thoroughly enjoying it on the few warmish days we've had so far and I'm and looking forward to warmer weather. Although writing a 5-figure check does make me a little tense, looking at it in the garage I just smile.

Now, if I could figure out a way to carry a bicycle on a motorcycle....

 

[freebird5825]

Not a bit of remorse. I am thoroughly enjoying it on the few warmish days we've had so far and I'm and looking forward to warmer weather. Although writing a 5-figure check does make me a little tense, looking at it in the garage I just smile.

We are on the same page.
I figure it this way - I cut costs so much in all other aspects of my life, I need a fun and totally materialistic outlet.
Buying it was not beyond my means while I was still w*rking.
My midlife crisis car may be totally self-indulgent, but you know what? That's exactly why I bought it.
In warm weather, I just love to hop in that car, put the top down, crank up the radio and go for cruises around the countryside. It makes me feel young to tool around, downshifting for the curves, opening it up on a flat stretch, etc. The best is watching people recognize the 'Stang as a look-alike of a memory of their own and seeing the big smiles. I get a lot of "thumbs up" and friendly waves from other drivers.

 

[Gpond]

I have the opposite problem; I have to fight the urge to be an extreme miser and squirrel away every extra cent we have to our name.

I am the same way. I see something I like at the mall or on TV then spend half a day looking for it cheaper on the Internet. Then come to the realization if I just wait a couple months it will be cheaper. A couple month later I forgot what I wanted to buy. Works like magic.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - mine was a 1967 XKE 2+2 coupe bought in 1970. Within a year I bought a 1961 Pontiac Bonneville cause it started in cold weather(Denver) and had room for parts(for the XKE). Plus single and under thirty male - insurance was a trip.

Hmmmm - now in ER may be time to sin again - not getting any younger.

heh heh heh -

 

[W2R]

Frank wants a Miata, but for a couple of years now he has resisted the urge to buy one. He says he really doesn't need one and couldn't drive a convertible on most days down here anyway.

I am so proud of him for not giving in to the urge to splurge! It's not easy.

 

[ziggy29]

I am so proud of him for not giving in to the urge to splurge! It's not easy.

It's interesting how circumstances change your perspective on this. It hasn't historically been easy for me to resist a good splurge, even though I've always been a pretty good saver. But today, given our current household circumstances, I find it very difficult to spend anything that doesn't absolutely have to be spent.