To Spend Or Not To Spend - Help Me Decide

[colchar]

Alright, here’s the deal.

At the moment, I don’t have a source of income and am living off my meagre savings. If I am careful and stick to a weekly budget I can get by for a few months. There is, however, an item I want to buy that would eat up a small chunk of my savings. If I buy it I won’t be headed to the poorhouse or anything but I will have to be strict about sticking to my weekly budget. If I am strict with myself I can still get by for a few months. I do not need this item, I’ve just wanted it for a couple of months and I stumbled across one today that is on sale for $150 less than the normal price so I’d like to take advantage of this deal as they don’t come along often.

I still haven’t heard anything about the job I interviewed for last week and, because I haven’t heard anything, I am thinking that I didn’t get it. Another job might come along at any time which would make this whole question moot but I cannot, necessarily, bank on that happening. Since I do not know what is going to happen I am having trouble deciding whether or not I should buy this item so I’m asking for everyone’s opinions.

If it ever came right down to it and I was hurting for money I could always just turn around and sell this item. If I did that I would almost certainly get back exactly what I paid for it so I also have to factor that into my decision.

What do y’all think?

[bjornolf]

Alright, here’s the deal.

At the moment, I don’t have a source of income and am living off my meagre savings. If I am careful and stick to a weekly budget I can get by for a few months. There is, however, an item I want to buy that would eat up a small chunk of my savings. If I buy it I won’t be headed to the poorhouse or anything but I will have to be strict about sticking to my weekly budget. If I am strict with myself I can still get by for a few months. I do not need this item, I’ve just wanted it for a couple of months and I stumbled across one today that is on sale for $150 less than the normal price so I’d like to take advantage of this deal as they don’t come along often.

I still haven’t heard anything about the job I interviewed for last week and, because I haven’t heard anything, I am thinking that I didn’t get it. Another job might come along at any time which would make this whole question moot but I cannot, necessarily, bank on that happening. Since I do not know what is going to happen I am having trouble deciding whether or not I should buy this item so I’m asking for everyone’s opinions.

If it ever came right down to it and I was hurting for money I could always just turn around and sell this item. If I did that I would almost certainly get back exactly what I paid for it so I also have to factor that into my decision.

What do y’all think?

To me it would depend entirely on what the item is, how much of a savings $150 is, and how bad I want it. If you could REALLY sell it and get the money back, then I'd say it's a win-win.

[bluebutton]

Feel free to take this will a grain of salt since I'm a financial pansy, but maybe one question to ask is whether your want/enjoyment of the desired item is greater than the peace of mind from being able to handle a small emergency?

I am assuming your tight/strict budget is for your basic living expenses, but heaven forbid your car need servicing or your health needs attention or something like that. A couple hundred dollars available to absorb those unexpected situations would be really valuable to me. YMMV, of course. Maybe there are some cheaper outlets for enjoying yourself while you're looking for a job?

Good luck on the job hunt, BTW.

[EarlJam]

What is the item? Come on Colchar. You can tell us. Come on. It's us!

Seriously, what the fuck is it?

-EarlJam

[colchar]

What is the item? Come on Colchar. You can tell us. Come on. It's us!

Seriously, what the fuck is it?

-EarlJam

Nothing overly special, just a new guitar amp (a Marshall tube amp).

[TNTDevil]

Feel free to take this will a grain of salt since I'm a financial pansy, but maybe one question to ask is whether your want/enjoyment of the desired item is greater than the peace of mind from being able to handle a small emergency?

I am assuming your tight/strict budget is for your basic living expenses, but heaven forbid your car need servicing or your health needs attention or something like that. A couple hundred dollars available to absorb those unexpected situations would be really valuable to me. YMMV, of course. Maybe there are some cheaper outlets for enjoying yourself while you're looking for a job?

Good luck on the job hunt, BTW.

Umm... without going all Public Policy Board on you, Colchar lives in Canada (for now)- you know those dumb-asses to our north? Those idiots aren't allowed to profit from people's suffering. His "socialist" ass will never pay a "medical bill". Clowns.

As to Colchar's OP. Buy it. If, as you say, you're guaranteed of the return on you initial investment, where's the risk?

Peace,
TNT

[YmoBeThere]

As to Colchar's OP. Buy it. If, as you say, you're guaranteed of the return on you initial investment, where's the risk?

Peace,
TNT

1. There is never a guarantee on the an investment
2. Guitar amps while fungible generally aren't an investment

[EarlJam]

What is the item? Come on Colchar. You can tell us. Come on. It's us!

Seriously, what the fuck is it?

-EarlJam

Nothing overly special, just a new guitar amp (a Marshall tube amp).

I knew it.

I knew it would be guitar related. In that case, knowing your love for it, you must purchase it. Seriously, I think getting a new amp and cranking it up will be a healthy outlet during the job search. Kind of like someone who works out all the time may invest in a piece of exercise equipment. Go for it! And rock out with your wok out!

-EarlJam

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Just buy the fucking thing and move on!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Just buy the fucking thing and move on!

You should know I wrote this before/without looking at the poll choices Now that I have read, and voted accordingly, I had to let you know!

[colchar]

1. There is never a guarantee on the an investment

While there is never an absolute 100% iron clad guarantee on anything I am very familiar with the used market for these and am extremely confident that, if I had to, I would easily get my money back. And right now there is a bit of a shortage of these in the US because the model has proven so popular that many people can't get their hands on one without waiting a few months. Also, they make this model in various colours and the one I am looking at is in the most popular colour (British Racing Green) for which there is a longer waiting list than for the standard black ones.

2. Guitar amps while fungible generally aren't an investment

Actually kind of depends on the make and model as some of the higher end ones definitely appreciate in value.

[colchar]

I knew it.

I knew it would be guitar related. In that case, knowing your love for it, you must purchase it. Seriously, I think getting a new amp and cranking it up will be a healthy outlet during the job search. Kind of like someone who works out all the time may invest in a piece of exercise equipment. Go for it! And rock out with your wok out!

-EarlJam

This amp is new as it only hit the market last year. According to reviews, etc. it reminds a great many people of the classic Marshall 'Bluesbreaker' amp from the mid '60s (think Eric Clapton when he was a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers right before he formed Cream). The Bluesbreaker is widely considered to be the most classic of all the classic Marshall amps (obviously debatable but I cannot really disagree with that argument) and some are saying that Marshall has hit a home run and created another classic in this amp. I haven't played around with one enough to know if that is true but I do know that it is one hell of an amp.


Here is a video demo of the amp. The guy uses three different guitars in the video (a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Telecaster, and a Fender Stratocaster). At the 4:25 point in the video he starts using a Fender Stratocaster that is identical to mine (except that mine is a newer model as I can tell by the decal on the headstock of his guitar):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzZpPc92 ... r_embedded



This guy does a decent review of it as well and the first guitar he uses is very similar to mine (same make and model just with slightly different components):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh1gckzc ... re=related

[CathyCA]

I would do a "needs vs. wants" analysis. Do I need this thing? Or do I want this thing?

If I need it, I buy it. If I want it, I go into a further analysis.

I keep a list of things that I want. How close to the top of my wants list is this item? If it's close to the top of my wish list, then I ask myself whether I'm buying it because it's on sale, or would I be willing to pay full price for the item. That usually helps me decide whether to make the purchase or not.

Can you get a job as a musician? If so, you could write this thing off as a business expense.

[colchar]

I would do a "needs vs. wants" analysis. Do I need this thing? Or do I want this thing?

If I need it, I buy it. If I want it, I go into a further analysis.

I keep a list of things that I want. How close to the top of my wants list is this item? If it's close to the top of my wish list, then I ask myself whether I'm buying it because it's on sale, or would I be willing to pay full price for the item. That usually helps me decide whether to make the purchase or not.

Yeah I did that. I don't need it, I just want it. It is, however, first on my list of items that I want. While I would be willing to pay full price if I was shopping for this without financial constraints I would still be looking to get it on sale (I'm always up for saving money on purchases whenever possible).

Can you get a job as a musician? If so, you could write this thing off as a business expense.

Not a chance as I am nowhere near good enough for that. If I was I would be playing in bars every night of the week!

[CathyCA]

Yeah I did that. I don't need it, I just want it. It is, however, first on my list of items that I want. While I would be willing to pay full price if I was shopping for this without financial constraints I would still be looking to get it on sale (I'm always up for saving money on purchases whenever possible).

Then you must buy it.

[lawgrad91]

Go ahead and get it if it's a good deal. As you said, you can always resell it and get your money, if you suddenly find yourself in bad straits.

It you don't buy, you will regret it. (The British Racing Green did it for me! My new Mini, Winston Grant Mini Cooper Helfet, is BRG.)

[knights68]

What is the item? Come on Colchar. You can tell us. Come on. It's us!

Seriously, what the fuck is it?

-EarlJam

Nothing overly special, just a new guitar amp (a Marshall tube amp).

IMHO, Perhaps you can get the best of both worlds. Do you have something that maybe you can hock or otherwise sell for half the $150? If so, then you wont really be spending $150 of your cash on it.
Plus, as others suggested, if you get it and maybe land one or two (paying) gigs somewhere, even if it is for $20 or something, you can rationale it better.

My boiled-down opinion however is what 'til you land a job.
Then with one of your first paychecks promise yourself to get an amp bigger and better than the one you have the opportunity to get now.
And the real challenge is to find one close to the deal you see now. But not to be the deal-breaker.

[colchar]

IMHO, Perhaps you can get the best of both worlds. Do you have something that maybe you can hock or otherwise sell for half the $150? If so, then you wont really be spending $150 of your cash on it.

It doesn't cost $150, they cost over $500. The $150 I mentioned was the discount available on one that I stumbled across on sale.

My boiled-down opinion however is what 'til you land a job.
Then with one of your first paychecks promise yourself to get an amp bigger and better than the one you have the opportunity to get now.
And the real challenge is to find one close to the deal you see now. But not to be the deal-breaker.

I was heavily leaning towards that but the ability to sell it and get my money back out of it keeps pulling me back to the other side of the decision.

[colchar]

Yeah so I bought it today.

I had to take my guitar in to get some adjustments done (most I can do myself but there are some things that I won't mess with due to the potential for problems) and was looking at the amp while I was there. GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) got the better of me and I walked out with it. I can't wait to get my guitar back tomorrow night and try out the new amp!

[CathyCA]

Yeah so I bought it today.

I had to take my guitar in to get some adjustments done (most I can do myself but there are some things that I won't mess with due to the potential for problems) and was looking at the amp while I was there. GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) got the better of me and I walked out with it. I can't wait to get my guitar back tomorrow night and try out the new amp!

OMG, so now you have the amp and no guitar? You must be going crazy while you're waiting to get the guitar back!