Comments on: Tip #16: Cancel any large purchases this month

By: eileen buxton

eileen buxton — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:14 +0000

Delaying gratification is fine if you can – but if you need to make a large purchase, then get it at the best possible time and at the best possible price. I am having a new roof put on my house right now. It is necessary, should not be delayed, and will save me a great deal of money and agony this winter when it starts to rain again. Watch out for the no-interest, no immediate payment items. Even if you pay it off in a timely manner and avoid the interest, you will hurt your credit rating. Stores sell the paper to finance companies. Your credit report looks as if you borrowed money from a finance company even though you did not. I found this out the hard way. Years ago, when interest rates were higher, it made more sense to me to keep the money in a savings account rather than paying in cash for my washer and dryer. I paid no interest and paid the full amount when it was due. My credit report reflected a loan from Beneficial Finance Co. If you need to buy a house, car or do anything else that would involve your credit score in the future, pay in full. Put it on a credit card to get the rewards and the assurance that you get what you pay for (unless the store gives you a cash discount and you can get the same quality assurance), and pay the total credit card bill when it is due.

By: agung

agung — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:00:58 +0000

wowwwwww, good tips

By: Amrish

Amrish — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:19:33 +0000

I have a slight variation of this tip.

If the item is something I will use everyday, I defer the purchase to next month

If the item is something I will not use everyday, I defer the purchase to the next significant date (anniversary/birthday etc).

So effectively the most utilitarian stuff that I can enjoy everyday (and that doesn’t get stuffed into a closet somewhere) gets bought *eventually*

By: How Am I Doing With Ramit’s Save $1,000 Challenge? Part 2 — Green Panda Treehouse

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:27:09 +0000

[...] Tip #16: Cancel any large purchase this month [...]

By: Jules

Jules — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:09:38 +0000

Awesome tip! I good reminder about the power of delayed gratification. Thanks for this great 30 Day Challenge, Ramit. I have enjoyed reading all the tips.

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:45:24 +0000

We had our 13 yo washer repaired instead of buying a new one. I spent $160.00 as opposed to buying a new one for $600.00. Many things can be repaired instead of replaced, therefore saving you a considerable amount of money. An example of this is the Webber grill we bought when we got married basically fell apart–the legs came off. My husband held it up with cinder blocks. When the grid fell apart, I found a piece of wire mesh placed out with the trash, took it home and put it on top of the Webber. Worked for 3 more years. Finally found a nice BBQ set up on sale and bought it for DH for his birthday.

By: Denise Fisher

Denise Fisher — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:39:25 +0000

I was going to voice mild disagreement with this suggestion, but I think it’s sometimes a matter of context. I just purchased storm doors for my house and a new water heater, along with some additional plumbing work. But I realized that I’ve put off buying the storm doors for a couple years already, and that they’ll help reduce my heating costs. I could have waited to have the water heater replaced and the other plumbing work when the situation reached crisis mode, but in this case, I’m satisfied with my financial decision as a calculated tradeoff and a deliberate choice.

Also, I opened two new credit card accounts for each of these purchases, both of which offered a promotional plan of one year with no interest and no payments. These can be tricky financing plans for some buyers, but I know that I’m conscientious enough to pay off the balances before they are due (when they’ll rack up interest charges with back payments). It can easily happen if you’re not careful – you have a whole year in which to forget about it.

By: Todd

Todd — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:07:46 +0000

I think this is a good tip because it’s directed at behavior. The specific behavior is developing the ability to delay gratification. Meaning you don’t need to have everything right NOW. By delaying large purchases you are saving short term money but also learning that you can wait to have certain things. Very good.

By: Peggy

Peggy — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:44:31 +0000

We’ve always done this, and go a little further. We buy less stuff. When the kids get the “gimmies,” we’ll write down what they want on a piece of paper. I file these away for birthday and Christmas ideas, but for the most part the “gotta have” item is long forgotten in two weeks.

I use a similar strategy with myself. A new mattress has been on my need list for about three years now. It’s sitting there on my “want list” and eventually will be crossed off, but not anytime soon. It’s funny how often things that go on my list cross themselves off after a couple months due to a change in situation.

We also only pay cash for anything less expensive than a car or house. If we don’t have the cash, we don’t buy it. Cash must be saved and earmarked for a minimum of 90 days for an item before we use it for that item.

Today’s Tip: $0
Cumulative: $90.75

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:33:25 +0000

I don’t necessarily agree with this tip if the purchase can save you time, money and your health. For instance, a family member bought a snow-blower this past week. Great! Because we’re getting lots of snow and it’s safer for his heart to not be shoveling it all. I had to pay for a little work on my old car — which potentially saved me the time, hassle and expense of getting stuck somewhere.

I agree — skip the big things you don’t need. But you can’t put a price on prevention.