Buying HiFi at credit, anyone?


Has any of you ever bought a piece of Hifi with money you knew you did not have? Not talking about a 4-payment free interest deal when you have the cash anyway, I am talking putting the purchase on a line of credit or worse credit card and repaying it over many many months with interests to pay?

If so, no need to give a $ figure but how many months of net income did this represent and how long did it take to pay back? any regret? do you think it is a sign of ultime hifi sickness or true passion (not mutually exclusive!).
beheme
Tbooe, exactly, which is why I would have expected that some folks would come forth and, like me, admit that some audio purchases have been made with a little too much optimism about future revenues!!! never enough to put me in trouble but a few thousands bucks, certainly. I do not regret a penny of it and am currently audio-debt-free (not for long!).

The other part of the thread that kind of went unnoticed is the total cost of buying what one can afford instead of what one wants...and trade up and up and every time lose some money..it ends up being a disguised interest rate that far exceed some going rate on line of credits. A hidden cost of being "reasonable".
Beheme, "Paying cash is one of the most certain way to building no asset and eventually going broke".

ROTFLMAO! But, then again, who might I be but just a symplistic newbie. I shouldn't expect other more sophisticated folks, like you, to decode what I meant by 'paying cash'. :-)

Against my present inclination to beat you over the head with credentials, and success stories, I'll not do that as it will only pe percieved as being self serving or a fabrication, and frankly to do so would just be boorish. Those two paragraphs have been edited out.

But, since I must clarify what I intended by the expression 'paying cash' I offer the following. Over the last 30 years I have built my modest estate by prudent investment's and spending. The only time I use 'credit' is when it results in a net gain for me, such as using a credit card which pays a 1% rebate for all purchases (I pay the balance each month and I pick up an extra $500 to $750 anually). I own a VW which was financed at 1.5% and the cash I could have paid remained invested with a return of 5%, for a net gain. I also understand and use to its maximum the concept of float. Small change for you perhaps but its things like that which helped me gain some financial security.

I have no other debt, but I did have a mortgage on my home which I foolishly paid off in 15 years when I probably could have used that money to buy some more NASDAC stock in 1999/2000, the years when I actually chose to get out of the stock market totally. Many would have, and many did, and lost their shirts using your 'credit' mentality. But they sure knew how to use credit to advance thier net worth. Some of them were even 'getting rich' day trading. WOW! I didn't move back in to stocks until about 2 years ago. More good luck, perhaps.

But, IMHO if you must use (or justify the use of) credit for consumer purcases, luxury items if you will, because you do not have the cash available to pay up-front or back your incurred debt, you are the person who risks eventually going broke, not me. Charge it up to your passion if you will, or ultimate hifi sickness, what ever, if you must, but such financed purchases have nothing to do with personal, and more importantly for some fools family, financial responsibility, unless you can show a net gain by using your cash elsewhere, which is not a simple trick for most folks.

You asked for the opinions in this thread. How ungratious of you to then criticize folks for giving opinions you didn't want to hear, and insult them directly or by implication as well. :-(

Tboooe, I thought I was keeping it simple in my first response, and my second one as well, except for the lack of definition of the phrase 'paying cash'. And while I was critical of the form of the response of the original poster to the posts of many responders, including my first response, even in retrospect I can see no justification to his personalized response most recently to me. Are you signing on to the full meaning of his last posts? I assume not, and FWIW I just happen to have no real issue with your contributions.
I have worked in the health care field for over 30 years.
I have talked with ,too many to count,hard working people that did nothing but saved their money ..no travelling..no extravagant buying.Always had to save save save and NEVER borrow.Many had their life shortened by a life ending disease.
Trouble with that ....they never got to enjoy their hard work and respectable bank account.
I talked with many and if they had a chance to do "it all over again" they would enjoy life to the fullest...spend on themselves and NEVER DO WITHOUT ..enjoy life today and pay for it tomorrow even if they had to borrow.Everything in reason of course.

Now I buy for today and yes I buy audio equipment on CREDIT all the time.
Why not ..life can be too short.....
Instead of "doing without" for months ,enjoy it today.

For what it is worth...
Oh...this is what you meant by "paying cash"...I am sure that everybody else had decoded what you REALLY meant!!!!!!!! tks for the entertainment.
Thefalls1117, you hit the nail on the head. My wife is a Internal Medicine MD. She's always telling me stories just like the one you told. No one on their death bed wants more money! I'm not in debt but,I have been and it was a very stressfull time in my life. Now I live way below my means and don't try to impress anybody with what I own or have achieved. The secret to happy living is having your backyard clean because we are not guaranteed our next breath.