quote:

---

Originally posted by Mickhammer

I live by the rule: if I can't pay cash for it, I don't want it.

(Your house doesn't count - shelter is an essential item. It's up to you if you prefer to buy or rent. But again, if you can't afford the mortgage or the rent, find something you can afford. Unless you live in the States, in which case... good luck with that)

---

i guess that applies to your car or pickup also.... now that they have got out of reach without the banks help.... i see young couples here in my state the are living in a 2000 + square foot house,,  new car ,,new truck and boat in the driveway or garage  ... and i am thinking HOW ?  do they make 200k per year or what ?

In the world of debt-based fiat currency and 7%+ real inflation, financing everything at 5% is just good math.

"Money" is just numbers on a computer screen, it's not real. Number gets too low, click some buttons, number gets bigger. But nothing in real actual life changes at all. It's all smoke and mirrors, the difference between a wealthy person and a poor person is understanding this fact. 

Only fools spend their own money. Everything I have someone else bought. You owe someone 100 bucks it's your problem, you owe them a million and it's their problem. Possession is 9/10 of the law.

try telling the IRS its just numbers on a screen and see what happens next !!!

what is yours is now theirs

Oh my, im so old….

the entire 'spend 'cos your finance rate is lower than real rate', still assumes youve got money to service/pay the loan and not jeopardize or forego other financial obligations and opportunities. And, your credit score....

Instruments, no matter how wonderful, are a luxury, unless you’re a professional musician, imho. Like others , cash, save up for the instrument.

More importantly, there are perfectly good instruments that are suitable for making music, that are inexpensive, eg gold tone, recording king, etc.

I appreciate fine instruments and own an embarrassment thereof. But, there is nothing like losing sleep over a discretionary purchase. Im not saying that sometimes one might stretch for a special opportunity. Having done so, in retrospect, mostly, nothing was as "OMG gotta have it " as I believed in the moment.

I also believe that very few instruments are ‘investments’. Good ones/ limited runs/ desirable woods may hold against inflation. For a sobering moment, simply look at the many used instruments in any category and price range......they are generally speaking, not a liquid asset, imho.

only you know what fits...

Good hunting, and, sleeping.

quote:

---

Originally posted by 1935tb-11

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mickhammer

I live by the rule: if I can't pay cash for it, I don't want it.

(Your house doesn't count - shelter is an essential item. It's up to you if you prefer to buy or rent. But again, if you can't afford the mortgage or the rent, find something you can afford. Unless you live in the States, in which case... good luck with that)

---

i guess that applies to your car or pickup also.... now that they have got out of reach without the banks help.... i see young couples here in my state the are living in a 2000 + square foot house,,  new car ,,new truck and boat in the driveway or garage  ... and i am thinking HOW ?  do they make 200k per year or what ?

---

My secret is I don't live in the States anymore. I've seen the madness you people have been putting up with. Over here, it's still possible to be middle class and live quite comfortably.

And since I've switched to EVs, I'm not interested in buying cars. I take out a subscription to them (i.e., leasing), which allows me to change cars as the technology evolves. (I did pay cash for our PHEV though). If I lived in a city, I wouldn't even have a car, but I'm out in the country, so it's a necessity.

But comparing shelter and transportation to a banjo or any musical instrument that's not earning you a living is silly. There are tons of reasonably priced, excellent banjos out there. I'm playing one this morning, I like it just as much as my higher-end handmade banjo ( bought used and with cash). I do play semi-professionally, so eventually that pays for my gear.

quote:

---

Originally posted by KCJones

In the world of debt-based fiat currency and 7%+ real inflation, financing everything at 5% is just good math.

"Money" is just numbers on a computer screen, it's not real. Number gets too low, click some buttons, number gets bigger. But nothing in real actual life changes at all. It's all smoke and mirrors, the difference between a wealthy person and a poor person is understanding this fact. 

Only fools spend their own money. Everything I have someone else bought. You owe someone 100 bucks it's your problem, you owe them a million and it's their problem. Possession is 9/10 of the law.

---

The real difference between a wealthy person and a poor/middle class person is that it's 99% certain the wealthy person started out wealthy. 

quote:

---

Originally posted by 1935tb-11

try telling the IRS its just numbers on a screen and see what happens next !!!

what is yours is now theirs

---

I'm not sure what you mean. My tax bill is also just numbers on the screen. Click the buttons, move numbers from one screen to the other, now the tax bill is gone. Nothing changes in real life though. It's all just numbers on a screen. Smoke and mirrors. Fugazy. 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mickhammer

quote:

---

Originally posted by KCJones

 It's all smoke and mirrors, the difference between a wealthy person and a poor person is understanding this fact. 

---

The real difference between a wealthy person and a poor/middle class person is that it's 99% certain the wealthy person started out wealthy. 

---

In a way that makes us all the same. Where we end up is largely determined by where we begin.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mickhammer

...And since I've switched to EVs, I'm not interested in buying cars. I take out a subscription to them (i.e., leasing)...
 

---

So you've signed yourself up for a lifetime rental payment. 

"You will own nothing and you'll be happy" - Ida Auken (World Economic Forum)