Making Excuses to Buy a New One

[bicker]

I'm surely not looking for advice. I do wonder, though, if anyone else has a similar story to tell....

We're looking for an excuse to buy a new television.

This was mostly prompted by a news story, which actually was over a year old, about what to buy "before the economy improves"... so I suspect we may be a little "too late" but perhaps not completely "too late". The list included some big ticket items, like diamonds, vacations, cars ... and televisions.

It was also prompted by a looming deadline. We bought a DLP HDTV in June 2006. DLP was great stuff, I gotta tell you: Super picture for an incredibly low price, as compared to plasma and LED HDTVs, with the same screen-size, that were available at the time. However, while DLP was, by far, the best value, it did have significant draw-backs: It has a lot of moving parts and other mechanical dependencies that would tend to lead to lower reliability in the long-term. Knowing this, going into the deal, we bought a five-year extended warranty (which has paid for itself ten times over, due to a light tunnel collapse) that expires in a little less than a year. We essentially bought the DLP in 2006 planning, in advance, to replace it by 2011.

As I mentioned in another thread, recently, though, I really have a hard time rationalizing replacing something that is not (yet) broken! I'd tend to run things into the ground, and then get upset with myself when, in doing so, I effectively leave myself high-and-dry. Combined with the likelihood that an improving economy always makes discretionary purchases more expensive, since consumers have more money to spend, there is really a lot of incentive to take advantage of lower prices now, rather than waiting for the imminent failure, at which time prices may be higher, in general, and we'd be "forced" (note the quotation marks around that word) to buy something without the normal amount of waiting-for-a-good-deal-to-pop-up that we would normally engage in.

If it sounds like I'm trying to talk myself into something, then you're understanding this correctly... read the title of the thread.

So what big-ticket purchases have you talked yourself into buying recently?

By the way, some of the things we're doing to try to help things along, in this case, include casually asking a beloved cousin if they might be interested in a gift of a used television. If that doesn't pan out then we'll check with the church board to see if the church could use it. We can't use the old television ourselves... it's too big.

 

[Ohiodislover]

2 TVs
laptop
On a smaller scale- A keurig for my kitchen and then a smaller one for work.

 

[DMickey28]

a puppy

on the verge of a new carseat for DS#2 but will probably hold back on that!

 

[Scurvy]

I almost had a similar story. We didn't end up having to replace our television when we had planned to because the light board failed and couldn't be replaced, so we were able to replace it under the service plan last year with our first LCD TV. We had fully intended to replace it with a nicer one at some point, we just thought it would still be working when we did.

We don't really talk ourselves into buying things. If we want something and can afford it, we buy it. I figure life is too short to make ourselves rationalize every purchase. If we replace something that works well, we either find another room to use the old one in or we find someone to give it to. We've gotten several things lately that we didn't "need" - another LCD TV, an XBox 360 with a larger hard drive, a lawn mower - but we thought we'd enjoy them. The items they replaced may have been working well, but we thought we'd enjoy the new ones more and that was really all the excuse we needed!

 

[golfgal]

We just got a laptop and peripherals for DS for college in the fall. We just bought $700 in stain for our fence and sealer for our deck--does that count . We need a new dishwasher but it keeps plugging along and we can't replace all the appliances right now so we just keep hoping it keeps plugging along.

College is our "big purchase" for this coming year.

 

[The Princess]

A Weber grill

 

[BillSears]

I', sitting at home right now waiting for my 60 inch plasma TV to be delivered.

But I admit my 50 inch one did pretty much die. So it was more of a repair or replace thing. I could have repaired for less, I could have replaced with something similar for less. But in the end I took this opportunity to UPGRADE!

Sometimes you just have to buy what you really want.

 

[tinatark]

We replaced our circa 1991, side by side, 1865 kWy refrigerator with a new KitchenAid - 580 kWy - it will save $120 annually - paying for itself in less than 10 years. At the same time, we replaced our two "garage" refrigerators, used a total of 1585 kWy, with one which uses 482.

Our total electric savings should be around $249.

We are also considering a new car - mostly for the cost saving benefit - our car payment/insurance is paid tax free through our business - if we buy a new car it will save around $3k per year in taxes.

 

[Pigeon]

I haven't closed the deal, but I'm trying to talk my husband into a new furnace.

We have no A/C. We are about the only house in town without it, as the guy who did our evaluation for a refi a few years ago confirmed. I'm sick of it, but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. I won't invite anyone over in the summer, nor will the kids. Although he gives lip service to wanting to make the house comfortable for them to have their friends, he doesn't want to take any actual steps to make that happen.

Anyway, I finally figured out an argument that seems to resonate with him. Our furnace is about 27 years old. A new one would be more energy efficient. We have the ductwork for A/C, so if we are getting a new furnace, we should put in the A/C at the same time as it won't be that much more.

So, while I don't give a hoot about getting a new furnace, there's a method to my madness.

 

[bicker]

I', sitting at home right now waiting for my 60 inch plasma TV to be delivered.

I didn't know anyone made 60 inch plasmas... all those we've looked at were 50, 58 and 63 inch (while LCDs are 50, 55, 60 and 65 inch). Which brand are you looking at? (We've mostly been focusing on Samsung, after briefly considering LG and Panasonic.)

 

[tinatark]

I didn't know anyone made 60 inch plasmas... all those we've looked at were 50, 58 and 63 inch (while LCDs are 50, 55, 60 and 65 inch). Which brand are you looking at? (We've mostly been focusing on Samsung, after briefly considering LG and Panasonic.)

We have a 65 inch Pioneer Kuro LCD - not a plasma, but close!

 

[bicker]

Actually, from what I've heard, the Kuros were fantastic. However, there were so expensive that, fwir, they're history.

 

[BillSears]

It's a 60 inch LG PK550. Amazon, HHGREG and Sears carry it but BestBuy doesn't have that model.

The guys over at the AVS forums think it's a great TV for the price. But it does have a very reflective screen so it's not good in a bright room.

 

[barkley]

it will be a new oven/stove. i intend to have it in before thanksgiving.

our current one works fine, but we hate it. i never would have chosen white if given any voice in the matter (came new with the house). i also want the newer type that has the oven split 1/3, 2/3's. it's rare we need a large oven so why not be more energy efficient and just use the smaller part (and for holidays won't it be great to have 2 ovens that work individualy?).

we don't generaly have to talk ourselves into buying something-but i'm known in my family as the one to send in to haggle the deal if there's any room for negotiation (the sales staff at best buy thought the deal was sealed with dh when he brought me back to o.k the big h.d. flat screen some months ago-by the end of my visit the price dh had negotiated had dropped by $200 and now included calibration, a new blue ray player and our choice of any 3 new bluerays in the store).

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

We went to Sam's Club yesterday to buy food and walked out with a 47inch LCD tv. It was a great deal.....display model was JUST being taken off display. Bought it for $800 and when I googled the model number, I couldn't find it anywhere for under $1500. The tv we had worked fine but has been having some sound issues. It's 15 years old, so it's way past time to join the 21st century.

 

[samshane]

Nothing lately... but when DH returns in just a few short weeks we are looking at getting a new, larger car. With 3 growing kids his Ford Focus just isn't cutting it space-wise for our family.

 

[mamacatnv]

New carpet and tile throughout the house. Our reasoning; it was a local purchase, it was installed by local contractors and we can't sell the house. Might as well spiff it up since we are stuck with it for a really long time due to a substantial loss of equity.

Now I want a new oven/stove. Don't need one, its not a stove emergency or anything but I really want one!

 

[FireDancer]

I think any tech-geek (like myself) goes through these metal debates regularly with how quick technology chagnes. I am pretty good about reasoning myself either out of things I really don't need or into things that are inevitable purchases even if it means getting it a bit in advance.

The latest for me was a Garmin Forerunner 305. I had kept talking myself out of it because I had a map program to plot distance and a pretty good Timex Ironman watch. I knew I was going to get one eventually and Amazon had such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. I'm glad I got it, after one run I have no idea how I trained without it.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I know what you mean OP and PPs. I have been wanting to buy a new pair of Volkl skis for a while and the ones I am looking at are around $1200 so I keep putting it off. I think I'm going to get them around October though because I really want them and they'll be a year old now.

I have a perfectly good pair, they cost about $700 and although they've been used A LOT they look like they've only been used twice. Luckily, I know someone who might want them and even offered to pay something for them. They're very nice but I went for speed in buying them so they're longer than I was used to. But now I want to start racing for fun and I need a shorter ski to go around the gates.

Another thing I want to get, but is unlikely that I will for a while, is a 17" MacBook Pro. The one I want is going to cost about $2800 with a student discount. Hm... my current computer works fine though and I don't really have that much money just lying around.

I think these things will come soon though.

 

[bicker]

BTW, just an update to the OP: Trigger has been pulled on our purchase. Delivery is Friday.