bluntmoney.com

Don’t settle for something that isn’t what you really want when you buy things. Doing so will cost you in the long run, and leave you feeling unsatisfied.

I nearly did this years ago, when the Mazda Miatas first came out. There was quite a buzz about them. It seemed like everyone wanted them — so much so that they were going for premiums of up to $8000 OVER list price. (List price was just under $14,000 for the no-frills version.) I remember having to leave a $400 deposit just to test drive one. I test drove it with the idea that maybe it wouldn’t live up to its hype, but it did, and I was hooked. But the base price alone was more than I made in a year. Add in air conditioning, the premium, and tax and we were getting close to twice my annual income. There was just no way. But boy did I want one.

So what did I do? I spent a year or so wishing, and then the Mercury Capri came out. It was significantly cheaper than the Miata, and was also a 2-door convertible. It wasn’t what I really wanted, but it was much more affordable, and nicer than what I currently had. I went down with the intention of buying one. I’m grateful to my ex-husband for what happened next: on the way to the Mercury dealership, he pointed out that I should buy what I really wanted instead. I realized he was right.

Why spend all that money on something that was just a poor substitute? Sure, I STILL didn’t have the money for the Miata and couldn’t buy one, but if I bought the Capri instead I wouldn’t even have a shot at the Miata. We turned around and went home, and I stuck it out with my existing car for a while longer. Shortly before Christmas that year, I came across a low mileage loss leader Miata that was discounted enormously, and I drove home with it Christmas day for less than the price of the Capri.

How much would I have spent over the years on cars if I hadn’t done what I did? It’s hard to say for sure, but probably at least 2-3 times the amount of the original premium-priced Miata. Since that day, I decided that I wasn’t going to waste my money buying things that weren’t exactly what I wanted. It’s cheaper in the long run to wait, and the feeling of being completely happy with a purchase is worth it.

• Buying The Entertainment Book Each Year Saves Us A Ton Of Money. When I was a lot younger, my parents would always buy the Entertainment Book and carry it around with us no matter where we went;...
• Money Saving Tips: 122 Ways To Trim Your Budget A while back All You Magazine offered to give away a few subscriptions to Frugal Dad readers.  The rules for entering the contest were simple--leave...
• Financial Goal Setting for 2009 Although it may seem crazy to be thinking about 2009, these last months preceding the beginning of the new year are the perfect time to...