There is nothing wrong with financing something when interest rates are low. That last two cars I've financed had <3% interest rates and 60-month loans. When you buy in your budget and get stellar financing, it's hard to come out bad on a loan. As a result of low interest, 5-year loans, and buying within my budget, I've not been upside down on a car payment, ever and that's something that makes me sleep better at night.
I had to get out of the habit of buying the cheapest of everything, because I finally realized it was costing me money.
Several people have mentioned decent shoes and mattresses. Those can save you thousands of dollars of medical bills on surgeries and what not, plus when you factor in your quality of life, they aren't that "expensive" at all.
I'm not sure if this counts as something I "bought" but my divorce from my first wife was worth every penny. No matter how much I made, I was always going to be broke when we were married. I pulled the ripcord 9 years ago and its amazing the financial progress I've made since then.
Buying a house on 6.5 acres on the edge of the National Forest was the smartest thing I've ever done, next to marrying my second wife. It was the exact top end of what we were willing to pay. I've never regretted it once.
There's a tremendous amount of wisdom to be found in Dave Ramsey's mindset towards money, even if you don't follow it slavishly. We may buy new (and finance) our next vehicle. You have to be johnny on the spot to snatch up a good deal on a used car that is a couple of years old (especially a Toyota) and we live a long way from decent used car lots, so we might spend months trying to find, and missing the right deal. When it's time to pull the trigger we may just whistle up what we want and buy it new.
We'll have rented a version of it ahead of time though, and if we do buy new, we will drive that fucker till it drops.
I was into 10mm Auto before it sold out and went mainstream, but these days I'm here for the revolver and epidemiology information.
I am starting to include a vehicular angle in my retirement planning. I want my truck paid off and ready for adventure when I will have time to exploit its capabilities. The car is helping to see to it that the truck is not crapped out by then. I have not accumulated enough money that I can just coast (no pension) so I gotta keep my burn rate low.
Nightforce NXS 2.5-10.
Freaking awesome scope. Super consistent, doesn't weigh as much as some of the popular LPVs, and hasn't had any issues with me running 15 miles with it on my back, throwing it, dropping it, etc. Worth every penny.
I'm on the fuck that guy side for sure. He spreads some decent ideas but he's also a cult leader and I have a few friends who were lost to his koolaid.
There's a lot to be said for a new vehicle. Having lost a few weeks of evening stuff over some random issues I couldn't imagine locking myself into those potential cycles more often. Even on something with 20-30k on it you're still losing some near perfect miles.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
Off hand, the first thing that comes to mind is a pair of Swarovski 10x42 SLC binos I bought several years back. I hunt up in the mountains, and you spend far more time glassing than shooting- rifle or bow. These binos have been outstanding and have gone way up in price. Because of the price appreciation, if I had a crystal ball back then, I woud've likely gone with the more expensive EL model. But, I'm extremely pleased with this set.
Money on quality optics is usually well invested.
It makes absolutely no sense to me when people buy guns or other items that are "almost, kind of sort of" what they want, and in the process buy 2 or 3 versions of "Kind of what they want", spending a substantial amount of money in the process, and never really obtaining something they are truly happy with.
Personally I would rather have ONE rifle, EXACTLY how I want, instead of 3 rifles, sort of how I like them. So in the case of spending "too much on Grail Guns", as far as I am concerned, if it makes you happy, you did it right, and you would never be satisfied otherwise.
If that "Grail Gun" is a clean 4506, or an old Pinned and Recessed Model 29, don't settle.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Absolutely!
Quite often the journey is more important than the destination.
I now have a good number of handguns and a few rifles. I have actually pared down quite a few. Over the years I tried about everything, figuring out what worked for me. Now after a number of decades of shooting, I have begun to divest myself of a number of the guns I don't use, or at least certain types. I keep a few around as investments, some family heirlooms, some regular shooters, and a couple that are of interest to me currently, but beyond that, the rest have hit the road.
The older I get, the less interest I have in material things.
My current plan is that when I retire, the guns I have set back for investment will get sold, and the collection will get pared down dramatically. I hope to consolidate the collection down to just a few calibers, so I can concentrate on doing more shooting, and less time at the loading bench