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Reminder: Consider the Total Cost of Your Significant Purchases
Have you ever watched a high-definition feed on a large HDTV? A few times recently, I’ve considered purchasing one of those fancy, wide-screen, 1080p, LCD or Plasma HDTVs. We were on vacation recently at my sister-in-law’s house and they have a sweet 42” LCD HDTV. Naturally, I’ve been thinking about it again – the prices have been dropping over the past few years and it does provide a remarkable picture! (even watching golf seems better on one of these)
What does that TV really cost?
Say that you decided to buy one of these TVs…and say you were responsible about it and saved up your money so you could pay cash…and say you used a coupon or got a cash discount. So you bought your fancy-schmancy TV, brought it home and plugged it in, and you were just as pleased as punch (is that really a saying? And if so, where in the world did that come from? Is punch really pleased? What does that mean?). So you sat down to watch it but were disappointed that the picture didn’t look as good as it did in the electronics store. Of course, you still have to order HD cable or satellite to get actual HD pictures (extra $$). And movies didn’t quite look like they did either – because you really need a Blu-Ray disk player (more $$) with an HDMI cable (why are these cables so expensive? – $$) to get the great picture on your TV. And of course, you need to purchase a sweet surround sound audio system to get the full effect ($$). This is a good way not to save money as your well-planned-for purchase ($) quickly turns into an ill-conceived one ($$$$$).
We sometimes get so caught up in the excitement of our purchases that we neglect to consider all the "accessory" purchases that are necessary to complete the package and give us the benefit we originally desired. I don’t know of a foolproof way to ensure we take these extra purchases into account – I just point it out as a reminder.
What about the really big purchases…
Of course, my TV example is not a great one. It is not strictly necessary to buy all those other pieces – they are truly wants, not needs. A house is actually a much better example of how we can get into big trouble if we don’t take all the expenses into account before making the initial purchase. If you do the same thing with a house and don’t leave enough extra money for the auxiliary expenses, you WILL be in big trouble. Electricity, gas, water, etc are not generally wants that can be ignored – you can skip the surround sound system for your TV but you can’t skip the property taxes on your house.
Remember all the costs for the entire lifecycle…
So, the next time you’re doing your due diligence in planning and saving for a big purchase – make sure you consider all the costs involved with that purchase. And not just the upfront costs – remember that items like cars tend to cost more and more the longer you own them. For the really, really big purchases, like a house, I would recommend that you talk with someone knowledgeable and impartial that will help realize ALL the expenses that will go into that purchase.
So, what do you think – I already have the surround sound system (though I don’t have HD cable or a Blu-Ray player) – should I splurge on the HDTV? For those who have one – is it really worth it?
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Actually for the cables if you buy them online instead of in a retail store you can get them for less then half of what they sell them for in stores!
Great post buddy. I absolutely agree to the fellow commentor that if you bu cables, USB, plugs, stands, etc online they come half the rate sometimes due to offers. So going online is always wise decision these days. Cheers.
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