How long til you pay off current gear?

[ToneDeVille]

Pay off?
I've never bought gear on a payment plan.

 

[TheoDog]

 

[RC Mike]

Taking on debt to buy a toy seems incredibly foolish to me.

 

[Earl Foote]

Ha! I have a couple hundred bucks on my music related credit cards. I buy all of my stuff on OPM (other people's money) zero interest. If I can't get zero interest, I don't buy it. I could just pay cash but the OPM strategy kind of regulates my spending on gear.

 

[W88]

Already done ....

 

[caledoneus]

I plead the 5th.

 

[Tele-Vision]

In 40 years I have never bought gear on credit.

 

[Rekonizefull]

Taking on debt to buy a toy seems incredibly foolish to me.

What do you mean debt? It costs me 25 extra to get an item up front, other than that it's the same amount of money spent. If the money's going towards the item anyway, where is the foolish part? Now if I couldn't handle the payments that would be foolish. I've had guitars and amps around for almost 35 years. What is a toy to you may be a lifestyle for another

 

[GrayGoesBlack]

I used to live on the edge of my credit card, because I had to, and luckily that was a long time ago. Nowadays I try keep my monthly expenses as low as possible, so I have more left to spend on gear right away. If you have the money and a steady income, it's a matter of choice and patience how you finance stuff, but I won't go the credit route for anything ever again. There's no such thing as 'interest free', you will always pay more.

 

[Jhuttyhut]

There is zero chance I’d ever go into debt to buy music gear. Horrible decision.

 

[nic]

I’ve done payments in the past.
I currently buy all my gear up front.

However I have come to the turning point in my life where even though I can buy what I want out right, within reason and if I save and budget for it, that if someone is offering me 12-18 months no interest and no financing charges it’s quite attractive. From the perspective that my money isn’t tied up and can earn interest or be fluid for other investments during that time frame; given that I can at any point pay off said debt/liability.

So I do see both sides of it, but from OP’s perspective. No. I do not enslave myself to my hobby purchases.

 

[RC Mike]

What do you mean debt? It costs me 25 extra to get an item up front, other than that it's the same amount of money spent. If the money's going towards the item anyway, where is the foolish part? Now if I couldn't handle the payments that would be foolish. I've had guitars and amps around for almost 35 years. What is a toy to you may be a lifestyle for another

Yes, debt. How can you not understand that?

Yes, toys. I’ve had plenty of toys around for my whole life, too, but I understand the difference between a necessity and a toy.

Yes, foolish. You’re living beyond your means. You’re spending money you don’t have to possess a toy today, and it’s costing you more than it should. If you’re in a position where you need to use debt to buy a $1,000 item at 40-something years old, I don’t imagine you’ve got much financial cushion. You reduce your flexibility in the future by using debt, and if you’re a person without many resources that can put you at risk.

What are you teaching your kids?

 

[Earl Foote]

Back in the 'olden' days when I was a kid, we had a pretty successful country band. That was back in the days when a 16 year old could play bars. (the drinking age was 18 back then, but we looked older ) We all had open accounts at Heart of Texas Music in Temple Texas. We would go in once a month and make our agreed upon payments. We had really cool gear back then (when we we young enough to carry it )

 

[244300]

Financing for hobbies = bad.

/thread

 

[mabinogeon]

Financing for hobbies = bad.

+1 to this. Cash only. If I don't have the cash, I don't buy it.

 

[sleewell2]

i never borrow to buy gear. that is a really bad idea imo. my only debt is my house and i intend to keep it that way.

 

[gazzy_burns]

All paid. I wouldn't get into any debt for gear now. I used interest free credit cards when I was younger, but I'm not into that now....I don't want to owe on anything but my house.

 

[FiestaRed869]

I don’t take on debt to buy a house. If you can’t afford it save up. 30 years and effective 30% interest is a bad idea……

 

[RRfireblade]

Cash and carry, only way to fly.

 

[PatrickE_FenderADV]

All paid for here. Next big purchase will be put on a CC for points and then paid off immediately. I do not carry any debt.