I would've definately paid cash for my house if I had the $$$.
Like the others have said, as long as you have additional funds set aside in an emergency fund and have made reasonable progress towards funding your retirement accounts considering your current age, by all means pay cash for a house.
People often over estimate the value of deducting mortgage interest. First, you must have over the standard deduction rate (non-itemized)to even begin deducting interest, and you typically end up paying $1.00 to the bank for every $.25 you save in income taxes!
I did the 30 year route myself but have recently begun accelerating my payments now that I have paid off all other non-consumer debt.
I have purchased my two bedroom apartment in Istanbul Turkey with cash in 2004 when the market was down. At the time, it cost around 71,000 USD (92,500 TL) and now similar apartments are sold at 200,000 USD (240,000 TL). The investment proved to be a wise one but I value the peace of mind more. Interest rates are high in Turkey when compared to US and a long term mortgage would have made me a nervous wreck. A friend of mine told me to get a Euro mortgage and I refused to do it. At the time 1 Euro was 1.6 TL and nowadays it is around 1.93. I took the risk because my job at the time was pretty secure and I had some emergency money I could rely on for at least 6 months. Now, I am debt free and can save 40-45% of my income for the future. I hope to have the "Walk-away-money" in ten years so can start consulting and training on my own terms rather than stay as a part of the rat race.
Being mortgage free is great as it gives a greater sense of financial freedom, allowing you to be more selective about work assignments. Being able to do this from day 1 is something only a few people can achieve.
Whether it's a good idea depends on the house you can afford versus the house you want, how much spare cash this will leave you with and if there are any better homes for your money.
Interesting post. Would you be interested in syndicating your content on the home page of my site? It's an online community of finance professionals ( http://www.wallstreetoasis.com ). I could add an RSS feed that will allow me to promote your blog posts to my home page (when i think it will lead to a good discussion and/or is appropriate), but I wanted to make sure you were comfortable syndicating first. The syndicated post would have a link back to your original post. Thanks, Patrick (you can reach me at wallstreetoasis@wallstreetoasis.com if you have any questions).
Also, if you are willing to provide a link to wallstreetoasis.com that would be much appreciated.
Thanks to Guest for Comment #8. I really can't say if the lenders and agents I spoke with were reputable or not, but that raises the question of how an ordinary home buyer can easily tell whether or not they are working with reputable institutions and people. Most of us don't buy that many houses -- and if we do it's because we've moved to another area, hence new institutions and people -- that we never develop the experience to spot the disreputable.
Guest is absolutely right that many closing costs are the same with or without a mortgage.
I'm in one of the areas identified in the piece as having higher closing costs. They only surveyed lender fees (owed only by those getting a mortgage) and title and settlement fees (owed whether you get a mortgage or not), but excluded taxes and prepaid items (again, owed whether you get a mortgage or not). Loan fees ranged from New Hampshire's low $1401 to Hawaii's high $1902 for a $200,000 house.
The figure I cited was about twice as high as those cited in the survey, but in my description I noted that the figure I cited in my case included a "point," 1% of the value of the loan. I was quoted a lower interest rate if I was willing to pay a point. My terminology could be wrong here and it could be that the point should not be counted as a lender fee (that's what my spouse tells me, anyway), but since I was going to be paying it to the lender, that's what it seemed like to me! Yes, it is possible to get a loan with no points, but the interest rate and monthly payments are higher.
Thanks, too, to Xin Lu for the reference to "forced savings" in Comment #6. Rather than the forced savings of a mortgage I did mine through automatic bank transfers to a "home ownership fund" account every paycheck. I had a goal and I tracked the fund as my savings accumulated. It was something I took a great deal of satisfaction in, rather than dreading the big bill every month, fearing I might fall behind and lose everything I'd worked and saved for.
Finally, thanks to Sam for Comment #9. The peace of mind that comes with no mortgage has nothing I can compare it with. I heard a program on the radio a few weeks ago that featured people screaming that they were debt free. The announcer quickly added, "...except for their mortgage." I wonder how much louder the shouts would have been from those who owed no mortgage, either!
I agree with getting an appraisal just to know if you are overpaying or not. Though I think the tools of professional appraisers can be learned by yourself. After you look at enough homes, you also sort of have an idea of how much a house should cost.
I think Paul Singh is correct in saying that everyone should "understand the options available to you and make sure you include those as you create your own strategies to get ahead".
As for me, I'm still a renter, but my parents and aunt have bought a house for my grandparents and paid for it in cash. The house is in China where all the loans are adjustable and the rates are set by the government. Loans as large as 1 million yuan is also hard to obtain. My grandparents also didn't want to deal with a mortgage so cash was the best option.
My parents still have a mortgage on their house because their interest rate is 5.25% fixed and with their tax deduction the interest works out to be around 3.5%. For them, their investments pay more than 3.5% so they rather keep the mortgage and the liquidity.
Agree, I'd rather buy it cash (only if I have huge amount of it) for my peace of mind. You never know whats gonna happen next, it times like this, its important you don't end up in shaky situation.
I appreciate hearing what others have done because I have been considering this. The house I am looking at would cost about 50% of my savings, which would not be everything I've saved, but still that's a very large amount to spend on one thing!! The interest rates are in my favor I think, as I could get a mortgage at 6%, and the savings are currently only earning 3-4% interest.
If I could afford to pay cash for a house then a definately would. The stress you go through managing a mortgage can be incredible.
To remove that stress completely so you NEVER have to think about your mortgage repayments would be amazing! So I definately would do it.
I still live at home with my parents and will probably move out next year and rent for a little bit while I save up to buy a house.
Also on that note I think it is better to buy a house with a loan so you can pay off the loan rather than paying rent to someone else and helping pay off their mortgage. Rent money is dead money
Wow, good job Jane! You are right about the 7% savings not exactly equating to 7% return. If you figure in taxes, for some people a 7% mortgage rate is lower than 7% because they get a tax deduction. For others who do not get the tax deduction, then the 7% mortgage is equivalent to 10 to 11% in stock market returns because stock market returns are taxed. I think buying a home in cash is definitely right for some people who have the discipline to save up that amount of money. For others, they use their mortgage as "forced savings" , or free up cash to invest in more things. It depends on how much risk and debt you are willing to take I guess.
We did it, too. Three years ago we paid cash for our house. I agree with you about saving on the fees and charges - money that you spend and get nothing in return. Plus some lenders make you get the house appraised - another couple of hundred dollars. As for the people who want a mortgage so that they can deduct the interest - why not just donate money to charity instead of paying it to the bank for interest - you get the same tax deduction and more satisfaction.
Without getting into too much detail, I'll add that my wife and I actually chose not to purchase our house (in early 2007) with cash. In fact, we did the math and decided to do 100% financing in order to get the tax break on the interest instead.
The bottom line here is that you've got to understand the options available to you and make sure you include those as you create your own strategies to get ahead.
In our case, we were able to get the interest rate low enough that we felt we could comfortably make equal interest with our cash in other low-risk places. Additionally, it gave us additional peace of mind to know that we had the cash available in case any other emergencies came up.
Again, it's all about knowing your options and maximizing them to meet your personal goals and needs.
I've bought two houses by saving up until I could pay cash for them. I'm hardly rich; good looking in a mature sort of way, maybe, but not rich. My parents live in one house and my spouse and I live in the other. Obviously I had to have the patience to wait until I could pay "100% down," but this was really the way to go for me.
Your example of a 7% mortgage being the same as a guaranteed 7% interest return risk free actually understates the advantage of paying cash. The 7% return is untaxed; for me, avoiding a 7% mortgage is more like a guaranteed, risk-free 11% interest before federal, state and local income taxes. That's a stock market return risk free!
Also by paying cash, I avoided many fees and charges, such as escrow accounts that pay 1%, mortgage application fees, mortgage origination fees, mortgage "points," appraisal fees, credit report fees, lender's title insurance fees, and such dubious charges as the underwriting fees, document preparation fees, loan-review fees, warehousing fees, etc.
The "tax advantage" of a mortgage is highly overstated. I don't itemize and any deduaction for mortgage interest has to exceed the standard deduction to be worth anything to me.
Many people I know have also told me of the "mistakes" in how their mortgage costs are calculated, errors which seem to always favor the lenders. :(
If you want to refinance to get a lower mortgage rate, there are more fees for that, too.
Those up-front fees total thousands of dollars saved by paying cash. On the last house I bought, I saved well over $3000 by not paying mortgage fees to get a $200,000 house.
In addition to the interest part of your mortgage, there's the principle you pay, only a little at first but more as the years pass. That's extra money I have available to spend or invest each month.
Leverage is a two-edged sword. It's a gamble, a risk that might or might not pay off. I'll stick with the guaranteed risk free high return, thousands saved in fees and extra monthly free cash flow. And I love the "no paperwork" and not dealing with banks, mortgage companies, credit agencies, etc.
Philip: what a nice surprise to find your blog, filled with serene wisdom in this fast paced times. Sometimes when I see everyone (including me sometimes) running around in a frenzy stressed life, and now the economic troubles, I wonder where we lost the dignity in frugality, as when our parents managed to cook and clean on basic supplies and spend little time on the Tv and more in the garden and/or with the family... most of the media demands you buy an unattainable image of wealth and youth that does not relate to everyday life and is not soul-fulfilling.
Again thank you for your words and keep the good writing coming.
I have managed to become addicted to saving. I know, it's crazy, but when I get a pay check or extra money, the first thing I think is, "how can I save some of this?"
The main thing that gets me though is food. Particularity restaurants. If I see them I want to go. If I see a commercial, it makes me want to go. At the grocery store... well you get the idea. Images of food are my triggers.
I do not think of myself as an over eater, just an expensive eater. I like to go to nice places, buy organic healthy food. I have found that by making a grocery list, my wife and I can spend less at the grocery store, and since we plan our meals, we dont go out to eat as often.
I try to avoid those triggers lock, stock & barrel... Which is pretty much how I was able to give up my true vice, instant gratification tickets, I mean, instant lottery tickets. I stay away from convenience stores almost entirely, and I keep very little cash on hand. If I need a convenience item I'll run into a Walgreens or CVS if the supermarket isn't nearby.
Kudos to the comment ideas! Some people just acknowledge their lack of discipline and find a work-around. It's something that I can live with.
Debbie, you bring up a really good point about feeling like we "deserve" something when we're having rough time. I certainly don't begrudge a kid a small bowl of ice cream or an extra half hour of TV if they fell and skinned both knees up, but there's something sad about entering adulthood and using food and shopping to 'cope' with bad days. I'm as guilty of it as anyone else, and I'm trying to find ways to reshape my thinking so that I can avoid a bag of Doritos after a nasty issue with a software build hits me between the eyes.
Another strategy is to not be afraid to return things after a slip-up. I've finally done this a couple of times. It doesn't work if you have the habit of removing price tags the second you get home, so I try to think twice before I do that now.
My main trigger these days is work stress, which makes me "deserve" delicious expensive junk food and lots of it. I fight it somewhat by bringing snacks and lunch to work. And I'm getting less and less picky in my job hunt.
Browsing in stores is a smaller trigger, but now I keep a list of specific things I'm looking for (such as a blouse to go with my blue polka-dot skirt for dancing in). I at least start my browsing in areas that might have the things on my list. I also use the "pretend it's a museum" strategy - I can enjoy looking at things and greatly appreciate them without actually buying them. Before we leave a store, my boyfriend and I show each other our favorite finds (sharing is fun!) and then usually leave without buying them.
I really admire people who can admit weaknesses and work with them. Like my friend who never went to the gym because she could always go tomorrow - she switched to a three-times-a-week plan; now she can't always go tomorrow! And my friend who has a savings account in a far away bank with only one branch and also used to buy savings bonds and take them out and admire the nice stack to help keep her from overspending. (That was back when you could get paper copies and when you didn't have to keep them so long to avoid penalties.)
My triggers are kid related. I could care less about clothes, shoes, or purses for myself- what about the children?!? I know my kids wishes and plan ahead for Xmas months ahead, squirreling away the perfect gifts. And sometimes, forgetting I even had them. No more. I began a spread sheet with kids, costs, and items bought. And I found a centralized hiding place.
The sad part is, even though I agree completely with your statements, I'm still being pulled inexorably toward buying this stupid hunk of metal. I can completely and fully predict my buyer's remorse, but the power of the iPhone compels me.
The power of the iPhone compels you!
The power of the iPhone compels you!
The power of the iPhone compels you!
Term policies can be inexpensive; it would depend on the age of the person and health though. Here is an online tool (commercial site).
If money is taken out of the policy, it may be taxed -- see this article on term and whole life.
I would've definately paid cash for my house if I had the $$$.
Like the others have said, as long as you have additional funds set aside in an emergency fund and have made reasonable progress towards funding your retirement accounts considering your current age, by all means pay cash for a house.
People often over estimate the value of deducting mortgage interest. First, you must have over the standard deduction rate (non-itemized)to even begin deducting interest, and you typically end up paying $1.00 to the bank for every $.25 you save in income taxes!
I did the 30 year route myself but have recently begun accelerating my payments now that I have paid off all other non-consumer debt.
I have purchased my two bedroom apartment in Istanbul Turkey with cash in 2004 when the market was down. At the time, it cost around 71,000 USD (92,500 TL) and now similar apartments are sold at 200,000 USD (240,000 TL). The investment proved to be a wise one but I value the peace of mind more. Interest rates are high in Turkey when compared to US and a long term mortgage would have made me a nervous wreck. A friend of mine told me to get a Euro mortgage and I refused to do it. At the time 1 Euro was 1.6 TL and nowadays it is around 1.93. I took the risk because my job at the time was pretty secure and I had some emergency money I could rely on for at least 6 months. Now, I am debt free and can save 40-45% of my income for the future. I hope to have the "Walk-away-money" in ten years so can start consulting and training on my own terms rather than stay as a part of the rat race.
Being mortgage free is great as it gives a greater sense of financial freedom, allowing you to be more selective about work assignments. Being able to do this from day 1 is something only a few people can achieve.
Whether it's a good idea depends on the house you can afford versus the house you want, how much spare cash this will leave you with and if there are any better homes for your money.
Interesting post. Would you be interested in syndicating your content on the home page of my site? It's an online community of finance professionals ( http://www.wallstreetoasis.com ). I could add an RSS feed that will allow me to promote your blog posts to my home page (when i think it will lead to a good discussion and/or is appropriate), but I wanted to make sure you were comfortable syndicating first. The syndicated post would have a link back to your original post. Thanks, Patrick (you can reach me at wallstreetoasis@wallstreetoasis.com if you have any questions).
Also, if you are willing to provide a link to wallstreetoasis.com that would be much appreciated.
Thanks to Guest for Comment #8. I really can't say if the lenders and agents I spoke with were reputable or not, but that raises the question of how an ordinary home buyer can easily tell whether or not they are working with reputable institutions and people. Most of us don't buy that many houses -- and if we do it's because we've moved to another area, hence new institutions and people -- that we never develop the experience to spot the disreputable.
Guest is absolutely right that many closing costs are the same with or without a mortgage.
Bankrate has an article that is relevant: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mortgages/ccmain2006a1.asp
I'm in one of the areas identified in the piece as having higher closing costs. They only surveyed lender fees (owed only by those getting a mortgage) and title and settlement fees (owed whether you get a mortgage or not), but excluded taxes and prepaid items (again, owed whether you get a mortgage or not). Loan fees ranged from New Hampshire's low $1401 to Hawaii's high $1902 for a $200,000 house.
The figure I cited was about twice as high as those cited in the survey, but in my description I noted that the figure I cited in my case included a "point," 1% of the value of the loan. I was quoted a lower interest rate if I was willing to pay a point. My terminology could be wrong here and it could be that the point should not be counted as a lender fee (that's what my spouse tells me, anyway), but since I was going to be paying it to the lender, that's what it seemed like to me! Yes, it is possible to get a loan with no points, but the interest rate and monthly payments are higher.
Thanks, too, to Xin Lu for the reference to "forced savings" in Comment #6. Rather than the forced savings of a mortgage I did mine through automatic bank transfers to a "home ownership fund" account every paycheck. I had a goal and I tracked the fund as my savings accumulated. It was something I took a great deal of satisfaction in, rather than dreading the big bill every month, fearing I might fall behind and lose everything I'd worked and saved for.
Finally, thanks to Sam for Comment #9. The peace of mind that comes with no mortgage has nothing I can compare it with. I heard a program on the radio a few weeks ago that featured people screaming that they were debt free. The announcer quickly added, "...except for their mortgage." I wonder how much louder the shouts would have been from those who owed no mortgage, either!
Luck to all of you, mortgaged or not.
Debt, it's the mind killer!
I agree with getting an appraisal just to know if you are overpaying or not. Though I think the tools of professional appraisers can be learned by yourself. After you look at enough homes, you also sort of have an idea of how much a house should cost.
I think Paul Singh is correct in saying that everyone should "understand the options available to you and make sure you include those as you create your own strategies to get ahead".
As for me, I'm still a renter, but my parents and aunt have bought a house for my grandparents and paid for it in cash. The house is in China where all the loans are adjustable and the rates are set by the government. Loans as large as 1 million yuan is also hard to obtain. My grandparents also didn't want to deal with a mortgage so cash was the best option.
My parents still have a mortgage on their house because their interest rate is 5.25% fixed and with their tax deduction the interest works out to be around 3.5%. For them, their investments pay more than 3.5% so they rather keep the mortgage and the liquidity.
Agree, I'd rather buy it cash (only if I have huge amount of it) for my peace of mind. You never know whats gonna happen next, it times like this, its important you don't end up in shaky situation.
Nice post!
Sam
Fix My Personal Finance
http://fixmypersonalfinance.com
I agree with paying cash if you can, however, regarding the mortgage fees
You should get an appraisal regardless
You still need to purchase owners title insurance, which is about 90% of the title insurance costs
If you are considering a mortgage from a reputable broker, the fees saved are much less than $3,000 cited above.
The actual costs saved are closer to only $500-$800, for credit report and underwriting charges.
The other mortgage charges, such as flood certification, appraisal you should get regardless for your own protection.
Additionally, other charges, such as closing fees from the title company and recording fees are charged regardless of how you pay for the home.
One other point. Refinancing a home, when less than 70% of the value, is the same interest rate as purchasing.
I appreciate hearing what others have done because I have been considering this. The house I am looking at would cost about 50% of my savings, which would not be everything I've saved, but still that's a very large amount to spend on one thing!! The interest rates are in my favor I think, as I could get a mortgage at 6%, and the savings are currently only earning 3-4% interest.
If I could afford to pay cash for a house then a definately would. The stress you go through managing a mortgage can be incredible.
To remove that stress completely so you NEVER have to think about your mortgage repayments would be amazing! So I definately would do it.
I still live at home with my parents and will probably move out next year and rent for a little bit while I save up to buy a house.
Also on that note I think it is better to buy a house with a loan so you can pay off the loan rather than paying rent to someone else and helping pay off their mortgage. Rent money is dead money
Wow, good job Jane! You are right about the 7% savings not exactly equating to 7% return. If you figure in taxes, for some people a 7% mortgage rate is lower than 7% because they get a tax deduction. For others who do not get the tax deduction, then the 7% mortgage is equivalent to 10 to 11% in stock market returns because stock market returns are taxed. I think buying a home in cash is definitely right for some people who have the discipline to save up that amount of money. For others, they use their mortgage as "forced savings" , or free up cash to invest in more things. It depends on how much risk and debt you are willing to take I guess.
We did it, too. Three years ago we paid cash for our house. I agree with you about saving on the fees and charges - money that you spend and get nothing in return. Plus some lenders make you get the house appraised - another couple of hundred dollars. As for the people who want a mortgage so that they can deduct the interest - why not just donate money to charity instead of paying it to the bank for interest - you get the same tax deduction and more satisfaction.
Without getting into too much detail, I'll add that my wife and I actually chose not to purchase our house (in early 2007) with cash. In fact, we did the math and decided to do 100% financing in order to get the tax break on the interest instead.
The bottom line here is that you've got to understand the options available to you and make sure you include those as you create your own strategies to get ahead.
In our case, we were able to get the interest rate low enough that we felt we could comfortably make equal interest with our cash in other low-risk places. Additionally, it gave us additional peace of mind to know that we had the cash available in case any other emergencies came up.
Again, it's all about knowing your options and maximizing them to meet your personal goals and needs.
I've bought two houses by saving up until I could pay cash for them. I'm hardly rich; good looking in a mature sort of way, maybe, but not rich. My parents live in one house and my spouse and I live in the other. Obviously I had to have the patience to wait until I could pay "100% down," but this was really the way to go for me.
Your example of a 7% mortgage being the same as a guaranteed 7% interest return risk free actually understates the advantage of paying cash. The 7% return is untaxed; for me, avoiding a 7% mortgage is more like a guaranteed, risk-free 11% interest before federal, state and local income taxes. That's a stock market return risk free!
Also by paying cash, I avoided many fees and charges, such as escrow accounts that pay 1%, mortgage application fees, mortgage origination fees, mortgage "points," appraisal fees, credit report fees, lender's title insurance fees, and such dubious charges as the underwriting fees, document preparation fees, loan-review fees, warehousing fees, etc.
The "tax advantage" of a mortgage is highly overstated. I don't itemize and any deduaction for mortgage interest has to exceed the standard deduction to be worth anything to me.
Many people I know have also told me of the "mistakes" in how their mortgage costs are calculated, errors which seem to always favor the lenders. :(
If you want to refinance to get a lower mortgage rate, there are more fees for that, too.
Those up-front fees total thousands of dollars saved by paying cash. On the last house I bought, I saved well over $3000 by not paying mortgage fees to get a $200,000 house.
In addition to the interest part of your mortgage, there's the principle you pay, only a little at first but more as the years pass. That's extra money I have available to spend or invest each month.
Leverage is a two-edged sword. It's a gamble, a risk that might or might not pay off. I'll stick with the guaranteed risk free high return, thousands saved in fees and extra monthly free cash flow. And I love the "no paperwork" and not dealing with banks, mortgage companies, credit agencies, etc.
Debt, it's the spirit killer!
Buying a house makes sense, let's see hmm umm, When you're RICH!
If you don't have (at least) 3 months of cash reserve after paying for a house cash, It makes no sense
There're alot of senior citizens that have a paid for house and no savings.
I never look at a house free and clear, because there is always property taxes and insurance to pay for. And sometimes that can increase.
Philip: what a nice surprise to find your blog, filled with serene wisdom in this fast paced times. Sometimes when I see everyone (including me sometimes) running around in a frenzy stressed life, and now the economic troubles, I wonder where we lost the dignity in frugality, as when our parents managed to cook and clean on basic supplies and spend little time on the Tv and more in the garden and/or with the family... most of the media demands you buy an unattainable image of wealth and youth that does not relate to everyday life and is not soul-fulfilling.
Again thank you for your words and keep the good writing coming.
I have managed to become addicted to saving. I know, it's crazy, but when I get a pay check or extra money, the first thing I think is, "how can I save some of this?"
The main thing that gets me though is food. Particularity restaurants. If I see them I want to go. If I see a commercial, it makes me want to go. At the grocery store... well you get the idea. Images of food are my triggers.
I do not think of myself as an over eater, just an expensive eater. I like to go to nice places, buy organic healthy food. I have found that by making a grocery list, my wife and I can spend less at the grocery store, and since we plan our meals, we dont go out to eat as often.
for viewing 2 weeks after the opening. You can use it at anytime of the day.
I try to avoid those triggers lock, stock & barrel... Which is pretty much how I was able to give up my true vice, instant gratification tickets, I mean, instant lottery tickets. I stay away from convenience stores almost entirely, and I keep very little cash on hand. If I need a convenience item I'll run into a Walgreens or CVS if the supermarket isn't nearby.
Kudos to the comment ideas! Some people just acknowledge their lack of discipline and find a work-around. It's something that I can live with.
Debbie, you bring up a really good point about feeling like we "deserve" something when we're having rough time. I certainly don't begrudge a kid a small bowl of ice cream or an extra half hour of TV if they fell and skinned both knees up, but there's something sad about entering adulthood and using food and shopping to 'cope' with bad days. I'm as guilty of it as anyone else, and I'm trying to find ways to reshape my thinking so that I can avoid a bag of Doritos after a nasty issue with a software build hits me between the eyes.
Another strategy is to not be afraid to return things after a slip-up. I've finally done this a couple of times. It doesn't work if you have the habit of removing price tags the second you get home, so I try to think twice before I do that now.
My main trigger these days is work stress, which makes me "deserve" delicious expensive junk food and lots of it. I fight it somewhat by bringing snacks and lunch to work. And I'm getting less and less picky in my job hunt.
Browsing in stores is a smaller trigger, but now I keep a list of specific things I'm looking for (such as a blouse to go with my blue polka-dot skirt for dancing in). I at least start my browsing in areas that might have the things on my list. I also use the "pretend it's a museum" strategy - I can enjoy looking at things and greatly appreciate them without actually buying them. Before we leave a store, my boyfriend and I show each other our favorite finds (sharing is fun!) and then usually leave without buying them.
I really admire people who can admit weaknesses and work with them. Like my friend who never went to the gym because she could always go tomorrow - she switched to a three-times-a-week plan; now she can't always go tomorrow! And my friend who has a savings account in a far away bank with only one branch and also used to buy savings bonds and take them out and admire the nice stack to help keep her from overspending. (That was back when you could get paper copies and when you didn't have to keep them so long to avoid penalties.)
My triggers are kid related. I could care less about clothes, shoes, or purses for myself- what about the children?!? I know my kids wishes and plan ahead for Xmas months ahead, squirreling away the perfect gifts. And sometimes, forgetting I even had them. No more. I began a spread sheet with kids, costs, and items bought. And I found a centralized hiding place.
The sad part is, even though I agree completely with your statements, I'm still being pulled inexorably toward buying this stupid hunk of metal. I can completely and fully predict my buyer's remorse, but the power of the iPhone compels me.
The power of the iPhone compels you!
The power of the iPhone compels you!
The power of the iPhone compels you!
I trust neither with the economy. I trust neither with the war. I trust neither with social issues.
America doesn't really want change.