I NEED ADVICE ON A GIFT

[1kickassgal]

Okay, so thanks in advance for any advice.  My friend (and boss) is moving and has offered me their Yamaha baby grand piano....for free.  It's beautiful.  I do not play, but have wanted to learn for decades!  I will need to pay for moving it (estimate of about $300, and then tuning it (not sure what that will run).  I think this will be in lieu of my bonus (usually I get about $1,000, sometimes $2K, around Christmas).  He thinks it's worth about 3 to 4K if he were to sell it.  So, should I graciously accept and begin my new hobby?  Or, is it more prudent to graciously decline?  Worse case scenario, as I see it, is that my fantasy of learning to play will be pushed to the side by the confines of the responsibilities of daily living, and in a year I will make the decision to sell.  Best case - I will have the added joy of a newfound hobby and a beautiful instrument in my home.  I'm fighting the "guilt" emotion here with the bonus issue, like this is too frivalous.  Any thoughts? 

[Argyle]

If you already played piano, this might be a more certain good thing.  But if you already played piano, presumably you'd have a piano.

Many people know how to play pianos, own pianos, and yet never play their pianos.

You'll spend the money to move it, and then tuning it will be around $75.  Are you also prepared to start and pay for lessons?  Sure, you can noodle around on it, but do you think you'll noodle around on it enough to make it worthwhile?  Most people need lessons to give them focus and make them practice.

My question would be whether you're aiming for FI and how far off it is and how much you've saved.  If you put that $1000-$2000 into savings, how much would that add to it?

And if someone gave you $1000-$2000 in cash, would you buy a piano with it?

Also, check out the condition of the piano and talk to some dealers and get a real sense of how much this piano is worth.  If you can really sell it for $4000, then at worst, you've flipped a piano and come out with a nice profit.  But people are also often misled about the value of their objects.  If this piano is worth $500, it's not such a good deal.  Just because some Yamaha baby grands sell for $4000 doesn't mean they all do.

[Ziggurat]

I grew up in a house with an upright piano, and later, as a young parent myself, begrudgingly got an electronic keyboard as a substitute because we didn't have the space. I thought I would miss the beauty of a real piano; the reality is I am so glad we did not get a real piano. The keyboard never needs tuning and it takes up minimal space. We've moved many times and it was trivial to move. Anyone can play it at low volume or with headphones at any time of day or night without disturbing anyone. Oh, and my (intermediate) model actually had a digitized grand piano sound (not synthesized, but actual digital recording of a grand piano), so the sound was far better than the piano I grew up with. Then there are a bunch of fun things -- various "voices" the synthesizer can do, learning by playing along to stored songs on the display, built-in metronome, transposing, recording through a MIDI interface, and the list goes on.

I would not suggest to anyone to get a real piano with the intent of learning to play ... there is a nice smooth mustachian slope to walk instead. Start with a relatively inexpensive electronic keyboard, and if you stay with it, move up to better ones that are more and more piano-like (full keyboard, weighted keys, etc). At the end of that, if you know you are not going to move, and you have the space, perhaps get a real piano.

A real piano can be incredibly beautiful, no doubt about it. But the value for money is not there. The beauty is the only advantage it has, and that beauty comes with a huge "weight" on your space and finances, worry about damage, and so forth. So in terms of the mustachian philosophy, unless it can be turned around for a profit, I would say you are better off not to take this one.

[Ugh]

Every time you move, you would pay again to move it.  If you don't maintain it well, or if it has not been well maintained, it might have a huge cost just to keep it playable.  My MIL had a lovely baby grand, never played for ten years, and after she died we could barely get $100 for it because it had not been maintained.  This is really not a gift, it is the transfer of a headache in lieu of a gift.  And it is a poor substitute for cash.

[1kickassgal]

Thanks for the opinions.  This was my gut feeling as well.  For some reason, I almost feel "obliged" to accept it.  But, no, I would not spend 1 or 2K on a piano, in any way, shape, or form.  I love the MMM philosophy, but I came to my senses a bit too late, I fear.  Now, after a monetarily devastating divorce, I am just planning on being able to retire at 65 (52 now).  I think I can swing that with my current state of affairs.  But hey, prior to this, I was figuring on working the entirety of the rest of my life, so all is well! Every thousand DOES make a difference so thanks for helping me NOT yield to the temptation!