Author Topic: Talk me out of this purchase  (Read 10538 times)

OSUBearCub

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Talk me out of this purchase
« on: November 18, 2014, 04:25:24 PM »
So Black Friday is fast approaching and there's a $119 Element 40 inch 1080p LCD tv on sale at Target.

Pro:
1. I really enjoy watching TV and movies at home
2. Watching movies at home reduces the movies I would go see at the dollar theater
3. Current TV is 32 inches and must be positioned too far away for optimal viewing
4. Current TV would be great to hook up to computer system and would allow for streaming movies and tv series that have been excluded from mobile versions of Netflix and Hulu (Roku player is considered a mobile device for some reason)

Con:
1. I have a damn TV that works
2. No reviews on this model of TV so I can't be certain it will fall under my "buy it once for life" guidelines
2. $119 times compounding interest plus financial mumbojumo equals seven years off my retire date ;-)

MrsPete

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2014, 04:28:36 PM »
You omitted the most important measure:  Is this a splurge you can easily afford, or should the money really go to some other purpose? 

I find it hard to believe a $119 purchase could make a seven year difference in your long-term plans. 

Jags4186

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2014, 04:32:50 PM »
How much pleasure do you get from watching tv?  Forgetting the whole don't watch tv argument (I love tv) if it is something you spend a significant amount of time enjoying $119 isn't that bad of a deal for a nice upgrade.

galliver

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2014, 04:48:02 PM »
32" to 40" is barely noticeable! If you needed to replace the old TV because it was broken, it would maybe make sense, but to have 2 of practically the same thing sitting around? What if the 40" breaks and then you *have* to replace it because you're used to the size now and going back to the 32" will be uncomfortable (i.e. consider the hedonic adaptation)? Why can't you move the seating closer to the TV and hook up the computer now (why does that require a new TV)?

(I actually don't think it's that awful but you asked to be talked out of it.)

Beric01

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2014, 04:54:19 PM »
How about "Wait until next year and a better and cheaper one will be available"? And then repeat the same exercise next year.

I've found this to be an excellent way to delay unnecessary purchases indefinitely.

pzxc

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2014, 05:06:30 PM »
8 inches is not worth buying a new TV.

1967mama

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2014, 05:07:27 PM »
How much could you sell the 32" for on Craigslist? That could factor into your decision, too.

Eric

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #7 on: November 18, 2014, 05:07:42 PM »
32" to 40" is barely noticeable! If you needed to replace the old TV because it was broken, it would maybe make sense, but to have 2 of practically the same thing sitting around?

Yes, this.  There's little difference.  Use your current TV until it stops working.  Plus, if you're going to buy a new TV, buy a decent one, not some knock off piece of junk.  A very quick google search of reviews on Element shows that you'll probably be shopping for a TV again next year if you buy this brand.

One Day

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2014, 05:12:26 PM »
Do you have any debt?

If not:

1. Are TV and movies one of your top hobbies?  And -
2. Would you really see more than 119 movies at a dollar theater because you have a slightly smaller screen?

JeffC

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2014, 05:13:44 PM »
I'd say go for it because I bet you can sell the old TV for more than 119 on craigslist so you could actually extract some money from the upgrade.

The only drawback I can see is that you would have to endure the misery that is Black Friday, but if you don't loathe that tradition (and crowds of people) like I do, no drawbacks at all.
« Last Edit: November 18, 2014, 05:15:19 PM by JeffC »

OSUBearCub

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #10 on: November 18, 2014, 05:48:27 PM »
Do you have any debt?

If not:

1. Are TV and movies one of your top hobbies?  And -
2. Would you really see more than 119 movies at a dollar theater because you have a slightly smaller screen?

Yes and I'm not proud of this lol

Regarding debt.  Yes - student loans that are in an aggressive pay-down.  Regarding the Mustachian balance I strike for myself - I've not made any material purchases for myself other a $20 pair of jeans in the last year.  I would say that this does fit into my budget even though my hair is technically smoldering lol

Why can't you move the seating closer to the TV and hook up the computer now (why does that require a new TV)?

I live in a studio apartment and the current arrangement solves every space-planning issue *except* distance from the TV.  So the slight increase in size will indeed improve the viewing experience.

Now I would have no qualms about buying an HDMI cable that could reach from the computer to the TV.  This idea has some traction.

pzxc I'm not gonna touch that one with my warped sense of humor lol

How about "Wait until next year and a better and cheaper one will be available"? And then repeat the same exercise next year.

I've found this to be an excellent way to delay unnecessary purchases indefinitely.

I've been doing this for the past 5 years.  I'm really impressed at how the prices have dropped and I'm fairly certain we're at or very near rock bottom pricing on a tv of this size.  Also I love Black Friday as a sport but this would be an easy-peasy online purchase - no lines involved.

But y'all have pushed me a little further from the ledge.  :-)

mozar

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #11 on: November 18, 2014, 05:50:26 PM »
Don't buy the tv:
Years ago companies realized they could make knock offs just for black friday and people wouldn't care. you are not getting the regular tv, but a more cheaply made one.

Mother Fussbudget

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2014, 06:00:20 PM »
Don't buy the tv... UNLESS...

1) You sell your 32" TV *TODAY* for $100. 
2) Then stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign saying "Need $30 to buy a bigger TV" (that will cover the $19 + tax)
« Last Edit: November 18, 2014, 06:02:32 PM by Mother Fussbudget »

OSUBearCub

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2014, 06:39:49 PM »
Don't buy the tv... UNLESS...

1) You sell your 32" TV *TODAY* for $100. 
2) Then stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign saying "Need $30 to buy a bigger TV" (that will cover the $19 + tax)

Ooooohhhh you're a COLD one! :-)

themagicman

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2014, 07:44:55 PM »
How about "Wait until next year and a better and cheaper one will be available"? And then repeat the same exercise next year.

I've found this to be an excellent way to delay unnecessary purchases indefinitely.

This!! My brother bought a 65 inch smart tv "deal of a lifetime" he called it for $750 for black friday last year. He said that the TV sells for over $1,200 and that $750 was too good of a deal for anyone to turn down.

Walmart is now selling the exact same TV on black friday 2014 for $650!

gimp

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2014, 07:56:23 PM »
I think y'all are forgetting something:

A $119 40 inch, 1080p tv, sold on black friday, is most likely going to be complete and utter shit. It will last a year, two at most, if you're lucky, before it breaks. Whatever the warranty on it is - a year? - it'll break immediately after. Because it's a piece of shit.

So this isn't a question of whether you should spend $119 on a better tv, it's a question of whether you should spend $119 on a better tv that you're going to replace anyways asap because it's going to suck. That is, if the picture isn't a steaming pile of shit that hurts your eyes and makes you hate watching it. (But on the other hand, maybe buying it will dissuade you from watching tv, which is worth $119.)

happy

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #16 on: November 19, 2014, 05:30:49 AM »
Don't buy the TV, you don't need it.
FACEPUNCH

Ricky

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #17 on: November 19, 2014, 05:36:44 AM »
This reminds me of the worse segment ever put on TV: Suze Orman's "Can I Afford It?".

$119 isn't going to make or break you, but without knowing your finances, we can't truly know whether this is something you should do or not. If you had high interest debt >=119 then you definitely shouldn't buy it.

OSUBearCub

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #18 on: November 19, 2014, 09:28:48 AM »
This reminds me of the worse segment ever put on TV: Suze Orman's "Can I Afford It?".

I've seen her turn down a 13 year old wanting to make a $75 purchase.  She can be a financial sadist sometimes lol

Also, relax everyone, this is a light-hearted question.  I'm doing going to the trouble of banging out a proper case study for this small a purchase. lol  I just needed outside voices to help get past this consumerist craving.  I'm not getting the TV. :-)

FarmerPete

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #19 on: November 19, 2014, 10:06:53 AM »
Any TV that sells that cheaply is probably crap, unless that same exact model is available somewhere else for more regularly.  Like others have said, they make special crap models for black friday that aren't worth the discounted price.  There is a reason that they don't sell them year round.

Recently, I bought a new TV.  I wanted to have one in the basement for gaming.  Originally, I was going to buy a 32" TV.  After doing some deal shopping, I ended up with a 50" TV (don't facepunch me yet).  I bought it from Dell.  Total cost for the 50" TV with 120hz refresh was $614 delivered, BUT it came with a $300 Dell credit.  They got rushed with orders and it was backordered.  When I asked why my delivery date kept changing, they gave me a $50 refund.  Then I was looking online and saw that my electric company has a $25 rebate for energy star TV purchases 50" or smaller.  Total cost for the TV after the $300 credit was $239.  I was planning on buying either a PS4 or a new gaming PC, and both can be bought from Dell (on sale) so getting the Gift Card was worthwhile.  The TV was a name brand (LG) current years model.  I bought it in August of this year.  You can get good deals year round.  Don't settle for garbage.

Yes, I like to game.  I try to do it as cheap as possible, and I've been very successful at that.  I've mainly been using a PS3 for the last 7 years, and I buy my games cheap.  I'm normally at least a year behind the current new games, so instead of paying $60 a game, I buy them (or get gifted them) for $20 each.  For short games, I'll rent them from Redbox 2-3 times and pay a grand total of ~$5 assuming I don't have free rental codes.  That works best for things like "Last of Us" that are fun but crazy short.

theSchmett

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #20 on: November 19, 2014, 10:08:19 AM »
What Mozar said. Black Friday specials like these specifically (don't know about others but the TV thing seems to be widely discussed) are cheap because they are CHEAP.

frompa

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #21 on: November 19, 2014, 10:45:39 AM »
All TVs are brain sucks.  Unplug the one you have now, get off your ass and do something.   

There, did I talk you out of it? 

neo von retorch

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #22 on: November 19, 2014, 01:13:34 PM »
Yes you can get a Sony 48" for $400 normal retail price. You can probably get a high quality 45-50" for less than $400 during the holiday sales. $400 over 20 years at 22 hours of TV a day... ;)

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #23 on: November 19, 2014, 01:29:04 PM »

Years ago companies realized they could make knock offs just for black friday and people wouldn't care. you are not getting the regular tv, but a more cheaply made one.

I learned something new today. Thanks.

tracylayton

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #24 on: November 19, 2014, 01:50:51 PM »
5 years ago I bought a 40" Element Flat screen, and I have never had a problem with it...great picture. I don't remember what I paid for it, but I know it was a lot more than $119. Go ahead...I love mine!

frugaliknowit

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #25 on: November 19, 2014, 01:53:49 PM »
32" to 40"?  I don't get it.  Run the 32 to the ground, then get 55".  Don't buy something only because it's cheap.

How would you feel if you bought it, then it failed right after the warranty ran out?

jka468

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #26 on: November 19, 2014, 02:02:11 PM »
This is getting crazy. If $119 somehow throws off your FI date by 7 years then you are really doing something wrong, even by mustachian standards.

tarheeldan

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #27 on: November 19, 2014, 02:07:52 PM »
I'm with tracylayton, I've got a 42" 1080p Element flat screen from a Black Friday sale and it's been great. By the time it conks out, 4k might have been the standard for some time.

ketchup

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #28 on: November 19, 2014, 02:11:31 PM »
I'd say going from a 32" to a (probably) crappy 40" isn't worth your time of going to the store, unboxing it, and setting it up, never mind the money or waste.  Ride out the 32" TV until something stupid happens and then figure out a suitable decent-quality replacement (not just the cheapest deal-of-the-week-no-name-TV).  An extra $100 on an objectively better TV is money well spent if it means it'll last 5-10 years instead of two.

I still wish we had our $0.99 Goodwill TV.  It had much better sound than our newfangled HDTV that our roommates bought last year.

But any TV is a brain-sucking machine, etc...

OSUBearCub

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #29 on: November 21, 2014, 09:58:59 AM »
This is getting crazy. If $119 somehow throws off your FI date by 7 years then you are really doing something wrong, even by mustachian standards.

That was hyperbole.  I was poking fun at some of the hard-line ERE and FI folks who have compound interest calculators into which they will pop a 99cent pack of gum in order to evaluate how much longer they will need to work. :-)

I'd say going from a 32" to a (probably) crappy 40" isn't worth your time of going to the store, unboxing it, and setting it up, never mind the money or waste. 

It looks like I won't have to set foot into a store; Target is offering their doorbusters online this year.

Update: Still on the fence and starting to get a little frustrated with myself.  What in me want's this moderately bigger tv?   I've not had this level of wants and gimmies-gimmies in the last 12 months.  I'm thinking that maybe because the floodgates have been inched open for Christmas gifts and to take advantage of another awesome only on BF deal ($25 sheet sets - I buy one a year) for myself, this TV is trying to muscle his way into the game. Ha Ha.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2014, 10:06:11 AM by OSUBearCub »

mcneally

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #30 on: November 21, 2014, 10:29:20 AM »
I don't get multiple people saying a 40" TV is hardly any bigger than a 32". It's ~56% bigger (684 sq in vs 438 sq in). If this is something you want but deem the cost unacceptable, I think what you really need is a job that makes you not want to kill yourself. We're talking about $120 here, or if he sells the old TV on craigslist, a net cost of somewhere in the neighborhood of $0-20.

Dyk

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #31 on: November 21, 2014, 10:51:42 AM »
So Black Friday is fast approaching and there's a $119 Element 40 inch 1080p LCD tv on sale at Target.

Pro:
1. I really enjoy watching TV and movies at home

That's really all the further I read to get to an answer.  If you already enjoy watching TV & movies at home, you don't need to buy it!

NewStachian

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Re: Talk me out of this purchase
« Reply #32 on: November 21, 2014, 11:57:56 AM »
I'd do it. It's not that much money, TV's last for a long time, and you have a use for your other 32". No-brainer to me. It's a 1-time small cost.