What purchases are you delaying?

[Roe]

One of the stock tips for saving is delaying some purchases. Either if it is to see how long you can go without, to stretch the use of the thing you will replace, to find a good deal or something else. Here is some im currently delaying.


Phone
I have an iPhone 5, when they released the 6 my phone got horribly sluggish and annoying to use. Once enough people had given up and went out to buy a new one, the phone speed up. Now a few years later, it is showing it's age. Sometimes slow, sometimes behaving oddly, all the time reasonably functioning. So far, having it turn off and refusing to turn on again on the airport going on a 2 weeks+ holiday was frustrating, but it didn't kill me, and I got the phone working again.

Im going with this one until it goes to the eternal tech sleep. Then I'll stay far away from any iPhone, maybe I will get a used Samsung.

Movie projector
Decided to get rid of the TV to not have to pay the governments fee for owning said TV. The day after they changed it to a fee that everyone pays, TV or not. A well...

Have an old movie projector where the lamp is about to give up. Buying a lamp for this one is quite costly, not far off from buying an entirely new projector with cheaper lamps and longer lamp life. Will get the new projector, but putting off the purchase means its longer until I have to buy a new lamp for it. Have decided to fund it with extra money, nothing from paycheck. With no side hustles this will take a while.

Bedroom lamp
Right now its only a light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Searched extensively for a new one, found a nice and cheap one. That was pre MMM, I don't consider that one cheap anymore. Im waiting until I find one for 20$ max, preferably no more than 10$. Ill wait until I find one for the right price, until then that part of the bedroom will sport the industrial look.


What purchases are you delaying?

[alewpanda]

Snow boots -- we will be moving next year to a place with more consistent cold/snowy weather.  I have mud/work boots currently that I make do with when we have snowy weather, but they aren't nearly as good as a real set of winter boots can be.  Because I know how good a nice pair are, I can't bring myself to buy any where I currently live.  I will buy a legitimate pair when I move north, from a store that actually intends their boots for snow, rather than the occasional dusting. 

Vacuum -- ours is on its last legs.  We've replaced the belt (again), putzed with the motorized parts, and while it runs...its super loud and we can't figure out why.  It doesn't smell like burning rubber anymore (yay!), but its 8 years old, and I am supposing it won't last too terribly much longer.  I don't want to put down money for a new one though, so I'm putting it off as long as possible. 

A new thermos lid -- mine is broken, so the top portion that opens and closes pops off sometimes.  Its workable, but annoying.  I keep meaning to look up replacement tops, but then I forget as soon as I'm done drinking my coffee...

[TartanTallulah]

My next tank of gas. Best not delay it too long.

Plants for my garden. I gave myself a garden budget for the autumn, I've spent it, and I'm now committed to doing all the tasks that don't require spending before I buy anything else.

A particularly expensive custom-built bicycle. That one's on hold until after retirement because at the moment I don't have time to ride it.

A new carpet for my youngest daughter's bedroom. The old one that's covered in make-up and hair dye stains and drips of candle wax can stay until she's definitely flown the nest. See also: new fittings and flooring for the "family" bathroom.

A new bag for work. If I delay that one long enough, I might never need it :-)

[ixtap]

I first thought of grocery shopping a couple of days ago. I called my husband at work and convinced him he could go one more day. I called him again yesterday and made the same argument. I really do have to go today, because we are out of options for things he will take to work for lunch. All of this delaying means that I have not driven the car at all this week, since I have been able to work from home.

Said husband's backpack is falling apart. In theory, he can get a free one from work, so I am not sure that delay counts as frugal.

We put the special LED lightbulbs we want on our Christmas wish list for MIL, rather than buying them last Spring.

[Duchess of Stratosphear]

New pair of bike shorts; I think my old ones are almost see-through by now. Not good. If I can find them on sale this fall, I may go ahead and get them. If not, I'll wait til spring since I won't be biking much this winter.

New winter coat: I think I can stand my old one for one more year!

New (used) car: I really want to trade in my Impreza for a Prius, but I'm not sure it makes sense just yet. The Impreza still runs, and I'd have to cough up a few k to do the trade. Probably will just keep it for a while longer.

What I am stupidly spending money on: coffee and junk food at work pretty much everyday. Also alcohol (but not at work :). If I would quit spending this stupid money, I'd have enough for at least the bike shorts in a few weeks.

[SharkStomper]

Tires for my truck.  I hate buying tires, it seems like money out the window for me. 

I put off buying a storm door for the garage door until yesterday.  I was headed out to the hardware store for a new coax cable and the damn bottom of the door finally fell out.  It had been rotted for awhile so I knew it was coming, at least.

[MrsPete]

My next tank of gas. Best not delay it too long.

Me too.  And a car to put it in.  I don't want to spend the money, but my college daughter's car is on its last legs.  She's getting my 10-year-old-but-excellent-condition-car, and I'll get the new one.

[Lmoot]

New cage for parrot - stainless steel, up to $2k...can't justify it yet, with my current priorities

Car - I decided to invest in my current car, and try to keep it for another 7 years.

School - I don't want to work while being a student. Working on saving and setting up passive income streams to support myself and continue increasing networth while in school.

[Capt j-rod]

A new phone as well. My I phone is my mother in laws old one. It is hanging on by a thread.

[PlainsWalker]

New pair of bike shorts

We are coming up on what a lot of people consider to be the end of riding season. You can probably find these cheaper now rather than in the spring.

[katekat]

Curtains. When we moved into this place just over a year ago, we made sure to put up blackout blinds in the bedrooms straight away, but many options for the bay window in our living room were expensive so I wanted to make sure I picked the right option. Now I don't know whether we're staying here medium term or not, so I'm reluctant to pay out for curtains/blinds now. Everyone can see straight into our house, but we rarely hang out in the living room and while I don't like being watched, it's hard to care enough to spend the money.

All furniture, really, because of the 'don't know if we'll stay' option, but I've been doing this for years and at 28 living with minimal stuff & roots is starting to feel old. Plus the curtains are the ones that make other people most think I'm weird.

Shoes for everyday wear. My cheap chelsea boots are all worn down on the front but rarely do I actually have to look smart. I would like to, though.

A new phone. I can't fit anything more on my iPhone 4S, can't get the new iOS, and am gradually having more problems with apps, but for right now it works and I can't decide what to get next.

Glasses. Broke my nice pair about 7 months ago but I had a spare pair with the same prescription that I just don't like the frame shape. I'm about 3 months overdue a test though so I think I will splash out on ones I love soon.

A coat. I don't have one likely to hold up this winter. But it's not quite cold yet and I need to find the perfect one.

Great idea for a thread! I've never had a history of making 'smart' purchases, really, or lots of self-control when it comes to the everyday expenditure, but me 'eh, I need to think about it, maybe tomorrow' attitude is at least one aspect of frugality that comes to me naturally.

[Caoineag]

Video games - blanket delay till they come down to the price I consider their cheapest point (some games only come down to a certain level before going back up as a collector item but generally I can pay between $10-15 per game).

E-Books - blanket delay, prefer under $5, will wait till they come down or I really want to read that book.

Music - blanket delay, prefer between $5-10 per album depending on how popular (popular usually won't go under $10).

Large battery bank for homemade RV - by the time I really need it, it will be cheaper thanks to technological advances.

Everything else I tend to purchase as needed.

[SomedayStache]

A couch.

Planning on ordering a sectional from home reserve.  We've been desiring this purchase for a few years and ordered fabric samples last month.  We're going to use the money from my extra December paycheck.  We have the cash now, but it's earmarked for other sinking categories. 

Every time I sit on our hated and uncomfortable couch I'm tempted to just go ahead and place the order.  Trying to wait till the cash is in hand.  Maybe this post will help with the waiting.

[A Definite Beta Guy]

We've put off replacing light fixtures (interior and exterior) since moving in. We don' like them at all, and the exterior light fixtures have rusted out in parts. But they aren't defective in any way, so we've not allocated any money to replace them.

I broke down and purchased some Thompson tees recently, though. I'm a huge sweater. I have under-arm stains every goddam day at work and pit out my undershirts within  a few months. These shirts have sweat pads that prevent that. It's 90+ in Chicago, walked outside for my lunch break today, and they absolutely work as advertised.

[Aegishjalmur]

house on acreage to build a greenhouse, plant fruit trees on and set up a small homestead. Will be travelling and living cheaply for probably a  couple years after Fire-ing before settling down to do this

[Zikoris]

I could probably use a new laptop. The lights or whatever have burned out on one corner, and 1/4 of my screen is pretty dark. But I hate computer shopping. I don't know what any of the numbers or letters mean (specs?), have no clue how to pick a good one, and operate primarily on luck.

[stachestache]

A new winter coat (live in Michigan). I know I could get by with the jackets I have, layering, etc.

I actually bought a new winter coat online about a week ago for half-off (still quite pricey) and it is too big so it will be returned. Today after getting the return stuff together, I thought, "I really don't need a new coat". That said, I have been looking at used coats on eBay.

[h82goslw]

Corvette Z-06 with aftermarket heads/cam and full exhaust putting down around 600 horsepower.  Should hit my number within 3 years then I'm buying one.  Until then I'm driving my 10 year old sedan with 265,000 miles.

[MommyCake]

Maternity clothes.  I keep re-wearing the same few things, only buying things when I absolutely need to.  I went into the maternity store on Tuesday because I could use some tops, but walked out with nothing.  Why are t-shirts $25? I didn't even look at prices of sweaters. Is it just me or is that a lot?

[BTDretire]

I've been putting of upgrading from a flip phone to a smart phone.
It's been in my thinking for at least 4 years, obviously closer now than 4 years ago. :-)

[Livingthedream55]

A foam mattress topper, a raincoat, a battery operated motion sensing outdoor light.

I have started a Wish List on Amazon for my upcoming birthday and Christmas so will have ideas for family when they ask.

[marielle]

A car. Mine is functional other than some things that aren't really necessary but would be very nice to have.

A phone. Everything works great other than the two hour battery life.

[Laserjet3051]

House.

Median price for a 2-family home (not even SFH) in my area is now 750K+. Insane pricing. Instead of dumping monthly monies into building up a home deposit, am routing all that cash to Vanguard. Plus, kids will be graduated in 2+ years; at that time I will make a move elsewhere in the nation to buy, if, the price is right.

[Raenia]

A futon mattress.  I have the frame, but we haven't replaced the mattress that was old and gross.  We'll just keep using chairs to sit on until we need the extra seating/sleeping for guests or something.

[Basenji]

A phone. My phone died, so DH got my old one out. Works fine, I'm ashamed we bought the one that died.

Lots of aesthetic improvements to the house I once thought were "important." Now I like seeing them as a reminder of money I'm not spending.

[StarBright]

I've been putting of upgrading from a flip phone to a smart phone.
It's been in my thinking for at least 4 years, obviously closer now than 4 years ago. :-)

Don't do it! I just did it and I hate the smart phone. I guess it is great if you want a computer in your hand at all times - but it doesn't really work well as a phone (which was my primary use).

[TravelJunkyQC]

A house. We just purchase a piece of land on which we will build our house (currently live in a loft condo). But we're spacing out the building over several years because a) partner is in a PhD downtown to which he can walk at the moment (will be moving to his company's office after his PhD), b) we don't have children yet so a loft is of no inconvenience, and c) we'd like to do as much as possible ourselves.

We'll start with cutting down some trees and starting the road in this fall. Next summer will be more cutting and moving of dirt and designing of house. Summer 2019 will be building of house. Fall will be interior finishing (mostly by us).

[Lmoot]

Ac for my car. I live in FL so it's hot as hell, but it will get tolerably cooler soon. I have things at higher priority, so holding off until next summer is a good idea.

[mm1970]

Home improvement, mostly because we are lazy.

(We need to replace the sewer line to the street ~$8500)

I really want to add on and get a second bathroom. Doesn't need to be a full.  Toilet and sink will do.

[Barbaebigode]

I have a shared list on Wunderlist for stuff that are more wants than needs. It reads:

- New tire for bicycle
- crystal deodorant (I'm using the old one that fell to the floor, cracked and now it's just a crystal stump)
- pan lid
- electric toothbrush
- iron cast pan

[Rubic]

Kindle books, mostly.  I buy 1-2 per month, but wait until I'm ready
to read them before purchase.

I keep a list handy, so I can order whatever I'm in the mood for.

I'm aware this isn't the most mustachian approach, but my library
doesn't carry many of the books I'm interested in reading.

[zolotiyeruki]

Oh, we have a very long list, partially because we don't have the money, and partially because we're not willing to spend the money (or have other higher priorities):
1) phones.  Both DW and my phones are from 2013, and not super fast.  But they're not slow enough to justify the expense of upgrading.
2) cars.  My sedan has 215k, the minivan has almost 150k and a liftgate that won't latch (my fault, backed into something).
3) home renovations.  A third bathroom upstairs would be really nice, since we have 6 kids.  But we don't know how long we'll be here, and there's broken stuff that needs to be fixed before we can start improving things.

[akzidenz]

There are two kinds of purchases I tend to delay: purchases that I want to delay until I "deserve" them, and purchases I want to delay until I find the perfect thing.

The purchases I don't "deserve" yet are: new fitness gear, new kitchen equipment. I have a very bare fitness wardrobe and a very bare kitchen, but I'm still developing my running habit (I run 2x/week) and I'm only just getting in the habit of cooking. A lot of marketing suggests that you need certain gear as soon as you pick up a new hobby or habit. I try to consciously fight that—I'll buy a second pair of fitness shorts when I am convinced I run enough to make it worthwhile. I'll buy a Dutch oven once I feel severely constrained with what I am cooking. I don't expect I'll buy anything in these categories for the next 6 months.

The purchases I'm delaying so I can find the "perfect" thing are areas that I know suffer from upgrade frenzy or a desire to have everything all at once. For example, I moved out of my parents' home (I'm 23, for reference) in January. My acquisitive materialist side wanted everything: a rug, a desk, a bookshelf, a wardrobe…

But I think it'll take me a long time to figure out what I want. I'm very particular, so if I rush to buy a rug, chances are I'll find out in a month that it doesn't match my preferred color scheme. Or it's not the right size. Or a better pattern comes along. So I occasionally window-shop for rugs, but I try not to feel the pressure of needing a rug right away. It's fine if my place looks a little bare until the perfect rug (at a good price) shows up. I want to have a tastefully furnished home, but taste isn't produced in a day.

It does make my room a bit untidy, though—the perfect bookshelf hasn't materialized, so all my books are stacked up on the floor.

[ElleFiji]

Lasers
Cell phone
Hair dye

[mozar]

A new fridge. I keep hoping the one I like will go on sale. My current fridge has been rattling for 3 years.

[Blissful Biker]

Vehicle - Ours has 265K km and is showing its age.  We are saving to replace it with $15K in place so far.  Having paid of the mortgage and being totally debt free is delicious.  No debt for us ever again.

Basement couch - it is nasty but still functional.  On the bright side, we don't care if the kids and their buddies eat on the couch.  Another stain, who cares?!

[GuitarStv]

New pair of bike shorts

We are coming up on what a lot of people consider to be the end of riding season. You can probably find these cheaper now rather than in the spring.

It's pretty tricky to get a new pair of bike shorts that's good.  Everything feels fine when you try it on.  Everything feels fine when you ride it for 50 km.  It's only when you get four or five hours into a ride with them that I find bike shorts start to show their true colours.  :P

[Linea_Norway]

My next winter coat. I have used the same coat for 4 or 5 years. It still looks nice.

Buying our next car. We have decided to keep driving the current one. It should have a long life ahead in theory. But our previous one was sold with fewer kilometers on the counter.

Buying new 3-season sleeping bag. Our current bags are getting thinner, but they still work. I can put on some more woolen underwear when I sleep in it.

[L2]

This thread got me thinking....

Xbox One or PS4. I've been putting this one off for a while. Still trying to completely decide (heavily leaning towards XB1 at the moment). Looking to get a good used deal from somebody I know or wait until Black Friday for a nice deal.

Car tires. Will get this one taken of probably by the end of October. Waiting to get some extra security deposit money back and planning to use that to pay for the tires. Perfect timing as it will be right before winter and the tires aren't THAT bad yet.

Winter Coat. I dropped the ball here as its probably too late to get a good deal on a nice winter coat now. I can probably make my current one last another year, although it does have some defects that aren't visible on the exterior.

Dress shoes. Current brown dress shoes have cracks in the leather sole in both feet. Have to be careful when it rains or my feet get wet. Also starting to feel a little self-conscious about them. These will be replaced by Christmas at the latest.

House. Just signed an 18 month apartment lease. Have been looking, but decided to pay off some debt, concentrate heavily on saving enough for 20% down, and maxing out 401k & ROTH IRA for the time being. Also selfishly hoping a recession is coming sooner rather than later so I can get a deal.

Edit to add Golf Clubs. I have had a cheapo Walmart set for about 7 years go and they haven't been maintained well on top of that. I need a nice set for hobby and I do some work related golfing as well. I feel a little embarrassed with my cheap set. I'll most definitely buy some nice used clubs. Just need to start looking.

[Hotstreak]

Furniture and home decor.  My dining table is in bad shape, my entertainment center is close to falling apart, my bed frame actually does fall apart every few months, my sofa (a futon) is not very comfortable and will get a new mattress or be replaced entirely.  I want to replace most of the items at once, so it's easier to coordinate how they look.  I'm waiting for things to break down to the point that they really need to be replaced, and waiting until after I move to a new town within the next 6 months.


Nice winter coat.  Last one I bought was 10+ years ago and ~40lbs ago.  It was cheap at the time, doesn't hold heat well, and doesn't fit, so every time I leave the house for skiing or hiking or whatever I have a ridiculous number of layers on.  I'm all for layering, but if I have to take off 3 layers to be comfortable I have a hard time fitting them in my bag!  I'm waiting until sales next spring, unless I find what I'm looking for at a used gear sale.

[Carrie]

I've put off redoing the kitchen countertops and flooring in half the house. Trying to find a durable option, coordinate everything,  then put off another year because it's hard to let go of that much money. Maybe we'll do counters in the spring and flooring the year after. This year's big home purchase was new hvac system. Ouch.

[ElleFiji]

A leaf fitness tracker

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Seems a few people are putting off new shoes when it sounds as though the old ones could just be resoled. This is interesting to me, because I've scored many, MANY shoes and boots that would have retailed for $200-$300 that simply need resoling or a basic fix. I got a pair of Jimmy Choo heels that had a broken metal arch inside the heel. Cost me $30 to have fixed. A good shoe guy, think sole trader with a wee hole-in-the-wall shop somewhere that's not a mall, can do anything.

Coats can be re-tailored or dyed - maybe not worth it if it's just a coat, but if it's wool or cashmere it may well be worth it. Coats can also be purchased second hand.

Ditto appliances - just get them fixed or reconditioned.

[gggggg]

Upgrading my iphone 5, I'll keep it until it dies, or is near useless. House stuff; I desperately need carpet, new plumbing fixtures (from the early '80's), and a new deck or patio (tore my old one down). I'm not putting money in my house until I get closer to selling it in 13 years, or I'll just be doing it again at that time, wasting money.

[Roe]

Upgrading my iphone 5, I'll keep it until it dies, or is near useless. House stuff; I desperately need carpet, new plumbing fixtures (from the early '80's), and a new deck or patio (tore my old one down). I'm not putting money in my house until I get closer to selling it in 13 years, or I'll just be doing it again at that time, wasting money.

Is 13 years by any chance your projected FIRE-date? We do that, we count on living here until FIRE, and possibly for the 6 months decompressiontime.

[Roe]

Seems a few people are putting off new shoes when it sounds as though the old ones could just be resoled. This is interesting to me, because I've scored many, MANY shoes and boots that would have retailed for $200-$300 that simply need resoling or a basic fix. I got a pair of Jimmy Choo heels that had a broken metal arch inside the heel. Cost me $30 to have fixed. A good shoe guy, think sole trader with a wee hole-in-the-wall shop somewhere that's not a mall, can do anything.

Coats can be re-tailored or dyed - maybe not worth it if it's just a coat, but if it's wool or cashmere it may well be worth it. Coats can also be purchased second hand.

Ditto appliances - just get them fixed or reconditioned.

Good advice.

Got any more for those of us that is trying to wring as much life as possible out of our old phones?

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

I've never paid for a cell in my life. They give them away free with plans. You're not even paying the cost of the phone with the plan. And yes, I have a smart phone. I pay about $40 a month for the plan, and I share the data on the plan with the laptop. I buy data as required for the laptop, which is hardly ever because I don't use that much on my phone. It's pretty much $40 a month for ph, minutes, data for laptop. 2degrees in NZ, before you ask.

[robirdus]

A car for the family. My old Grand Scenic still works fine, operating costs are very low.
Its ten years old now.

An airband scanner. I am just too frugal to buy one. There is no practical benefit having one. But I am checking the webshop from time to time, and then after ten mins of looking, I always say not now.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Upgrading my iphone 5, I'll keep it until it dies, or is near useless. House stuff; I desperately need carpet, new plumbing fixtures (from the early '80's), and a new deck or patio (tore my old one down). I'm not putting money in my house until I get closer to selling it in 13 years, or I'll just be doing it again at that time, wasting money.

You can get pretty cool new plumbing fixtures online for next to nothing. What do you think happens to all the taps and mixers when any house is remodelled or demolished? And it's not hard to install them yourself. The same goes for carpet. You can get whole houselots in good condition, basically new, because a new buyer didn't like the colour. I would personally get someone else to install it. Also not hard to build a new deck. Isn't it one of the most popular DIY tasks?? Hardware stores that sell the wood etc usually have teaching videos for these sort of things, and there will be billions on Youtube.

[FIREchiefsr]

A new home theater projector (the Panasonic AE8000 is obsolete, Panny has exited the market, we're in that no man's land between 1080P and 4K)

A master bath remodel (just can't bring myself to pull out the wallet)