Stupid purchases

[ua_guy]

Sometimes I get an idea in my head, something I want, and it's hard to let go. I'd like a modern, fast vehicle. I'll save you the details for the non-vehicle enthusiasts, but I'd kind of like to cross off a bucket-list car before they end production, a late model Camaro. Price per pound, considering performance stats, they're a lot of fun for the money.

I can't justify spending ~$40k on something that is purely a want, something fun to have. I've owned older cars as projects, I've driven some interesting cars as daily drivers, but never really had a new/almost new car sitting around...just for pleasure.

So, talk about your stupid purchases or things you want that you can't justify. Talk about all the ways $40k might dent progress towards retirement or any other goal at this stage in life (early 40's). I know, early 40's and mention of cars -- this is not a midlife crisis. Nor is 40 "midlife". Optimistically, it's halfway over, at least.

[bjl584]

Sometimes I think about moving and upgrading to a larger house. I'd love more property and a more modern home, but talk about derailing finances to do so. I'd be facing a purchase that is several hundred thousand more than I'd be comfortable with. Nothing wrong with my current home. Just some urge to have more, better, newer.

Thankfully, I haven't come close to pulling the trigger.

If I did, then I'd probably be house poor and wouldn't be saving anything for retirement. Those prospects have kept me from doing anything currently

[disneysteve]

We would love to buy a house in Florida. I know it makes no sense financially as it would be much cheaper to rent each time we go rather than own and deal with all the hassles that brings with it as well as the expense. But if we had our own place, we could go any time. We could keep clothing and personal items there so we wouldn't need to take more than a backpack with us to fly down. We wouldn't need reservations or have to search for a nice place each time. It would be ours.

We will probably still do it at some point.

I don't think any purchase is really stupid IF it is meaningful to you AND you can afford it without derailing the rest of your finances.

[plodding_investor]

There are things I would just like to do on our current house which would cost some money, but which I don't really need. The garage could be finished (and the floor cleaned up/redone), and the master bath could use an update. Just having the house painted and the floors replaced were more expensive than I anticipated (1950 sq ft), but they had to be done as they were left in bad shape by the previous owners. I've taken the "slowly fix/replace the most glaring issues in order" approach, which has served me fairly well. I will also need 2 vehicles soon, a replacement for an old one and another new(ish) one to provide for a kid. I don't really care about an enthusiast car so much but it's still difficult not to want something more than I can really afford, especially as prices have risen lately.

[Fishindude77]

I've got a Case backhoe sitting in the barn, we use maybe 3-4 times per year. Makes no sense to own it, but sure is handy when we have a project for it.
A $4,000 hunting rifle. Won't do anything an $1,000 rifle won't do but it's cool

[disneysteve]

I've got a Case backhoe sitting in the barn, we use maybe 3-4 times per year. Makes no sense to own it, but sure is handy when we have a project for it.

That's often true. We continued to own a minivan for years after we really needed one but it absolutely came in handy on numerous occasions when we needed the space. We finally got rid of ours a few weeks ago. If we ever need to transports stuff again, I guess we'll just rent something.

[ua_guy]

I shouldn't look at cars down here in Southern CA. So many good old and modern classics for sale. Makes me second-guess buying something new...very tempting to make something happen down here and have a wild story to tell about it. An example of a car I've wanted since high school came up locally. My total spend would be about $24k versus $40k+ on something new. Sounds like a cost savings, right?! ha

[crazyliblady]

My stupid purchase occurred in 2005. My husband and I had a 2000 Honda Civic in well working order. My husband wanted to buy a 1968 Ford Mustang because he likes them. We bought one from a kid without letting a mechanic look at it first. Let's just say that in the next 2 years, we had to deal with a myriad of car repairs that proved that it was a money pit. I had regretted it ever since. I did finally make it clear to my husband that whatever car I use for a daily driver would be one that I choose and that I did not want any super old cars.