Best Way to Pay for a Large Purchase?

z987k said:
Doesn't matter what "they" came up with. If housing and utilities takes 59.6% of your actual income (I can't even fathom that), then it's far far too much. You have to change that. It's far beyond what you can actually afford, unless your life plan is to live paycheck to paycheck.
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Well, I get a pay raise in 7 months! Woo hoo!

I did my best to keep the payment as low as possible: my down payment on my condo was $38,000. It was my savings. All of it. So I'm currently borrowing $124,000 at 4.5% that has been paid down for about a year so far. 1156 sq ft condo, $155,000 sale price.

It's an asset, that's why I purchased rather than continue to rent.
 
SpiceWeasel said:
Well, I get a pay raise in 7 months! Woo hoo!

I did my best to keep the payment as low as possible: my down payment on my condo was $38,000. It was my savings. All of it. So I'm currently borrowing $124,000 at 4.5% that has been paid down for about a year so far. 1156 sq ft condo, $155,000 sale price.

It's an asset, that's why I purchased rather than continue to rent.
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Well then you have decided to live paycheck to paycheck for 7 more months then. No extra spending for you. You still haven't told us what this thing is you "need".
 
It sounds like you want to change the rules of basic math to get something that isn't necessary and you can't afford.

Dig yourself out of your hole and then be smart.
 
z987k said:
Well then you have decided to live paycheck to paycheck for 7 more months then. No extra spending for you. You still haven't told us what this thing is you "need".
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The purchase is neither here nor there. It's expensive, and that's the part that blows my mind. I'm trying to figure out exactly how folks manage to get great financing deals for the things they want to buy, if such a thing exists. Like I said, forum members here brag about leasing cars for little to no down and no interest...

Cessnaflyer said:
It sounds like you want to change the rules of basic math to get something that isn't necessary and you can't afford.

Dig yourself out of your hole and then be smart.
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Well what's smart? I feel there's a disconnect. I've read that "savings is bad!" and yet, I used my savings to build equity, and I'd rather have savings, I think?

Maybe if the government didn't steal so much of my paycheck :D
 
SpiceWeasel said:
@ATN_Pilot remember that couch? Couldn't buy it... they wanted 25% down at signing and 75% on delivery. All cash, they would have charged a different price for credit card. So I couldn't pony up the $550-ish... stupid Christmas!
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This is crazy. Furniture is available all over the place for zero down at 0% interest for long periods of time. For instance, Rooms to Go is offering 0% interest until 2019 right now. I'm sure you can find a couch there that suits you. With equal monthly payments on a $3,000 sectional, you'd only be paying $63/mo to pay it off in time.
 
SpiceWeasel said:
I guess I'm curious @ATN_Pilot ... you are always talking about financing new cars for little interest / down payment. My credit isn't top tier, but it's DAMN close, and yet it's fudging impossible to think of a good way to make a large purchase without utilizing my only line of credit that is over $10,000 (credit card line 12.99% APR)....
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If your credit is north of 640, you should have absolutely no problem leasing a car for $0 down. I've never put money down on a car. Never. I own three houses and the most I've put down on a house is 10%. I have multiple credit cards currently offering me 0% interest for anywhere from 12-16 months.

Something isn't adding up here if you're having so many issues getting credit if your credit score really is "damn close" to top tier.

What gives. If I had $500 a month I wasn't spending on paying my credit card, and I decided not to put it in savings (which I don't do anyway), is there a low to no interest loan that would only set me back $250 a month? So I could have $250 to spend on myself.
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Like I said, something isn't adding up, and it's difficult to figure it out without actually seeing your budget and your credit score (and I'm not suggesting that you show them to us, since it's obviously personal).
 
@SpiceWeasel, can you give us an idea of what this item is? Do you have to buy it new? I'm racking my brain trying to think of what you absolutely must have that's going to cost $7,000-$10,000, unless it's a used car.
 
Craigslist.

A condo isn't a great wealth builder because you are usually paying out quite a bit more than a standard hoa fees which could have gone to other things and investments.
 
http://finance.zacks.com/mortgage-lenders-use-net-gross-income-5903.html

ATN_Pilot said:
If your credit is north of 640, you should have absolutely no problem leasing a car for $0 down. I've never put money down on a car. Never. I own three houses and the most I've put down on a house is 10%. I have multiple credit cards currently offering me 0% interest for anywhere from 12-16 months.

Something isn't adding up here if you're having so many issues getting credit if your credit score really is "damn close" to top tier.



Like I said, something isn't adding up, and it's difficult to figure it out without actually seeing your budget and your credit score (and I'm not suggesting that you show them to us, since it's obviously personal).
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Out of curiosity - do you have PMI on the places you did not put 20% down on?
 
SpiceWeasel said:
I guess I'm curious @ATN_Pilot ... you are always talking about financing new cars for little interest / down payment. My credit isn't top tier, but it's DAMN close, and yet it's fudging impossible to think of a good way to make a large purchase without utilizing my only line of credit that is over $10,000 (credit card line 12.99% APR)....

What gives. If I had $500 a month I wasn't spending on paying my credit card, and I decided not to put it in savings (which I don't do anyway), is there a low to no interest loan that would only set me back $250 a month? So I could have $250 to spend on myself.
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I'm guessing he isn't living paycheck to paycheck like you. Like I said, make more money or spend less. It's simple.
 
Cessnaflyer said:
Craigslist.

A condo isn't a great wealth builder because you are usually paying out quite a bit more than a standard hoa fees which could have gone to other things and investments.
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Well, a condo around here isn't bad... HOA fees in Michigan are pretty crazy. My "COA" fee is $268/mo. That's half of what I saw when I was looking around.

How would you have invested that money? I can only think of putting more into my 401(k) since it's a pretty stable platform. I'm trying to save to the max allowed total of $17,500 a year between me and the company. Obviously that can't happen this year, but not saving for retirement isn't a great option.
 
0% financing is a misnomer. Companies don't give away money interest free, they build that cost into the selling price.
 
SpiceWeasel said:
Well, a condo around here isn't bad... HOA fees in Michigan are pretty crazy. My "COA" fee is $268/mo. That's half of what I saw when I was looking around.

How would you have invested that money? I can only think of putting more into my 401(k) since it's a pretty stable platform. I'm trying to save to the max allowed total of $17,500 a year between me and the company. Obviously that can't happen this year, but not saving for retirement isn't a great option.
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$17,500 is just you, the company money is gravy on top of that. You can actually get about 50k/year if your company is generous...
 
SpiceWeasel said:
Like I said, forum members here brag about leasing cars for little to no down and no interest...
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A lease down payment doesn't matter. You have your capitalization cost (what you agree is the price) - the residual (what you agree it will be worth after the lease is over. X = cap cost - residual. Whatever that number is, is what will determine your lease payments, once you factor in the money factor (interest) and taxes and fees.

If you put any money down, you are lowering the cap cost cost, and lowering your payment. Generally, this is pretty stupid, as you are giving them money that you are already guaranteed to pay them later.

Basically, the amount you put down simply lowers your monthly payment.
 
mojo6911 said:
A lease down payment doesn't matter. You have your capitalization cost (what you agree is the price) - the residual (what you agree it will be worth after the lease is over. X = cap cost - residual. Whatever that number is, is what will determine your lease payments, once you factor in the money factor (interest) and taxes and fees.

If you put any money down, you are lowering the cap cost cost, and lowering your payment. Generally, this is pretty stupid, as you are giving them money that you are already guaranteed to pay them later.

Basically, the amount you put down simply lowers your monthly payment.
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Guaranteed to pay them through interest, I take it?
 
SpiceWeasel said:
I think I'd rather tell my credit score :p ha!
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Fair enough, but take it from a guy (me) who absolutely needed a $5500 drum kit about a year and a half ago, then had to work OT to pay it off and redo his budget: Don't buy unless you really, really, absolutely, must have it. With your cash flow situation, it'd better be more important than a big leather couch.
 
If you have to have new then costco had full furniture sets for half that price and delivery is usually free.
 
dasleben said:
@SpiceWeasel, can you give us an idea of what this item is? Do you have to buy it new? I'm racking my brain trying to think of what you absolutely must have that's going to cost $7,000-$10,000, unless it's a used car.
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I can think of one thing. And that one thing can be obtained with interest free financing for up to 24 months depending on where you get it and how much it costs.

If it is that thing, check with me first.
 
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