One of the things he said was, basically “and then what” – when you ask people to predict how happy an event will make them, they will wildly oversetimate. That’s part of what happens when you buy new things. But if you ask the person first “what will you be doing at X time” and then ask “and if this great thing happens now, how will you feel about it at X time” they will be more grounded and answer much more realistically.

I’m going to try that on my wants – especially this time of year, I have a lot of them.

Oh, and it’s equipped with an iPod and GPS, so I guess I’m still vulnerable to the shiny, but these make the car even more of a joy and it’s kind of fun that these things didn’t exist when the car was new.

Oh, and if I ever come into a big windfall, it’ll get a complete strip-down restoration and maybe a little V8 engine transplant!

John DeFlumeri Jr

The downside of an HDTV is that if something isn’t shot in HD it looks worse than it does on a standard digital feed on a standard tv. It’s a grainier pic and its got black bars on the side because its obviously not in widescreen mode. Take for instance watching Andy Griffith or I Love Lucy – those are horrible on the HDTV. If I’m in the mood for old TV shows I go upstairs and watch on our 25 in. digital TV.

Those are my thoughts on HDTV. We do love ours but we saved for it and the anticipated higher monthly costs of the HD feed. But I still keep the 25 inch digital tv in the living room because I’m not satisfied with everything I like to watch on HD – some things are still better in digital.

So I buy a fancy car.
And then what?
I still go to work stuck in traffic.

I buy a fancy phone.
And then what?
I still call the same people.

I pay more for the data plan.
And then what?
Do I really need to check my email or CNN every second?

I buy a bigger house.
And then What?
I have to pay the mortgage, and other expenses.

This is not to dissuade from buying but one has to think past the initial thrill and see if a more expensive purchase – especially when not called for – is justifiable.

Craig, I strongly concur about saving up for what WE, ourselves want, and not to pacify someone else’s wants. Example: Our house we recently purchased $40k UNDER our pre-approved loan amount sits on the outskirts of a wee town in NW PA. Blink and you miss it. As I drive to and from work, I see many homeowners who have gone all out in decorating for Christmas. The artistry and effort put into all this is beautiful, no doubt. But I would hate to think of what their electric bill comes to in January.

Our home is all electric, and we heat our home using our wood fireplace. It does a wonderful job keeping the den cozy. We keep the upstairs at 66 degrees. Because of my fibromyalgia, I can’t go any lower than that. But I digress…

For those who want to go all out and decorate using eletric lights, they’re welcome to it. I know for us, we prefer not to at all. We aren’t Bah Humbugs by any stretch of the imagination. I have a live tree (rootball intact) up and decorated in the livingroom window. Tiny lights light up the tree for a few hours a day. It serves its purpose of simplicity and the true meaning of this holiday season. Bigger isn’t always better….

Anyway I combat this case of the “wants” in two ways. One is over the years I’ve trained myself to really look at the cost of the things I buy (big & small). I was very close this fall to getting a new Infiniti – but when it came down to brass tacks I couldn’t justify spending $35k when I didn’t NEED a new car (or a used one). This takes some training and a little time – it can’t happen over night.

The other way I combat this problem of “wants” is that when I do NEED to buy a car I buy something I want. Last time I bought a car was in 2005 and I bought a nice, used Acura (I was replacing a 16 yr old Nissan). The Acura still is a nice car and I enjoy driving it. It doesn’t turn heads like that new car would, but people compliment me on the nice interior of my old car when they ride in it. But the fact that I bought something I wanted when it was time to purchase means I’m a lot more likely to keep this car for a long, long time.

So try to train yourself to really see the value of what you buy (I know it takes time) and when you do NEED to buy something make sure you do your research and buy something you want that you’ll keep a long time.

It isn’t an issue of investment of money; investment of time has to also be considered.

For some odd reason, during our house-hunting, every time we looked at houses that were beyond a certain range, yet still under our preapproved amount, I could sense red flags going up everywhere. Warning, Will Robinson! Warning! Just some thoughts…..