A decision to be made. DEBT vs BIKE

Matt D · May 4, 2004

Credit card debt is the American way!

Edit: I would wait for the vpp bikes to come out. You'll probably lust after those even more than this one, and you'll have to sell this one for a loss or regret having it.

RhinofromWA · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
i really would love to get my grubby hands on a late-model intense tazer.
my offer was accepted by a potential seller. the thing is, i don't have that money in my account at moment so i would hafta put it on my credit card.

the tazer would be replacing my azonic, which i've found a buyer for...the money from the sale of the azonic would basically cover half of the cost of the tazer....but i still would have credit card debt from the remaining half.

so....the dilemma is...should i or shouldn't i? i've been lusting for a tazer for a long time. but then again, maybe i should wait for the tazer vpp. you opinions would be appreciated.

If you can't afford cash, you can't afford.....

I haven't followed that advice always and it has bit me in the arse once....but it is good advice none the less.

narlus · May 4, 2004

dude, you and toshi are the bike-richest med students i know!

Zark · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
i really would love to get my grubby hands on a late-model intense tazer.
my offer was accepted by a potential seller. the thing is, i don't have that money in my account at moment so i would hafta put it on my credit card.

the tazer would be replacing my azonic, which i've found a buyer for...the money from the sale of the azonic would basically cover half of the cost of the tazer....but i still would have credit card debt from the remaining half.

so....the dilemma is...should i or shouldn't i? i've been lusting for a tazer for a long time. but then again, maybe i should wait for the tazer vpp. you opinions would be appreciated.

Debt sucks & I try to avoid it at all costs. Here is a strategy that might work: Open an introductory offer card with a 0% for however long they offer. Buy the bike and pay it off before the interest hits.

Intense lust is uncontrollable sometimes:devil: Just try to be smart about it

as for the VPP, it might be a LONG wait dude. They just showed the proto at SO. I'm guessing maybe Sept, Oct. :dead:

Spec8in561 · May 4, 2004

No ? get the Tazer..

spincrazy · May 4, 2004

debt sux, but you're living with your parents right? Just Nike it.

bbmj · May 4, 2004

i say wait. Debt sucks, and youll probaly just end up selling it after you figure out that you aretn going to be able to pay it off. wait til youve got money.

the law · May 4, 2004

If you can wait. There will always be good deals around.

spincrazy · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
actually no, i'm livin on my own in montclair...will be movin to the city in sept

Hmmmm. Well then. Dunno. I lived 8 years debt free. Wasn't until I moved to NY that I got credit cards again and I'm sort of wishing I hadn't. If you've a tax return or something other that you'll get in the future that you can earmark for the other half the Azonic sale doens't cover AND you actually use the funds for it, it could work. Credit, good credit is important to maintain.

Where in the city you moving? You going to keep your truck? I like Montclair.

spincrazy · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
yeah...maybe you're right...the remaining balance would be around $500 bucks on the ol' CC.

i'm keepin the truck in the city...i'm movin to the upper east side
(in the 70's) with my girlfriend. street parkin' isn't too shabby there.

$500 is nothing. Just Nike it. You'll spend that every two days just living in the city.... especially with all the white poodles you'll be buying and whatnot living with your gf in the UES.

:monkey:

oly · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider

so....the dilemma is...should i or shouldn't i? i've been lusting for a tazer for a long time. but then again, maybe i should wait for the tazer vpp. you opinions would be appreciated.

Start saving a little each week, and by the time the VPP bikes come out you can buy a couple of them......

spincrazy · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
ugh! i'm trying to live in the city on the cheep. white poodles?!?! i squash yuppie miniature dogs with my truck!

You can do it, just takes work. UES is full of white poodles and the like with matching owners. I guarantee you'll be spending your weekends in my hood (downtown)....LES.

Kornphlake · May 4, 2004

sell your truck, with the money from that and the sell of your azonic you should be able to afford the tazer and whatever bike comes out in the next year that you lust over.

I'd say buying something like a car or a bike on credit is a bad move because it will only depreciate, something like a home on the other hand... I don't always find myself living to this rule but generally I don't put large purchases on a credit card unless I know I can pay it off in a couple months. Can you use student loan money to pay for it, my stafford loan has an interest rate of 2% or something rediculous like that. We used a stafford loan to pay off our credit cards, this year's tax refund will pay off the majority of the loan.

math2014 · May 4, 2004

I dont be the wiseass here but

Having worked for credit card company, and doing a phd in finance, yields the following opinion,

NEVER use the credit card as debt. USE it only as a direct substitute of EXISTING cash, and NOT as an instrument of easy shopping where cash dont exist.

Just my 0.02eu.

JRogers · May 4, 2004

Don't do it.

Listen to the Greek- CCs are for cash substitute, not for debt. They are not automatic loans and should not be used as such. If you don't pay it off for a while, you get rocked with interest. If it's not that much money, you can surely wait until you have it. Just don't eat or drink for a while

jmvar · May 4, 2004

If you buy the bike on a credit card and something happens down the line that you can't pay it off, you will be paying a lot more for that tazer than you ever imagined. think of it this way, you spend all this time searching for the best deal on a bike and then you buy it with a credit card and you end up paying so much more for it you might as well have waited and bouht it brand spankin new!!!!!!!!!!!

this happened to me with all my snowboard stuff....in the end I felt so dumb because I paid so much more for my board that was on sale and I had to buy at that instant than I would have if I had been disciplined and bought it with cash.

HOWEVER........now that I am older and wiser with a full time job that pays for my toys, I try to buy EVERYTHING on my credit card and pay it of IN FULL everymonth. why?

ask Math2014, you are using their money while your money sits in a bank account earning interest until the end of the month. Also, most credit cards will protect the consumer against fraud, overcharing, bait and switch, and other consumer scams.

one of many examples....I ordered something from an online retailer and they went out of business before my product got shipped out. they kept the "CREDIT CARDS MONEY". I called the credit card and they took care of everything. has happened to me twice. try that with your check card, that money would be GONE!!!!!!!!

some credit cards have theft protection, buy it on the card if it is stolen and you have a police report they will reimburse some of the money spent on the item, better than nothing!!!

Renting a car? check your credit card policy on rental insurance, a lot of times it covers it.

This and a number of other advantages, just be smart and pay it off every month. It will not always protect you against everything but it offers some....always read your contracts and agreements to know what you are entittled to.

julio

math2014 · May 4, 2004

Well said,

I use my credit card for all the reasons the previous monkey said! Shopping protection! But as i said before...i always pay the FULL amount mentioned on the bill. Otherwise the amount payable escalates wildly.

To give you an example.

1000$ frame bought with credit card. You only pay the minimum payable amount on the CC bill which is for example 5%. Given an 18% interest rate, you will end up repaying the frame for around 5.5yrs and the final payable amount will be around 2400$, that is 1400$ of interest payments.

So cc=cash substitute only.
also cc= shopping protection

And also, if cc owners did pay their bills in FULL, you wouldnt see that many CC companies around. They get huge profits from customers that owe money.

Sideways · May 4, 2004

I just threw myself into deep debt with the recent purchase of a full dura-ace Serrotta Csi.
I can barely keep up with minimum payments, and will surely pay twice the original cost by the end.
However, this is a frame that should last for the rest of my life and the health benefits reaped far outweigh the costs.

No regrets on this one, but I would never do the same on a mountain bike that I know I'd break within a few years.

spookydave · May 4, 2004

math2014 and others are so correct. My dad always preached the same thing. Of course I had to go out and learn it the hard way (TWICE!!) :rolleyes:

unpaid c.c. debt is the root of all evil.

Toshi · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
toshi is a med student?!?!

bike richest?!?! was just able to score some good deals here and there. i only have 2 bikes...

i'm heading to uw (w being washington, not wisconsin or whatever

) med in the fall :eek:

. i'd recommend not running up cc debt if at all possible. student loans == good. cc interest rates == :dead:

spincrazy · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
congrats!!!! you're gonna be at a great place! seattle is an awesome city.

let me know if you have any questions...(books, classes, etc.)

i think i'm gonna go ahead and get the frame

cool. Idisagree about Seattle though. it's better than a lot of places, but not a great place - guess it's perspective. Beautiful campus UW though.

Brian HCM#1 · May 4, 2004

No cashy no bikey

BMXman · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by the law
If you can wait. There will always be good deals around.

I agree...wait...debt sucks!...D

DHracer1067 · May 4, 2004

debt shouldnt even be a choice when you want something.

bibs · May 4, 2004

its not debt if you dont plan on paying it back....lol...j/k

Toshi · May 5, 2004

Originally posted by GiantDHRider
congrats!!!! you're gonna be at a great place! seattle is an awesome city.

let me know if you have any questions...(books, classes, etc.)

thanks! i'm psyched since i pulled a 180 from my comp sci background :eek:

.

Originally posted by spincrazy
cool. Idisagree about Seattle though. it's better than a lot of places, but not a great place - guess it's perspective. Beautiful campus UW though.

i think seattle is great, having grown up in nyc :dead:

. i'm not big on the bar scene, and nyc has that in spades, so i guess it's a matter of priorities. i would trade the ny phil for the seattle symphony tho, although seattle isn't shabby by any means

bibs · May 5, 2004

how does Seattle not rock, what is your reasons?...Everything you could ever want is here......

where ever you are from sucks.....well thats what I heard..(j/k...Im just essing with ya)

Seattle does rock though

A decision to be made. DEBT vs BIKE

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