Cash or 0% interest offers. With the 0% I usually have all the money set aside already. Spreading the payments allows me to keep back up money in my hobby fund incase of emergency.
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Buying basses with credit [poll]
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
No, that not all it means. It’s calculated on payment history,?amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit and credit mix.
How are FICO Scores Calculated? | myFICO | myFICO
Credit card get rewards points pay it in full at the end of the month
Cash on the nail, always.
Last bass I bought (TRB6II) I went the whole hog: I'd put money in an envelope, folded it in half, wrapped it in a rubber band and shoved it in my pocket. After I'd checked out the bass and blurted out "SOLD" (in a very loud voice), I sat down at the seller's kitchen table, whipped out the envelope and proceeded to count out the fifties one by one. After I'd counted out all forty two ($2100 bass), I picked them up, handed them to him and as we shook hands he had the biggest cheesiest grin you've ever seen. I did too ( what a great bass )
So yes, cash every time. No cash, no spend.
Last bass I bought (TRB6II) I went the whole hog: I'd put money in an envelope, folded it in half, wrapped it in a rubber band and shoved it in my pocket. After I'd checked out the bass and blurted out "SOLD" (in a very loud voice), I sat down at the seller's kitchen table, whipped out the envelope and proceeded to count out the fifties one by one. After I'd counted out all forty two ($2100 bass), I picked them up, handed them to him and as we shook hands he had the biggest cheesiest grin you've ever seen. I did too ( what a great bass )
So yes, cash every time. No cash, no spend.
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Years ago I had a lot of credit card bills which resulted in being bound to situations that I didn't like, in order to pay the bills. Sure I had some really nice gear, but freedom was more important to me.
Spent nearly 10-years becoming debt free. Now I still use credit cards, but only if I have the money to pay it off before the next billing cycle. My family's quality of life has dramatically improved, and having to wait for a piece of gear makes me more selective and appreciative.
Paying interest in these days of 40+year high inflation-- with worse on the way-- is something wise to avoid
There's a lot of mis-information and bad advice on this thread. All the below is for the US, I can't speak to other countries although I am sure there are lots of similarities.
1) Credit cards aren't inherently bad. Charge to your card, get the rewards/points, pay off the balance every month or maintain a very small balance. @WI Short Scaler posted some great info. Also, as others have noted, credit cards provide additional services and benefits - extended warranties, price protection, fraud protection, etc. These things have value in and amongst themselves.
2) 0% interest offers are your friend. There is a concept called "time value of money" that explains it very well (kind of what @skycruiser explained). Also, look up "leverage" and why it can be good. it's free money!
3) You need a decent FICO score if you want to buy a house, rent a house/apartment, buy a car, repair your house, do renovations, etc. It's just a fact of life.
4) This day and age it's pretty difficult to get by on "cash only, all the time," and you don't have to. Use credit wisely. In a lot of ways it's much smarter (finance wise) to not use cash (see above).
5) Addendum to #2 - it's not a good idea to NOT have access to credit. I've needed - yes, needed - credit lines multiple times in my adult life, most recently Hurricane Ida. For emergencies, natural disasters, etc. it's a very good idea to have credit available.
6) Educate yourself! Seriously! Don't listen to a bunch of randos on the internet (including me, other than on this bullet item!!)! Learn for yourself, there are TONS of free resources out there.
7) Leverage as needed/if needed. Let's say you joined a new band and have a gig coming up that you need a new amp for. No amp - no gig. No gig, no money. If you have to spent $10 in interest to buy an amp for a gig that you earn $300 on ... well, that's a no-brainer. Same also goes for finding a one of a kind bass, or an absolutely killer deal on something. Pay $20 on CC interest to buy a USA Jazz Deluxe for $800? Take my (credit card!! (Caveat - don't get carried away - the key is to leverage WISELY)
8) The banks are jerks. They want your money. That being said, for a reasonably savvy consumer, you can easily take advantage of the perks and offers to greatly benefit you. In a lot of ways, it's easier than not, and in most ways it's better! However, that does require some discipline.
9) Finally, it's not all about the money. What's your personal time worth? What's your enjoyment worth? Maybe it's worth an extra $20 in interest to have a bass three months before you could pay cash for it. You only have one life. Live it and enjoy it. And ffs, don't let anyone shame you for buying something on credit. Justbe smart about it, use it wisely, don't dig yourself in a hole, etc.
And above all, educate yourself!
1) Credit cards aren't inherently bad. Charge to your card, get the rewards/points, pay off the balance every month or maintain a very small balance. @WI Short Scaler posted some great info. Also, as others have noted, credit cards provide additional services and benefits - extended warranties, price protection, fraud protection, etc. These things have value in and amongst themselves.
2) 0% interest offers are your friend. There is a concept called "time value of money" that explains it very well (kind of what @skycruiser explained). Also, look up "leverage" and why it can be good. it's free money!
3) You need a decent FICO score if you want to buy a house, rent a house/apartment, buy a car, repair your house, do renovations, etc. It's just a fact of life.
4) This day and age it's pretty difficult to get by on "cash only, all the time," and you don't have to. Use credit wisely. In a lot of ways it's much smarter (finance wise) to not use cash (see above).
5) Addendum to #2 - it's not a good idea to NOT have access to credit. I've needed - yes, needed - credit lines multiple times in my adult life, most recently Hurricane Ida. For emergencies, natural disasters, etc. it's a very good idea to have credit available.
6) Educate yourself! Seriously! Don't listen to a bunch of randos on the internet (including me, other than on this bullet item!!)! Learn for yourself, there are TONS of free resources out there.
7) Leverage as needed/if needed. Let's say you joined a new band and have a gig coming up that you need a new amp for. No amp - no gig. No gig, no money. If you have to spent $10 in interest to buy an amp for a gig that you earn $300 on ... well, that's a no-brainer. Same also goes for finding a one of a kind bass, or an absolutely killer deal on something. Pay $20 on CC interest to buy a USA Jazz Deluxe for $800? Take my (credit card!! (Caveat - don't get carried away - the key is to leverage WISELY)
8) The banks are jerks. They want your money. That being said, for a reasonably savvy consumer, you can easily take advantage of the perks and offers to greatly benefit you. In a lot of ways, it's easier than not, and in most ways it's better! However, that does require some discipline.
9) Finally, it's not all about the money. What's your personal time worth? What's your enjoyment worth? Maybe it's worth an extra $20 in interest to have a bass three months before you could pay cash for it. You only have one life. Live it and enjoy it. And ffs, don't let anyone shame you for buying something on credit. Justbe smart about it, use it wisely, don't dig yourself in a hole, etc.
And above all, educate yourself!
When I was younger I bought all of my music gear on lay-a-way. Now I used a credit card for the convenience, security, and reward points. All of my credit cards are paid off automatically every month, so I don't make big purchases unless there are enough funds to cover it. I selected Pay in Full and Credit Card for the Rewards.
I used cash almost exclusively for instrument purchases, mainly because I would purchase from Ed Roman... and Ed LOVED cash.
His beady little eyes would brighten when you would ask,
"How Much?"
And Ed would always reply. "How ya payin'?"
"Cash... of course."
(Man... I miss that angry viking.)
Anyway. I never get the same satisfaction from anyone else with cash... they are all like... "What do you mean discount for cash?"
So, I'll use the card and just pay off the balance of the card once the charge clears.
They can take the processing charge loss.
Some may say that it's insignificant or petty...
3% of $4500 is $135
Maybe it is...
But Ed would do it for $4000 - just because that cash would go right into his pocket.
(Ed wasn't a big "rules or laws" kinda guy.)
I heard someone say recently that if you can't buy it twice with cash, don't buy it. I think that's good advice. If you're in a position where you can put it on credit and pay it off in full right away (as in you can buy it fully in cash at the time of purchase), and use the purchase to build credit, that's cool too, but I don't buy what I can't afford right now, even if I really want it.
Not necessarily. Again lessons learned from my bride. We've had a credit card since we got married, I thought they were a bad idea. But we used it over the years to purchase airline tickets, reserve hotel rooms, reserve rental cars, maybe on home improvement purchases, etc. All things that were paid in full at the first opportunity.
So did we borrow alot of money? No. What we did is build a credit score that is 800+ which came into play to get lower interest rates on the only things we've ever financed (after my dumb drum purchase) which are cars and our house. We've never had a loan that went the entire term either, all pre-paid early.
So there is an advantage but you have to be careful and manage things well. Not a skill I have, I chose wisely in the bride department
I agree with that.
The thing is that most people do not follow those rules. A substantial part of the population is in debt and living paycheck to paycheck.
If you aren’t going to make money with your instrument purchase, credit is a non-optimal choice.
All of the advice here about building credit via MI purchases seem kinda misguided. Yes, you want to build credit. Yes, buying instruments on credit can do that.
But in many circumstances that bass you buy on credit and can afford now, becomes the thing you don’t pay off monthly when things are tight. That’s the main trap that gets folks. Money is fine now.
But that’s not permanent unless you have established yourself financially. In which case most of the merits of buying on credit aren’t really beneficial.
So it’s best to avoid it imho. Unless are so financially secure that you know you aren’t potentially gambling.
All of the advice here about building credit via MI purchases seem kinda misguided. Yes, you want to build credit. Yes, buying instruments on credit can do that.
But in many circumstances that bass you buy on credit and can afford now, becomes the thing you don’t pay off monthly when things are tight. That’s the main trap that gets folks. Money is fine now.
But that’s not permanent unless you have established yourself financially. In which case most of the merits of buying on credit aren’t really beneficial.
So it’s best to avoid it imho. Unless are so financially secure that you know you aren’t potentially gambling.
Yeah, likewise. Initially I chose the credit card/reward points option in the poll--but went back and changed it to _pay in full_ when it dawned on me that credit card/reward actually meant borrowing on a credit card.
I use my credit card for routine RL and online shopping, but I pay the balance off whenever it gets to be more than a few hundred bucks. If I buy something high-dollar, I pay the balance off right away. It's pretty convenient with online banking; I just transfer funds from my savings account to the card.
At the end of the year I use whatever reward points have accumulated to buy Christmas presents. Works well for me.
Added: I've long thought--to adapt a Zen saying I ran across way back--that debt is a good servant but a lousy master.
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0% financing bought a new rig and accessories this winter. It will be paid off by the end of the term when I'll have a zero balance. It's the only time I'll float a large (to me) credit line. I'll avoid APR fees when at all possible.
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Nope. Not a dime. The only thing I give them is a $99 annual fee. That’s how proper credit card usage works. I’ll gladly pay $99 for a $2000 return each year!
Plus, the regular CC usage and paying off cycle is a great way to skyrocket a credit score (817 as of this morning). After years of paying interest, it’s nice to finally get something back.
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