How to make large purchases (3 options)


We're optimizers. One of our hobbies is brainstorming ways to be efficient and squeeze all the enjoyment out of our space at home, our time working vs playing, and of course, our budget. (🤓 You didn't know how cool we are, did you?)

But sometimes it's a little tricky to figure out how to optimize our spending, especially when we have seemingly competing priorities.

So Nick came up with a framework to help us decide what to buy and when to buy it! I think it's especially helpful when we're in the middle of bigger "projects," like furnishing a house or planning a major vacation.

Here's how we use the framework:

When something we want doesn't fit into our current monthly budget, we step back and analyze three key variables. Then decide which variable(s) we're willing to dial up or down in order to get what we want.

The variables are:
1. Quality of the item (or experience/ service)
2. Cuts we're willing to make in other areas of the budget
3. Timeline of when we'll make this purchase

Bottom line - if we want to buy something we can't currently afford, we've got to adjust at least one of these variables. Otherwise, we'll find ourselves swimming in debt.

If you'd like to hear more about how we're using this framework to make purchasing decisions, check out our latest podcast episode (Deciding What to Buy and When to Buy It) - links below:

YouTube

Apple

Spotify

As always, thanks for reading and listening! We hope y'all are having a wonderful week,
Nick & Hanna

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