What card would you arrange financing to buy?

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Questions like this always seem to invoke predictable righteous indignation, but my guess is that the real answer is that if the card was important enough to the person, the opportunity was unlikely to come along again, and they could afford it, they well might do it.

I do think there are some important qualifiers here when we talk about going into debt to buy cards, because details matter.

Are we talking about just bridging to some other sources? Maybe I can move some stuff around, and scrape together the cash over the next month or two, so I get a short-term loan or a payment plan with the seller to work it out? That seems like one scenario, and in general, a lot of people around these parts seem more comfortable with it, because the borrowing is really just a short-term timing/convenience factor, and not a situation where you're making payments over an extended period that will represent a financial burden for years to come.

Alternatively, are we talking about taking out a real, honest-to-goodness long-term loan from your local bank or credit union? Maybe even on your home equity line? Let's say it's set up such that you will make payments on it every month for the next 5 years, 10 years, 15 years or longer? For many of us, I think this approach is probably less palatable, especially as you start looking at making payments for that many years, which just seems like forever to be paying off a theoretically discretionary acquisition like cardboard.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by raulus

I do think there are some important qualifiers here when we talk about going into debt to buy cards, because details matter.

Are we talking about just bridging to some other sources? Maybe I can move some stuff around, and scrape together the cash over the next month or two, so I get a short-term loan or a payment plan with the seller to work it out? That seems like one scenario, and in general, a lot of people around these parts seem more comfortable with it, because the borrowing is really just a short-term timing/convenience factor, and not a situation where you're making payments over an extended period that will represent a financial burden for years to come.

Alternatively, are we talking about taking out a real, honest-to-goodness long-term loan from your local bank or credit union? Maybe even on your home equity line? Let's say it's set up such that you will make payments on it every month for the next 5 years, 10 years, 15 years or longer? For many of us, I think this approach is probably less palatable, especially as you start looking at making payments for that many years, which just seems like forever to be paying off a theoretically discretionary acquisition like cardboard.

Fair point, and I suspect different people would have different tolerances and it would also depend on how important the card was to them and how important cards were overall, I just think the categorical indignant no I would NEVER do anything like that responses these threads evoke may not be what many people would actually do.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Fair point, and I suspect different people would have different tolerances and it would also depend on how important the card was to them and how important cards were overall, I just think the categorical indignant no I would NEVER do anything like that responses these threads evoke may not be what many people would actually do.

I'm guessing that relative dollar amount also matters.

If it's 100x my annual income? That seems like a lot to borrow.

What if it's 5% of my annual income? Maybe that seems like something I can live with, for the right card and the right situation.