Black Friday Specials: Would you pay $13,002 for a TV?

Tis the season for shopping!  I went into Costco yesterday and was immediately greeted by this beautiful work of art:

What a bargain!  $200 off!  This 80″ TV is on sale, this week only, for $3,699.99.  I jokingly said, “I need that!  If we had that, we’d be so much more happy.  We could just sit around all day and watch TV, even more than we already do.”  As I looked at the TVs, I was amazed:  there were 2 80″ TV’s on carts, loaded to go out the member’s only door.  I guess there will be some happy husbands out there this holiday season!

Financial Analysis:  Could have saved $13,002.

I had lunch yesterday with some clients who just closed on a brand new home.  We were talking about Homes in Order, mortgages, and about how much they could save by paying off their mortgage early, even a little each month.  They were blown away when I showed them the savings.

That’s insane how much money you can save by just paying a little extra!

So, just a few hours later, I saw this at Costco.  I thought about my new homeowning clients who were just moving into their brand new home, and I decided to see how much this TV would cost them if they were to go buy it.

 

TV’s are great.  But when you have a mortgage, TV’s can be pretty expensive.  Especially when you have a brand new mortgage.  Would you rather have an 80″ TV, or would you rather have $13,002.52?  Would you rather have an 80″ TV, or would you rather have 6 months of life without a mortgage?

My client is a very smart guy, and he is definitely not in line to buy this TV.  They just drained some savings by putting a nice down payment on their home (and will pay no PMI).  His wife says before they start spending, they need to replenish some savings.

So, no new 80″ TV for my client this year.  He will just have to be happy with a brand new home.  But then again, there will be at least a couple of husbands out there somewhere with new 80″ TVs!