Do you normally put something that you want/need on payments or do you save cash instead? We decided last year that from now on, we are going to start putting the same money we would put toward a payment into a savings account, instead. That way we will save cash, instead of using credit. Even if it's 0% financing, it feels good to just pay cash and be done with it. Also, I figure that it gives me a chance to figure out if it's something I really need or if it's something I can do without. With our bedroom set and the kids bunk beds, they were really something we needed and we saved and paid cash. There was a dining set that we really wanted, but we decided to wait and save for it, since we didn't have the money right then. Turns out, we really didn't want that one, anyway. I didn't do this with our mini van, but with every other purchase we've made in the past year (at least), we've paid cash. Well, debit card, but we had the money in the bank. So far, it's saved us interest, possible late payment fees and bad/regretted purchases.

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Frugal is being wise with your money and resources and cheap is forcing everyone else to.

Depends on what it is. We have done both in the past. With our Kitchen remodel (cost of $6000) we financed the counters and appliances then paid cash for everything else. We could have waited but we were TTC and well wanted the kitchen done before we started our family. Yes if you have 0% interest it still may be better for you to finance then pay cash. For us as a newly married couple it helped establish our credit. Even if you had the money if it was invested where it was gaining interest would it not make since to leave the money where its earning you money as long as possible.

The big getcha is people who use these deals and don't save or make payments to get them paid off before the intro rate expires.

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

when we were first married we did that but now we save the money for purchases and then pay cash we do this also with vehicles. i feel that if i'm making payments 0% intrest or not i really did not have the money to buy it anyway...this also keeps us in a reality check of course there are tons of cool things i would love to have for my home but in all honesty i really don't need them at all....

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'The will of God will never take you where the
Grace of God will not protect you.'

That's great. I love it! That's what we do too. If we want something (even a car ~ we buy used) we save up for it first and pay cash. The only thing we borrow for are things that increase in value over time (mortgage / medical). Even with 0%, if you miss one payment or if they forget to record one payment, you will owe all the back interest. It's not worth the stress. I like owning things outright. :happy dance:

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We're working on this and I think we're improving but let's just say we're working on it. It's hard though.

We used to put everything on payments and always tell ourselves we pay it off before the interest starts; we're still paying now! This past year we haven't really put anything on the credit cards, we pay cash only now. So unless it is something that we actually need right away and can't function without we save the cash for it. Right now we are saving for a new fridge because ours is so old it's so tempting to put on credit though.

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~Maryellen

I used to be the payment queen. Now everything is cash.

Sort of. We don't buy anything unless we have the cash to pay for it outright so we do save for it, BUT we do finance it if it is on an account we don't have to open. Then I open a CD in the approrpiate time frame, figure out how much I need to put in to GET to the amount financed and let my money work for me.

When we had our floors done, that saved us about $700. For our a/c I have figured it will save us $400. For a TV we bought last year it will probably only save us $75, but that is still $75! Now cars we don't get those type of deals so we try to pay cash for those now.

However, our big purchases are so few and far between we don't have more than two at a time if that. Most of the time it is zero. Right now do have two: the a/c and the TV. We don't have any others planned for awhile.

Maybe I am bad...

If we get a 0% interest rate offer for so many months, we take it and use. I make the payments so we will have it paid off before the promotional period ends. Buying our first home and needing to make repairs/replacments, it helped a lot. We used Home Depot 0% offers for our refrigerator, dishwasher, washer and dryer. We use it for new carpets and vinyl at a flooring place (and it needed it!). Everything is paid off except our new computer - which as an IT professional I needed since the old one was dying.
We did pay cash for our new roof, a sliding glass door replacement, new side door, vent installation in the bathroom, tree removal. So, the promotions help us get what we *need*. I wouldn't get it for something we don't need, only something I can handle writing those checks for every month!

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Mom to Kaylee (10/2006)
Waiting on our second bundle of joy to arrive January 2009!