Money Listens

So, you want to buy an elephant. You’ve already followed the first two suggestions to make sure it’s a good decision. First, you’ve waited. You’ve been wanting an elephant for a really long time. Last month you visited all the elephant dealers in town and found just the one for you. You’ve also done research on the Internet and have a good idea of how much you should pay. You wrote down “Elephant” on your wish list, and dropped hints like crazy, but nobody bought one for your Birthday.

You also followed suggestion #2 and examined your motives for wanting an elephant. An elephant is unlike anything you now own, and you can’t borrow one. It is versatile, and useful. You’re not buying one because it’s the “in” thing, or because of the little logo on the front, or because the kids have been begging for one.

You think you’re ready to buy. You have the cash in your savings account.

But how much do you really know about elephants? Do you understand everything about them? Sure, you know the latest model numbers and accessories. Do you know what it takes to maintain one? How often do they need servicing? How long will it take to learn how to use it? Are you good with large mammals? Where will you put it? Do you have the time and energy to take care of another thing? Or will it just hang around the garage?

Don’t buy anything that you don’t fully understand. If you don’t know how to work all the bells and whistles, maybe you need something less elaborate (like a hedgehog.) If you don’t understand how it compares to other similar items, don’t buy it. This goes for complicated items like insurance policies, investments, and funeral plans, and for simple items, like elephants.

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 10:31 pm and is filed under A to Z, Dave Says, Spending Less and Less. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.