Being Able to Afford Something Is Not The Same As Being Able To Maintain It

[Unknown Op]

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Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

Indeed, most of the time people are very much focused on what they can afford to purchase. They do not think about the lifestyle that comes with it, whether they can afford it or not. Having a car is good but you have to deal with fuel, servicing,  registration, insurance, and unexpected repairs in case of any damage. They become part of your monthly budget.  I think there is another factor people should also consider before taking on any recurring expense is that whether the income is stable or not. A person who has high expenses but whose income is unstable. He is in a weak position. On the other hand, someone who is earning less but still has stable income and also has very few financial commitments to meet. The real meaning of affordability is to buy things, then to maintain them and still have enough money left for unexpected expenses and also for savings.

[abhiseshakana]

Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

Beside expenses that already have an allocated budget, I am always very careful about spending money. If we understand financial literacy then we can separated between necessity and desire. We do not have to avoid desires, but we need to change how we make decisions before buying something. So before buying something, i always give question to my self, do I really need it, and does it improve my quality of life? If the answer is necessity then the next question is whether this purchase is truly necessary and within financial means. If the answer is desire then i will give further question to my self, does that item or experience truly add value to my life?

It doesn't mean that when we can afford to buy something and we have capability to maintain it, those items or experiences are worth to buy. Before buying or purchase something which is actually taking money out of the wallet, my deep consideration always whether the value it brings is bigger compared with its total cost of ownership. With this way of thinking we can spend money wisely and understanding the full responsibility behind every financial decision we take.

[Marykeller]

Buying a car is not a problem; maintaining it is where the problem lies; that's where some people forget to reason. They feel let them buy the car to show off to their friends, to tell them that they have arrived financially, forgetting the financial burden that comes with it at times.

I have seen some of my friends who hit their first millions in my country's currency; what they thought of first was buying a car to show off. In the long run, they sold the car because they don't have a good-paying job that can continue to buy fuel at high prices and fix other problems that their car can develop.

[savetheFORUM]

I have seen a few instances in the past which clearly taught me this. It is not difficult to buy something but maintaining that is a real challenge. A lot of people would simply buy the luxuries because they want to look good or cope up with their friends but are we really able to afford the maintenance? Not really if we continue the same old job and earn the same income. We can only really afford something if we have the potential to maintain it which only follows after increased income.

I think people still focus too much on the initial price. Only those with neat planning think about the future but for majority of us, the temporary pleasure matters the most instead of thinking long.

[hafiztalha]

There's nothing wrong in seeking for something bigger, flashy or more expensive but before you live that kind of life it should be at a time when you own different investments that are bringing in proceeds for you. These days, many people do things just because others are doing it, not because they needed it. Why upgrading your car when you know that it will require higher maintenance. A lot of people failed in life because they opt for luxury when they are not financially stable, they only wanted to impress people that they are doing well. Sometimes, it's not really the economy that is the problem but the individuals because they do not want to live within their means. They always want to find themselves in a difficult situation and start blaming the government. Let for me, i will not upgrade my standard of living till I have upgraded my investment income streams.

True, People should not spend money on unnecessary luxuries just because they want to impress others but I do not think that they should upgrade their lifestyle when they have several investment income streams. It is not true that every lifestyle upgrade is just to show off. Sometimes having a better car, a better house or better equipment can help make life comfortable, provide safety and productivity or can even help someone earn more and better.
Also, we cannot say that the people who are struggling financially are responsible for these situations or that they have refused to live within their means. Multiple factors including inflation, unemployment, lower wages and unexpected medical expenses, family responsibilities and changing economic conditions, can all affect someone's finances and can make life and financial decisions difficult.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

I know cases when people bought good, expensive cars out of vanity, but then (and it hurt us to look at it,) they didn't care about them at all. And, timely maintenance and the use of expensive fuel recommended by the manufacturer simply completely slipped the owners' minds, and as a result, their expensive cars turned into rusty troughs. And all we heard from them was, "it's not cheap to keep a car like this."
Therefore, your remark is fair, OP.   If you want to have a big house, you need to look not only at how much money you have in your wallet now, but also think about the future.
But it’s not just about maintenance costs; sometimes, the market itself is unpredictable. For instance, there was a story in our country clever and experienced scammers managed to sell a used car for more than its original cost. And this happens too, no matter how much it surprises us.

[bakasabo]

I see buying a car is a popular example how people purchase something but dont realize cost of maintenance. I like the example with purchasing a house. Many people dream of having a house, they fulfil their dream, but later face maintenance cost and number of things need to be done. These are people who have never lived in a house but where living in apartments all their lives; where maintenance is done by service company and cost of it is divided among all apartments. People also pay little and worry about nothing. Then those people purchase a house and realize they have to do everything by themselves. Their dream of enjoying life and eating bbq every day turn into working after work to keep house tidy, functional and beautiful.

[WatChe]

Financial literacy is very important in today's world because it teaches you about how to manage your finances and it also gives you insight of maintenance cost of product you intent to buy, which in turn saves you from financial burdens. Whatever you intent to buy, don't just look at purchase price of that thing but also keep in mind that whether you can bear the maintenance cost of that thing or not. Everyone wants the best things in his life and it's everyone right to have it but buying something at cost of financial burden is certainly not recommended.

[Ndabagi01]

Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

Focus is been given to the initial price often than giving focus to it as a whole including the recurring cost of maintaining that which you’re acquired. Sometimes I see people dashing out valuable items to people
That cannot afford to maintain it which later becomes a burden for them. You can’t give a car to a person that his monthly expenses will only allow him to fuel a bike and then struggle to even repair a bike is there is a major repair to be carried out. I think we neglect the recurring expenses and only think about the initial cost of affording it. As a smart person, there is need to look into all before making a major decision of purchasing something that needs continuous maintenance for it to work effectively.

[abhiseshakana]

Financial literacy is very important in today's world because it teaches you about how to manage your finances and it also gives you insight of maintenance cost of product you intent to buy, which in turn saves you from financial burdens. Whatever you intent to buy, don't just look at purchase price of that thing but also keep in mind that whether you can bear the maintenance cost of that thing or not. Everyone wants the best things in his life and it's everyone right to have it but buying something at cost of financial burden is certainly not recommended.

Yes 100% agree that financial literacy is very important for healthy financial life which ultimately contributes significantly to our mental health. Based on my real experiences after and before well literated financially, financial planning as core and mandatory element of financial literacy give me strategic skills (tools) to prepare a budget for my future plans. With financial litercay we can understand the basic concept of money and how money works, creating a budget and avoiding financial pitfalls. From reviewing our financial confition and connecting it to our financial goal, we can simulate strategy which on the long run give us experience to update and upgrade our budgeting skill, our debt management skill and wider knowledge of financial product.

After well literated financially i feel feeling calm and more confident, and not easily prone to panic. Regarding the financial burden consideration when purchasing items, in addition to post purchase costs, we must consider its long term value and utility. Based on financial literacy class i take bedore purchasing goods we must calculate Total Cost of ownership which has formula and parameter. What i remember if the total TCO over a specific period (example five years) consumes more than 10–15% of our income for consumption product, then from financial literacy parameter  that item is categorized as a financial burden that poses a risk to our long term stability.

https://www.jurnal.id/id/blog/apa-itu-tco-total-cost-of-ownership/

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

People don't even maintain want they have already talk more of planning the maintaining cost ahead of time for thibgs they want to buy and that's why  we have many liability laying around and abandon because there's no money for maintenance. Used things are mostly cheap because of this (no money for maintainance) as if they were marinating it then they could have sold it at a higher cost but because what they're trying to sell has been used without no or lees maintenance then it becomes cheaper to buy. The habit of not maintaining things is a big problem with humans and this behaviours affects our whole life not just the things we purchase. Having maintainance qualities are rare but we can build one by first only buying things we really need and not just wasting money on wants.

[sunsilk]

Financial literacy is very important in today's world because it teaches you about how to manage your finances and it also gives you insight of maintenance cost of product you intent to buy, which in turn saves you from financial burdens. Whatever you intent to buy, don't just look at purchase price of that thing but also keep in mind that whether you can bear the maintenance cost of that thing or not. Everyone wants the best things in his life and it's everyone right to have it but buying something at cost of financial burden is certainly not recommended.

I agree. You also get to understand if the economy's situation is good or bad and that reflects on how you should reflect and react as well through your finances.

The matter with people who's able to earn decently these days, it has become a part of the flexing culture that they can afford to buy things without looking at the price tag.

That's okay if they can really afford so but it creates that thought that people should also be into that situation even if their finances can't do it right now.

[programmer3666]

A lot of financial decisions are based on one question; CAN I AFFORD TO BUY IT? but I think another question is just as important; CAN I AFFORD TO KEEP IT?

For instance someone may be able to afford a car today but the real cost does not end when the can is purchased. There is fuel, maintenance, insurance, repairs and other running expenses. Sometimes the purchase itself is not what create financial pressure, it is the reoccurring cost that comes after the purchase.

This made me realize that affordability should probably be looked at from two different angles; CAN I AFFORD THE PURCHASE AND CAN MY INCOME COMFORTABLY SUPPORT THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH IT? Something can be within your budget today but becomes a burden 6 months later if the ongoing cost are ignored. I think this is one reason why two people with similar incomes can have completely different levels of financial stability.

Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

In our generation, if we accept the reality on the ground, then the smartest financial move will always be to rent or lease instead of owning. When you own a car or house or even heavy business equipment, you are fully and 100 percent responsible for every breakdown, whether insurance premium hikes or other damages. But if you just rent what you need and only when you need it, then you will enjoy the maximum utility without worrying about the haedache of maintenance and hidden costs.

[Prince patrick]

This is a brilliant topic. Kudos to you, I just want to add very little to what you said, first before making any purchase you need to look at where the money came from, is it a constant source of income? Will you be earning that much continuously? Will you be able to afford to fix it when there is a problem with the car without taking a loan? Your source of income should determine your ability and capability of what you can purchase. Don't buy things because of trend, don't buy things due to peer pressure, don't buy because you just made a little money or you got a huge loan. Buy things when you have a very stable and comfortable source of income. Don't buy liabilities. Make sure to buy things that has resales value. There was a time I had a good amount of money in my account and then I decided to quickly buy a double door fridge that I have Always admired, I bought that fridge about 200 dollars, but after a while I regretted it and sold it for 80 dollars, and since then I learned my lessons never to buy things that isn't relevant or that will cost you a lot to maintain.

[Miles2006]

Sincerely the op is right, seems like owning a car is the most common example used because why not? The cost of fuel alone tells how expensive keeping up with a new lifestyle can be. They’re other properties that requires a high maintenance and without adequate funds one can’t keep up with, I observed the most expensive properties do cost a lot to repair and maintain compared to lesser quality so definitely it depends on the quality too. I’m not saying people should go for lower quality hell no, the point about those who purchase property above their standard, they should consider buying a property they will be able to maintain though the value and cost of things do increase as time goes clearly we can’t find anything cheap at a certain range again.

[r_victory]

I often find myself thinking about this. I like to look at properties, and I think that owning one ends up being a liability. An apartment, for example, even if you buy it, you'll still have to pay the condominium fees, property tax, and bills; a house is no different. A car, in addition to the tax, requires insurance, which is paid monthly and, depending on your age and gender, can be more expensive. You're essentially paying “a fee” to use what you bought. Many people don't do these calculations when buying something and end up getting into more debt than planned.

[Samlucky O]

A lot of financial decisions are based on one question; CAN I AFFORD TO BUY IT? but I think another question is just as important; CAN I AFFORD TO KEEP IT?

For instance someone may be able to afford a car today but the real cost does not end when the can is purchased. There is fuel, maintenance, insurance, repairs and other running expenses. Sometimes the purchase itself is not what create financial pressure, it is the reoccurring cost that comes after the purchase.

If we keep thinking about maintenance cost of vehicle or car, we can't be able to buy or afford car. But however those factors need to be concentrated on otherwise such person will fall into the trap of unnecessary spending. Before one will bug anything like car, such person need to check the type of car he wants to buy if it is fairly used or below grade, when you buy a more better car, it will save you the stress of too much maintenance. Not buying a 4th grade car and emidiately after purchase you are at the mechanic everyday.

The point is that when trying to afford something of such kind, you need to buy a more better and reliable one that will serve you for long before starting to develop fault. Let your stress just be a usual one which is to fuel it, And not both. People I Know that bought the wrong car hated a car due to the wrong decision they made.

[Jasmyne]

Do you think people pay enough attention to the cost of maintaining what they buy or do we focus too much on the initial price?

People don't even maintain want they have already talk more of planning the maintaining cost ahead of time for thibgs they want to buy and that's why  we have many liability laying around and abandon because there's no money for maintenance. Used things are mostly cheap because of this (no money for maintainance) as if they were marinating it then they could have sold it at a higher cost but because what they're trying to sell has been used without no or lees maintenance then it becomes cheaper to buy. The habit of not maintaining things is a big problem with humans and this behaviours affects our whole life not just the things we purchase. Having maintainance qualities are rare but we can build one by first only buying things we really need and not just wasting money on wants.

But there are people that are so good in maintaining what they have because they know the value and how much they stand to lose when they do not maintain it and then decide to sell it off to buy something else. For example, countries where an individual is paying monthly or weekly for insurance they will be careful not to damage things either owned by them or other people because the more they damage things the more they are going to be charged by the insurance company so they will be careful to maintain and not damage their own properties.

People who are from countries where they are not mandated to pay for insurance has the highest number of last of maintenance of the properties they have be it cars or building they will likely destroy it because they don't care about how much it would cost for maintenance those set up people do not make much profit when they sell things as fairly used because the buyer will spend a lot in trying to fix the things that has been damaged.

[Mr_Brilliant$]

People don't pay attention to the cost of maintaining something over time. They are hard wired to impress people who don't care about them. I noticed a lot that people make purchases just for someone to see them in a different sight. Like people should see them as rich and can be able to buy anything they want. That's them living their lifes for someone and not necessarily at their own terms even though they are independent. They still feel as if they are under the obligation to please people.

That in a long run will not end well. You buy something with high maintenance just to please people. When you struggle to maintain it and cannot any longer, people start seeing you for what you are. That's a shame and I don't advise anyone to go down that part.

[Versatile_choice]

Sincerely the op is right, seems like owning a car is the most common example used because why not? The cost of fuel alone tells how expensive keeping up with a new lifestyle can be. They’re other properties that requires a high maintenance and without adequate funds one can’t keep up with, I observed the most expensive properties do cost a lot to repair and maintain compared to lesser quality so definitely it depends on the quality too. I’m not saying people should go for lower quality hell no, the point about those who purchase property above their standard, they should consider buying a property they will be able to maintain though the value and cost of things do increase as time goes clearly we can’t find anything cheap at a certain range again.

In today's world many people are trying to pick a competition with people around them or in the media, I would take for example this part of the world that I'm currently in. I see a lot of guys buying cars and other expensive things, just because they saw other people buying cars living a luxurious life. But they forgot that those people they are trying to compete with has enough resources to maintain those expensive things they have bought, this is why I don't look at what people are doing  I looking into creating something different I mean something I can easily maintain without stressing myself too much.