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

[Su-asa]

Sometimes people make certain purchases solely to look no worse than others or to impress those around them. Moreover, sometimes such purchases are made on credit! Not to mention that they will then have to bear the costs of maintaining their purchase. For example, a car is often such a fetish. In reality, this ultimately only worsens their financial situation if it is not initially adequate to cover both the expensive purchase and the subsequent maintenance costs.

This is so true, everyone looks rich but in reality not everyone is. Maintainance is another expenses a lot of people don't consider when making a purchase either on credit or with the little that they have and this makes zero sense. If you cannot afford to buy that item or product three times then it automatically means that you don't have the resources to manage or maintain it, this is a simple logic that people don't understand.

[Hyphen(-)]

Humans have an insatiable desires and while in pursuit for them it is important that we apply caution to avoid making regrettable mistakes, so many things will definitely look very right to have and if you are not being careful enough about it, you will end up having them just at the wrong time of your life when other things were to be more important to have, most times had I know will always come at last. Just to crown it all, there is time for everything and this also applies on how we get to satisfy our desires in life.

Exactly, but we forget easily especially if we have the desire to achieve something, we don’t usually think of how to maintain whatever we buy be it gadget or expensive cars we get based on peer pressure and competition. We need to always keep in mind that there is time for everything, we can’t just make decisions based on whatever are not comfortable with based on our condition, we should rather do what we can afford at that time to avoid unnecessary pressures that can affect our future.

[eightdots]

Humans have an insatiable desires and while in pursuit for them it is important that we apply caution to avoid making regrettable mistakes, so many things will definitely look very right to have and if you are not being careful enough about it, you will end up having them just at the wrong time of your life when other things were to be more important to have, most times had I know will always come at last. Just to crown it all, there is time for everything and this also applies on how we get to satisfy our desires in life.

Exactly, but we forget easily especially if we have the desire to achieve something, we don’t usually think of how to maintain whatever we buy be it gadget or expensive cars we get based on peer pressure and competition. We need to always keep in mind that there is time for everything, we can’t just make decisions based on whatever are not comfortable with based on our condition, we should rather do what we can afford at that time to avoid unnecessary pressures that can affect our future.

We must also consider the long-term implications of the moves we make. We might want to acquire many things, but we must also take into account the costs that follow such acquisitions. While it is natural to desire many things, one must act within the scope of one’s own means. This is of critical importance for developing a sound economic plan and ensuring the sustainability of one’s finances.

Everything has its proper time; when that time arrives, you will have the opportunity to pursue what you wish—provided that you act according to a well-thought-out plan.

[Emeraldo]

Humans have an insatiable desires and while in pursuit for them it is important that we apply caution to avoid making regrettable mistakes, so many things will definitely look very right to have and if you are not being careful enough about it, you will end up having them just at the wrong time of your life when other things were to be more important to have, most times had I know will always come at last. Just to crown it all, there is time for everything and this also applies on how we get to satisfy our desires in life.

Exactly, but we forget easily especially if we have the desire to achieve something, we don’t usually think of how to maintain whatever we buy be it gadget or expensive cars we get based on peer pressure and competition. We need to always keep in mind that there is time for everything, we can’t just make decisions based on whatever are not comfortable with based on our condition, we should rather do what we can afford at that time to avoid unnecessary pressures that can affect our future.

Being able to purchase something does not necessarily means that it will be easy to maintain it.
There are couples of people who have bought expensive cars, houses and other devices and gadgets but are not able to maintain it.
Like the government of my country, they can build infrastructure with public funds but maintenance has always being the problem.
There are people that have problems with maintenance and they are not able to coup with it because maintenance can be more expensive than just having the money to purchase or achieve something.

[Taricoins]

These days there are so many people who force themselves to buy cars... They even go for credit with such a low down payment and installments that last for years just to show off and flaunt their cars to their neighbors or others... But they don't realize that over time, the car ends up suffocating them... Not only do they have to pay the monthly installments, but also vehicle taxes, maintenance costs, and fuel, which could be even more expensive compared to when they were using a motorcycle.. Often, they have to work extra hours or take up jobs as online drivers just to cover these installments.. All this just so the car loan can be paid off.

This is the reality for many people today.. They are willing to sacrifice their lives just to get something they probably can't really afford just to be seen as more successful and rich, even though they don't have the ability to maintain that.

I think this is the biggest challenge facing the world, the need to get the mass approval instead of different between wants and needs, it isn't a crime to own a car especially if it's a need but getting a higher cost and maintenance just to show off becomes a problem. Aside from cars another thing is expensive houses when your income doesn't match the luxury, a friend recently bled through his pocket to get buy a house but the problem started when the stipulated monthly maintenance fee was same amount he paid as house rent in his previous house.

[bakasabo]

Because people always want to prove something to others, and our life is an endless competition with someone. Hard to calm down and start proving others that you are better than you really are. With all those things that we can purchase and manufacturers keep on producing, we became prisoners of items. People measure success visually instead of measuring it by actions and behavior.

[Dxdiax26]

Humans have an insatiable desires and while in pursuit for them it is important that we apply caution to avoid making regrettable mistakes, so many things will definitely look very right to have and if you are not being careful enough about it, you will end up having them just at the wrong time of your life when other things were to be more important to have, most times had I know will always come at last. Just to crown it all, there is time for everything and this also applies on how we get to satisfy our desires in life.

Indeed, it's true that every human being will never be satisfied with fulfilling their own desires. One good thing is not holding back but consider whether it's appropriate to continue pursuing those desires, as we won't always be there and there will be times when difficulties will arise in our journey as human beings.
At this time, I think it is better as you said that we are more careful in doing something that is not in our personal interests time continues to run and we will also manage its use ourselves because if everything is not protected well, I can say that the guarantee of our future life will experience failure in managing time which is too wrong with our excessive in satisfying carelessness in desires.

[Zaka1221]

Well this is a problem that people face when they don't buy what they can maintain. I think there is a difference between what you can afford and what you can be able to maintain. Sometimes people chose to buy flashy thing just to recieve accolades without undermining the maintenance cost. Why some buy what they can afford to maintain even if they have more. For example, a person might have $20k and he want to buy a vehicle of $20k, not that he can't afford it but will go for the one of $10k to have a balance of $10 for maintenance as a wise person, while another may have $20k and use it to buy a car of $20k, this is not a wise person because he never check the maintenance cost.

Because of this reason of not buying what one can maintain, I have seen many young guys who made financial mistake by buying what they can't afford to maintain and they sold at cheaper rate thereby losing a lot of fund. So maintenance should be looked into before buying anything. Just that some people chose to buy it for people to see that they can afford it without knowing that there is a big difference between buying and maintenance.

It is true that people should consider the maintenance cost before trying to buy any expensive things especially when it comes to vehicles. But I don't think that a person becomes unwise when he tries to buy an expensive car. The real problem is the person whether he is comfortably handling the purchase price, he is paying for the maintenance, insurance and also handling the other expenses without even being getting affected by the finances and is he a financially stable enough person or not. There are so many people who just buy expensive items to impress the people around them.
They do not need them; they just enjoy those items, so they buy them.  There is nothing wrong with spending money on good quality products if you can afford it. At the same time, buying something just to impress people, just to receive praise for it, can lead to financial problems.

[Johncarter14us]

Majority actually focuses on the cost price. They don't usually look at the cost of maintenance, sometimes it's their lack of experience because I'm sure if you knew then your decisions would differ.

I can remember when a friend bought his first car which was six plugs, it wasn't long ge started asking why the fuel burned so fast, parts were quite more expensive and general maintenance cost was a lot. I simply said the car was a luxurious one and wasn't really made for the economy.

This is just a typical example so this prompted me to have it in mind that if I'm to buy a car I really have to consider all this before making a final decision.

[Jubilee58]

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?

While purchasing any product that requires maintenance, it will be wise to know your financial strength, this will enable you to ascertain if you can really sustain such product on the long run. Purchasing price might not be the problem but when you are unable to sustain it , the life span of such product becomes intensively affected, and you may sell it off even below what you bought it.
Apart from the car you mentioned here, other products like ship, lister engines or machineries like cranes, forklift turbines etc, these are products that are capital intensive in their maintenance, and purchasing them without good maintenance culture puts them in danger of total breakdown. I have seen someone who sold his big generator just because he was unable to fuel it, but sold it and bought smaller one that is cost effective. So maintenance of any product is the first thing one should consider, and not cost price.