Ten Things to Buy Before the Economy Improves

Forbes lists ten things to buy before the economy improves as follows:

• A house
• A car
• A vacation
• Toys
• High-dividend stocks
• A laptop
• Diamonds
• Women's clothing
• A Television
• Furniture

Many of these are actually on our to-buy list. Here's where we stand on each of them:

• We've been looking for a house for almost two years now (and actually had one deal fall through late last year.) So far, we have been helped by taking our time and being picky as prices have come way down in a couple years. But we may be reaching the bottom so we'll probably be a bit more aggressive, though we'll still be picky as we only want to move if the right situation presents itself.

• My car has 80,000 miles on it and still has a TON of life left. That said, my family is growing (not in number of people, but my kids are getting bigger) and our current car is cramped for long trips. And if each kid wants to take a friend somewhere, we all want to ride together when my parents visit, or I want to haul the basketball team around, we're out of luck -- there simply isn't room. In addition, my car still has good re-sale value, there's the sales tax deduction (though I need to make sure I'm not over the income level to deduct it), and the car companies are desperate. So we've been thinking about a new vehicle. We'll see where this leads.

• We've talked about taking a vacation to Hawaii since airfares and hotel prices are supposedly low. The kids want to go back to Disney. Whatever we do, I wouldn't be surprised if we take a "nicer" vacation late this year or early next year (though it might be too late by that time.) In the meantime, we're taking a three-day trip to Chicago in May as well as going to Niagara Falls (near my wife's family) this summer.

• First, we have enough toys. Second, if only my kids wanted toys. They want more expensive "toys" like iPods and digital cameras.

• How about stocks in general? I've been continually putting money in my 401k, SEP IRA, and taxable accounts -- investing in stock index funds. I'll keep doing so no matter what happens to the economy, but for now these seem like a great deal.

• We just got wireless internet in our house and two desktops don't cut the mustard anymore -- we NEED a laptop!!! ;-)

• I'm blessed with a wife that doesn't spend very much -- especially on things like jewelry and clothes. Needless to say, we won't be buying any diamonds soon.

• See the comment above as it includes clothing.

• We have a digital converter for our old/main TV, but I'm working on getting a new one. By "working on" I mean convincing my wife that we should get one. ;-)

• See #1. If we get a new house, we'll need new furniture. Until then, we're on hold.

How about you? Is there anything you're planning on buying now because of the bad economy?

Comments

[rdub98]

I'm going to pull an FMF and address each of these:

House - have one, don't need one.
Car - have two (both recently paid off), don't need one.
Vacation - happy taking time off at home.
Toys - have too many. Don't need any.
High-dividend stocks - already doing that. Don't need anymore.
A laptop - have three. Don't need any.
Diamonds - have plenty. Don't need any.
Women's clothing - I'm a man. Don't need any (but will when my wife gets to her target weight later this year).
A Television - Have four. Don't need any.
Furniture - Have all I need. Don't need any.

I think I will just continue to save and pay off the rest of my debt. Materialism has lost its grip on me.

[Jim]

I don't see why they have a laptop on that list. The article cites a 13% drop in personal computer prices from a year ago. But that is normal. Computer prices have been steadily dropping every year. Its basically a rule that if you wait a year you can get a better, faster computer for cheaper. The recession isn't going to cause computer prices to drop that much compared to the normal trend.

[Eugene Krabs]

I'm so glad you made this entry, because oddly enough, it seems that I am on a shopping spree lately and last year!

Not that I had intended to, but with so many great deals out there right now, I've been making a lot of consumer purchases. A new TV, Blu-Ray player, clothing, video games, and now, I am maybe in the market for new audio speakers....

[Kim]

We've been looking for another house for three years, and I still think the real estate market has a long way to go before we hit bottom. A long way. I might buy next year, but will continue to look for a great deal this year. So far everything we see is still so overpriced, even bank-owned foreclosures.

Definitely take the kids to Hawaii over Disneyland. Hawaii is so magical, beautiful, and special - in an analog way. Disneyland's "magic" is just produced and loud with no culture or true beauty. And yes, you can get some great deals to Hawaii this year. Go to Maui. It would be the perfect contrast to your vacation to Chicago. America is so diverse - a big, thriving city like Chicago to a small tropical island paradise.

I'll spend some money traveling this year, probably to Europe and to New Zealand. We have a LOT of airline miles! Otherwise, we have everything we need.

[LotharBot]

1,10) I've been planning on buying a house for several years now. Just waiting to get work in the right area -- no sense in owning a house 1200 miles from work. Will buy furniture when I have a house for it, and even then I'll probably do a lot of thrift store shopping.

2) Already have a pair of cars, less than 5 years old each. Low mileage, well maintained, and they work for what I use them for.

3) My idea of the best vacation EVAR is to go camping (in a cabin) with my wife and our D&D books. Since my family owns a cabin in the Colorado mountains and I already own my D&D books, this won't get particularly more expensive over time.

4,6,7,8,9) Don't need any more toys, definitely don't need diamonds, and my wife shops at Value Village and does just fine for herself. I don't watch TV; netflix works on my computer. No interest in a laptop at this time.

5) Stocks in general. High-dividend stocks are a good buy right now, but so are index funds and such.

The main thing I'm thinking of splurging on is a private pilots license (actually, 2 of them.)

[CW]

Of the ten items listed by Forbes, I find 2 of value and the rest a waste of time and money.

Assets make you money, liabilities cause market crashes... I'll pass thank you.

[Melissa]

Hello!

I am a college student that needs almost all of these things but lacks the money...where should i start?! ..or should i?

[LotharBot]

Melissa,

you do not "need" most of these things. Most of these items are luxury items that, if you plan to buy them with your excess money, will be at a better price now than in the future due to the down market. This doesn't make them good investments (like CW seems to think they should be) or "must-have" items, just items that are going to be on a relative sale for the next little while.

As a college student, I'd recommend you start by paying down any debts you have and learning to live cheaply (a must-have skill for most college students.)

[Colin]

If you are seriously considering a new laptop make sure that you take a look at a few "netbooks". Small, easy on energy and safe for the whole family. I think Wired had a great article last month about them.

#5 is so important right now! I've been putting additional cash into high yield stocks and cheap mutual funds!

[Debt Free]

Fuel prices across the country are shocking people into looking into ways they can improve fuel economy. While it might seem like buying a new hybrid vehicle or subcompact that doesn't use a lot of fuel would be the best solution