exactly. i dont think it is a bad thing. if you take a loan that you know you will be able to pay off easily and not get into even more trouble. then i dont see why not. people pay almost their whole life to buy a house with down payments. for 4 walls that make em stay where they are. i know its not popular opinion but i prefer to rent forever than buying. specially living in asia. now if you take a loan with monthly payments that you know will make your life difficult then that’s not wise.
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I agree with you both. There’s a huge difference in using credit or taking out a load responsibly/strategically vs. doing it out of desperation or because it’s the only way you can afford a card.
Back when AMEX was offering Plan-It (which is basically an installment loan for those who aren’t familiar) with no fees I used it quite often to buy more expensive cards. 18 months no interest/fees made it a no brainer. With that said there’s a big difference in doing that sort of thing vs. racking up a ton of high-interest credit card debt.
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yes but that depends as “tons” can mean something diffrent to diffrent people isnt it ? for me taking a loan of 28,000$ can be something i can handle in paying back every month. to others it doesn’t. btw when i say a loan i specifically talk about a loan from the bank in which you return the loan every month.
My issue with this line of thinking, shit happens, and when that shit happens, you can pay off the remaining payments of the card, which buries you into an even deeper hole.
I don’t agree with the thought process behind the BNPL plans. Budget accordingly the next month or stash that budget monthly until you can afford to buy it outright is my thought process.
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Oh I don’t disagree. I’ve done it many times myself. There are times I’d rather pay a little interest and have the payments spread out rather than drop the cash at once.
I think the point I’m making (and I think you are too) is I don’t necessarily agree with the “using credit/loans is bad and all purchases should be paid for in full or you shouldn’t buy it” stance as long as you’re doing it responsibly and strategically.
exactly. some things i dont have the cash/credit card to buy in one time but if its even in 2-3 times it is ok.
when i was younger even cheap stuff i would like to spread for like 6 months, that was a mistake and and annoying keep paying for something i bought long time before but still paying for although i could have done it in one go with no bad consequances. the problems start when you cant handle the payment of the loan then you go and take a loan to pay the loan and yea things usually end bad.
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a loan doesnt have to be huge though it can even be 4000$ loan. if you have a steady job and income you shouldn’t get into trouble for a loan like this.
when speaking of a loan people think usually about big numbers but that isnt always the case.
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I generally avoid taking out loans that charge interest/fees. I’m happy to let a balance sit on a credit card charging 0% interest, but at the same time I have the money to pay it back sitting in an account that earns interest. If I can’t afford something now, I’m generally happy to wait and save up.
My only exception would be something like a loan to purchase a home.
I just don’t agree with the premise of taking out a loan for a hobby, no matter the price.
If shit happens - you lose your job, have some odd capital unplanned expense, etc that causes you to miss payments, that is a really tough recovery. Thankfully you can always resell the card in the time of need, but you never know how the market will be.
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again it really depends on the amount of the loan and how much you got to pay every month, how much is the loan intrest and such. yea shit happens but you dont “just lose your job” in 1 bright day. i can also say shit happens and if i walk on the street a robber gonna rob me or a lightning hits me and i die.the question is not if it can happen coz anything can happen. the question is what is the probability of something happening. you see taking loan for a hobby as nonsense where as i see taking loan to own 4 walls that you may not even want in the future as nonsense. to each their own
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Exactly my thoughts on any kind of loan and credit. Mortgages and genuine emergencies aside of course.
But buying an unnecessary luxury such as Pokemon cards? No way. If I need to take a loan out to buy something today, what’s going to change tomorrow that means I will be able to pay it back, plus any interest, and still be financially sound in every other aspect? If the answer is “nothing” then I’m just digging a hole for myself. If, on the other hand, there is something guaranteed to be on the way such as a cash injection, a promotion at work, or some other thing that means more money, then I should really wait until that happens to splash out.
The best thing to do is to not go window shopping if you can’t afford it. Too easy to get FOMO or see a genuine deal and then make up all kinds of reaching justifications in your head for taking out a loan or having something on credit.
I like thinking about the risk spectrum when thinking about loans. There are some who are against taking out a loan at all. The potential, albeit it small, that one could lose their job, have a medical emergency come up, and crash their car in one week is enough to want to fully mitigate the risk by not taking it.
On the other end of the spectrum is the WallStreetBets mentality of leveraging yourself so much you’d give Vegas goers heartburn and hoping the loan for those call options works out.
I would call Pokemon speculative/not an investment, and so a loan wouldn’t be something I would consider, even if it’s a “sure thing” like someone selling a PSA 10 1st edition charizard for 40%, and if I could pay it off easily and quickly.
I personally also wouldn’t do a pay in installments with 0% interest, even if I had the means to cover the entirety of the loan up front. I know that’s in part a product of my psychology. Conceptually I understand the risk may be very small, and there are pote tial rewards. But unless it’s something I can live in, taking a loan for something just isn’t worth the worry that it would cause me.
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The thing to do in this case is to wait to buy the card.
In the United States, a house is a long term asset that has- based on history, not speculation- a very high chance of long-term appreciation. It’s worth the risk of having a loan to own one. You can’t say the same for cards, toys, cars, or anything else. At best, other things might go up in value. Some are nearly guaranteed to depreciate (like cars). Never finance these things for any reason.
I like using a credit card with a 1%-3% cashback (depends on the type of card and how recently you signed up for it) for large purchases and grading fees.
I always pay the balance off in full right away and always make sure I have the cash on hand before making the purchase or submission.
Last year I got about $450 back from all my purchases and just moved it over to an index fund to marinate.
Obligatory, “this is not financial advice.”
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Yes.
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No loans other than a super low limit CC for cashback benefits on PSA subs. I have delayed goals ive had in my personal life to buy cards so maybe a loan on happiness for a year or so 
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I think the farthest I’d go is putting something on PayPal credit, taking out a personal loan or similar is too much. If it were to open a Pokémon oriented business I could see that being reasonable.
Someone once said: “Debt is temporary. Cards are forever.”
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