How much to spend on a watch? (Rule)

I say up to around half a month’s pay. I love watches but more than that is just fanatical. You know - in my opinion. If you’ve specifically saved up though go for it.

Thank you good advice

I know it’s a bit of a cop out but only spend as much as you are comfortable spending it’s that simple for me £5k is my cut off point I could afford more but I wouldn’t feel comfortable spending more

As much as you want. As long as it doesn't handicap you financially, put you in debt or cause undue hardship to you and the ones under your care.

Under 2000 was going to make an exception for 62mas re issue but was late to the party.

No rules,just as much as possible without buggering myself up.

My most expensive watch is around 4 months pay. Doubt I'll be in the position to spend that much on a watch again without selling some of my others (that's the plan, to slowly upgrade)

Be sensible, we all know how consuming this hobby can be, but always remember how subjective this is and a cheap watch can still be a great watch and always buy what you like 👍

I spend two months of salary on watches in a year. It maybe 1 or more watches but the ratio ı spend stays the same.

Net or gross? 😂

I think a better way to look at it is how much do I have in savings? If I have saved enough to cover the cost of the watch, it becomes a question of how much do I want it and how much am I willing to sacrifice of my savings, keeping in mind it takes a while to accumulate savings.

Basing it on monthly salary, gross or net, implies that payments over time are being considered. If that arrangement is at no interest for 6, 12 or 18 months, how much of your monthly salary are you willing to sacrifice? That question can only be answered individually. My sweet spot for such is 10% of gross or less.

BTW, many do not like the idea of payments over time but personally I have no problem with them. 😀

How about

~Half your monthly mortgage/Rent payment per watch

And no more than double that per year.

I feel if you’re asking this question, this is where you should be. Once you get to a point, this will no longer be a question, and this rule? can be ignored. But starting out, I feel I pretty much followed this.

I believe that you and I might be in a minority group about buying watches over time paying zero interest. I buy the occasional timepiece on a 0 interest plan when the seller offers no discounts or any perks. I wanted to gift Cartier watches to my two daughters one recent Christmas after my wife decided to give luxury clothing which wears out. It was a fast 10 month arrangement that I paid off early because I had no plans for the funds beyond buying another watch for myself anyways. I have noticed comments from members in the past, suspect they are not entirely informed about 0 interest plans or just very old school when dealing with finances. I again purchased a watch for myself that is just less than 20k cad on a quick plan, my wife is pestering me to allow her to pay off the total at the earliest opportunity but I refused her offer.

Everyone is different. I don’t think of mine in terms of a monthly salary, instead I put $200 each month into my “fun money” account (not just for watches but any hobby spending), plus a quarter of my annual bonus and any proceeds from selling a watch. If I want to buy a Seiko 5 I will probably have enough in there to buy it. If I want a Rolex I will be saving for a long time. My wife gets the same amount going to her fun money account. Generally if I do buy a watch that took a very long time to save (or significant collection consolidation) I will get insurance on it though

One weeks worth of pay

For a lot of people, 3x income doesn’t make any sense for an engagement ring - for low earners, that’s not the best use of the money, and for high earners, you end up overpaying for something that is over the top.

Income isn’t a great proxy for how much one should spend on a watch. Personally I like to have approximately 2x the watch price in liquid money that’s not already earmarked for something specific.

I don't have rule... My wife surely has!

I realy like your method. My wife and i tread it more or less the same way. The most amount of my saving comes from times long before i got married. At that time i wasnt into watches. I just saved because i havent any expensive Hobbies or so.

It depends both on income and social status, which often go together.

A high end lawyer working for a big firm who goes to charity events, has box seats at sports, and meets with clients makes sense for them to wear a $50-100K

Local smaller town lawyer might be more comfortable showing status and wealth, but keeping it more in the $20-30K range.

People who make $150,000 living in the city, a $10-15k watch would be reasonable.

Real median income in America is about $75K. That's about $6K a month in their pocket. A $5-6K watch wouldn't break the bank, would show status and income levels.

For someone making less, starting out, that $1-2,000 watch is perfect to show they're into the hobby and get a nice piece.

Can you stretch? Can you save for many years while looking for the right pre-owned option? Of course! But also be mindful of who you'll be wearing it around and what you'll be doing with it.

The "3 month salary for engagement ring" is not financial advice, but rather an ad campaign commissioned by debeers to have people spend more money on their monopoly on diamonds. Hell, the entire concept of the "diamond engagement ring" comes from a similar campaign.

Long story short, it is what you feel comfortable with.

Like, some folks spend a bunch of money on seikos and casios. Some folks save up for years for one. If you spend 15k on a Calatrava, but you saved up for 10 years, then did you spend too much?

The truth evades simplicity. How much does it make you happy and how much are you willing to sacrifice?

Like, for me, I have a set amount of dollars from my job that I use on my "fun money" account. I also have 2, soon to be 3, side gigs that I do that puts money into that account. That way I know my bills get paid and my family is covered. So for me, it's less a function of "x months salary" and more "how long can I patiently wait for my account to build up?"

The rule is that whatever you can afford. As long as it does not put you in any financial bind, go for it.

Save up as much as you can and feel comfortable with, then add another 2k, then double it. Put it down as cash for half of the watch and out the other half on a 0 Apr 2 year payment plan. You will figure it out and end up being fine, meanwhile you have an awsome kick ass grail level watch you will keep forever

Thanks really some good thougths in here. I wish good luck with your geeks man.

I'm looking at a watch in the 5-6K range right now. I have $15K saved up. I could easily afford it. But I also have 2-3 projects around the home to do and I'm saving up for a new car that I would like to buy in cash in two year's time. So do I have enough for the watch? That's highly debatable. As others have said in this thread, it's more about your comfort level and what you have that savings earmarked for than it is about raw ability to purchase the good.

Hey Ben, great thread! I was actually just contemplating this very question these past few days. As some people have said, the idea of spending 3x monthly income on an engagement ring is an advertising campaign by DeBeers to guilt men into thinking “if I don’t spend X on my wife, how will she know I love her” and similarly for women “if my man is not willing to spend X on me, he doesn’t truly love me”. Both mindsets are insiduous and will likely lead to issues further down the line.

I really like @Badgerracer’s plan on setting aside a monthly amount and using that to accumulate and ultimately decide on what watch to get. I am toying with this idea myself but I feel I might break it this year because with 200 bucks a month, it would take 1-2 years to save up enough to buy my planned engagement watch. At that point, would it still be an engagement watch or would it instead be a “yey! We stayed together” watch XD.

Funny how the 3 month income hast its roots in advertising. But i totaly agree you dont need an expensive ring to Show your Love.

I Like this concept to i think iam gone do a kind of hybrid system. Taking half of the money that i already saved up (without any good in mind wich iam saving up for) and saving up the secound half with a small amount of my monthly income.

My general rules for myself:

Don’t handicap yourself financially. Don’t buy anything you aren’t comfortable wearing (i.e. if you’re scared of scratching it because of the cost then don’t buy it). Try not to be too impulsive or impatient.

My wife and I are both watch nerds and we talk regularly about how much we are willing to spend. There isn’t really a limit as long as we are meeting our savings goals and still traveling, going on dates, etc.

I save excess from various incomes, for months sometimes years. By excess I mean last priority spending - even disposable funds towards un-needed clothes, eating out, vacations, gifts, etc come before my watch savings. Any watch I sell, funds from that go back into my "watch savings," so that the collection grows or stays similar even if I am no longer in love with something. By this standard I don't have a "limit" on a price, just what's available to me

it just depends on your personal situation, and no one here knows it and can therefore not really advise you.

As some say it depends on your income is only half a truth, it also depends on your monthly expenses...it's the balance that counts.... someone earning 120K a month doesn't necessarily mean he/she has more left to spend than someone earning 60K.

What also counts, for me at least, is where do you stand in life.

If you are still (relatively) young, have young children and a mortgage to pay off, I would not advise spending a lot of money on luxury products....but then again, if you buy a luxury watch clever, the money is not really gone, you can always sell the watch.

If you are a bit older, already or almost retired, with a good pension, house paid off and the children already left the house....then I would say go totally crazy and buy everything you want with your money ´cause life is not eternal.

I think it’s important where you stand in life. My first watch was a grand seiko which cost me 3800 usd. At the time, I paid off my debts and hadl savings and investments. Since then i haven’t really purchased anything as expensive. 2500 usd at most.

For me, when I look to spend on a watch is basically money that I am comfortable never getting back so I spend a lot of time thinking about the purchase. My most recent watch took me a year and half to purchase even tho I could afford it readily.

When I purchase a watch nowadays I ask if I really like the watch enough to spend money on it and will the purchase make me feel guilty since the money can be used for my long term goals

I waited til I retired! Because I knew what my taste is in watches was and financially I could afford to be a bit selfish without affecting my family’s well being.

That's OK. 😀