What’s your go-to buying decision

Even with 0% interest, paying through instalments gives the perception of more cash than one really has; which may lead to imprudent purchases.

0% is free money.. if you don’t over spend!

Financing a watch is like financing a waterbed (a very online joke).

Pay in full. No debt. It's my watch, not the bank's.

If you feel the temptation to pretend for a few weeks/months that your budget is larger than it really is, that watch was probably too much for you right now.

I tend to buy outright, and I keep a spreadsheet of all my watches, purchase dates and values up to date so I can always face the sobering truth that my deposit for an apartment is tied up in horology 🙃

I have always paid in full but if I ever get 0% financing for the retail cost of the Watch then it’s a no brainer

Never buy anything on credit!!

Put it on my card, then pay in full at the end of the month to rack up on reward points!

While a 0% interest free card may be tempting, I hate having a rollover balance on a watch. If I can’t pay outright, then it means I’m not meant to have that watch at this time.

There is so much more satisfaction in saving money and spending it once it's hard-earned rather than impulse buying and having to reimburse after the fact.

it's also a better financial behaviour.

I pay for everything on a credit card with 3% cash back, pay it off every payday (I’ve never carried a balance) and deposit the cash back into a savings account that currently pays 4.1% interest.

I’m committed to never charging more than I can pay off that week.

Pay in full or ask if the AD has a layaway plan. No financing needed 😁

Nothing i have is over $500, so cash is easy. I’ll save up otherwise.

same here

hate to look at it but is needed

I pay cash. Saving money gives me time to narrow my short list, grow my wish, it's part of the process.

The only case I could go for a 0% financing is if the brand is shamelessly increasing its price every 2 months, and I want to get the watch anyway

Financing also means: you need to show em how much you make per year.

I’m not a billionair. So, my annual income is nothing special. That hot lady working in the Rolex Boutique is not going to get aroused by it.

I will stick to my credit card.

Now, I don’t promote buying luxury goods with credit (unless you can pay at month end) but let me add fuel to the fire here. I’m seeing all the back and forth, so I decided to run the numbers.

Scenario is the following – 2 buyers, one pays in full, the other pays with a 0% card. Assuming both have the same monthly cash flow (but we will not include in this model) and have $100k sitting in the bank. Your bank offers you a high yield savings account at 4.75% (40bps a month). The watch you’re looking to buy costs $5k. If you decide to pay with the 0% card, you would have paid off the watch in 12 months and have a higher balance in your savings account. This assumes you pay the balance in 12 months. In this situation, it makes sense to use the 0% card. This is assuming you have a nice cash flow to cover monthly expenses and you’re not eating into your savings.

Now, if you don’t have cash saved up, then you’re potentially f&*^.

Outright but pay with a credit card or if it’s a big purchase, open a new credit card with a big bonus

I have stated before; Amex for points, pay off in full before next billing cycle. I understand the argument of 0%, but opening accounts to borrow for luxury goods is silly to me, even as a financial professional. The credit impact alone isn't worth it.

Couple things;

• 3% mortgage vs. 8% avg annual return of the S&P, that makes sense to borrow

• 0% for 4-5 years on a car? If the money is going to be actually earning money and the car loan will help keep an active credit record? Sure.

• 0% for 6 months on a watch? Silly. If someone needs a six-month float to make things work for them, I'd argue they do not have the money in the first place to purchase a high four-figure or five-figure watch. IE, the hassle, credit hit, and overhead of a $10k loan to make a couple hundred bucks is ridiculous and a total waste of time.

In reality, less than 1% of the population who claim "I borrow free money to make my money work for me" actually make the money work for them. They foolishly spend it and remain cash and investments poor. If they have the discipline and actually make it work, awesome, but they are the exception. Personally, "making my money work" on trivial loans is not worth the effort and unless I know someone has the discipline and fiscal know-how, always pay in full.

Last point, cars, watches, etc, there is no such thing as 0% borrowing. If you do not think it is built into the price, I have land in Antarctica I can sell you.

I need to have the money in full then I go with PayPal 4 payment no APR. Helps me do small upgrades like a bracelet vs leather.

I wish my AD would let me never pay 😞

If it is 0% with no payments for a period of time I am all in. There is a bonus the retailer can get for signing people up for those which can lower your sales price. So take the cash and buy a CD then convert that back to cash before the term is due and pay it off. You just saved another 2-5%!

You can finance a waterbed 😮‍💨

Where is this savings account? I need that type of %!

I've lost track of how many times this has been asked. Search is real.

Pay in full is obviously the most sensible, but if you know you will have funds over a long period of time and are simply amortising the payments over a period of time so you don't lose all the money at once in a big chunk - and NOT because you don't have the money - then that's find, too. /thread

I prefer to finance it interest free. I like the points. I like the extra security you get by buying with a credit card, and I always like to have 5-6 percent credit utilization for credit score purposes and buying watches on credit, then paying them off before interest kicked in, helped with that.

That's not too uncommon right now. Heck Paypall Savings is over 4% now.

Absolutely not ! 👍

Rent, but tent would be lovely if only we had the climate in Fenland 😂

Pay in full

If I have 100% free cash in hand but can get 0% interest, I would park the cash somewhere safe to earn a bit of a return (4-5.5% currently) and do that (bonus money for something I would have bought anyway). If I don't have the free cash in hand, no go.