Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Buying Quality

Ethan Allen Media Cabinet

I used to buy cheap furniture. I was young, and didn't have much money, and didn't really think nice furniture was all that important. However, I recently turned the corner. Not sure if it has more to do with age or with my income. Probably both.

I bought a media console pictured similar to above. I bought it to match the TV that I will eventually get. In times past, I would have just found a nice cheap piece of furniture that would have sufficed to do its job of holding my TV. However, I figured I was about to spend a fair amount of money on my TV and figured it needed an equally nice stand. It's made of real wood, a far cry from the Ikea furniture I'm used to.
The odd thing is that I have always believed in buying quality items. Growing up, my family bought the best we could afford despite the fact we didn't have much money. My mother would always tell me that in the long run, buying something of quality would save you money because you wouldn't have to replace it.

I've done the same strategy with stocks. I've only bought a few dozen stocks in my life. For the most part, I've bought companies which are considered high quality, companies with long histories of strong earnings. Since they are of higher quality, I don't replace them often. Almost all the stocks in my current portfolio I have owned for over two years. It is especially good in times like this when the markets are shaky.

6 comments:

  1. That's why i'm planning on buying an Xperia X1 as soon as it comes out - despite the fact that it's really out of my price range. Hopefully it lasts a good long time. Like.... 50 years or so... Now, if only they'd announce an official release date...

    But yeah, that's a very nice media center. And the TV. I'm still using an old Sony from ~1995. =P

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  2. At first I didn't know what you were referring to as I'm not a phone person. It definitely looks like a nice phone, but I don't know if I could ever spend that much for my phone. Then again, I'm sure some people would have a problem spending $1400 on a TV stand.

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  3. >I don’t know if I could ever spend that much for my phone

    Spend how much? They announced a price?!
    ;)

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  4. I completely agree on quality furniture. If you know you're going to keep these pieces for 5 to 10 years, buy something that lasts. In the end, you will get more bang for your buck.

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  5. Forgot to add... if you're a trendy furniture person though, then it might be cheaper to go with lesser quality stuff (IKEA or Costs Plus). The trade-off is you'll be able to switch out your furniture more often, without feeling too bad.

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  6. I'm definitely not a "trendy" person so I'm happy with buying higher quality stuff that will be around for a while.

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