thinking about financing a ps3 and hdtv...input please

anybody have any experience with this? with best buy? id like some throughts

anyway, heres my story...

so im a college undergrad and i dont exactly have alot of money to throw around and i cant seem to save money. being 21 and having a girlfriend is making saving a little harder than i thought. ive been thinking about financing a setup for quite a while but ive been trying to hold out for a while. the 100 dollar price drop and the new socom coming out is really making me think about taking the plunge

Dude, only you and those that know your financial situation should advise this. You're talking about a luxury item when you state you don't have a lot of money to throw around. See what I mean? Do you have money to pay your bills? Are your books paid for that you'll need next semester? C'mon man. You know what you can and can't afford. Credit cards are tricky because you can mess up so much in a real short amount of time so use your own judgement. CyanX73

I have a lot of experience in this department. I bought an hdtv and my ps3 all on credit with bestbuy and circuit city. I too am a college student. The thing to do is wait for them to run an ad that says no interest for 18 or 24 months on purchases over like $499. If you buy it then you pay interest until the time is up, but the catch is if you don't pay it off within the alotted time, all the interest it would have accrued over that time will be added to your bill. I make big purchases like this with the card and then work in the summer to pay it off. I live in Texas though. We have lots of refineries, so I work in one of those for a month or two and make like $5000 depending on overtime. I t is very good way for broke college students to own some of the finer things in life. I'm planning on buying a new HDTV when they come out with 120hz ones. I say if you can pay it off within the alotted time so there is NO INTEREST, then do it. You should be able to do that.

EDIT: Get the card through the store which you have to do anyways if you finance it through them. Also you have to get approved. Tha part is easy, but depending on your credit and income, is how much they will approve you for. I started off with $700 like 3 years ago and currently have a credit line of $2800 because I pay my off before the premotional end date and on time.

i definately think financing a ps3 and a high def tv would be a bit steep and hard to handle all at once. plus 1080p tvs will be cheaper later and thats what i want. i think a standard digital tv with component cables would work fine for now.

would this be a good opportunity to build credit? say i saved up until november or when socom confron. came out, got the credit card and paid it off before interest even started??

i definately think financing a ps3 and a high def tv would be a bit steep and hard to handle all at once. plus 1080p tvs will be cheaper later and thats what i want. i think a standard digital tv with component cables would work fine for now.

would this be a good opportunity to build credit? say i saved up until november or when socom confron. came out, got the credit card and paid it off before interest even started??

WAKEisBack

u should start credit as soon as possible. if ur over the age of 18 with no credit... its a little harder to get approved because they assume it as (oh under 18. if he cant pay his card, his parents can pay for it). and it takes a while for credit to build up. when i was 19 i was trying to apply for like JC Penny, Macys, Dillards store cards and got denied. but u know its not the same for everyone. and when u get approved it wont be much itll be like for $300 or something. hope that helps.

bloodhound..... how often do stores like bestbuy have finance deals like that? did you have a good credit score or anything to get the 48months?WAKEisBack

Bestbuy and Circuit City don't do 48 mos. no interest. They almost always have these deals goin on, but it is usually 18 mos.

Financing a HDTV/PS3 is completely ridiculous. You should only finance things you need, ie house, car, etc. Save up and buy it later. No reason to go in debt over a gaming console. You're 21 and you have no credit? You should open up a credit card ASAP and make sure you pay it in full every month. So you're a credit card abuser instead of a credit card user. :P

[QUOTE="WAKEisBack"]

i definately think financing a ps3 and a high def tv would be a bit steep and hard to handle all at once. plus 1080p tvs will be cheaper later and thats what i want. i think a standard digital tv with component cables would work fine for now.

would this be a good opportunity to build credit? say i saved up until november or when socom confron. came out, got the credit card and paid it off before interest even started??

xMAVx

u should start credit as soon as possible. if ur over the age of 18 with no credit... its a little harder to get approved because they assume it as (oh under 18. if he cant pay his card, his parents can pay for it). and it takes a while for credit to build up. when i was 19 i was trying to apply for like JC Penny, Macys, Dillards store cards and got denied. but u know its not the same for everyone. and when u get approved it wont be much itll be like for $300 or something. hope that helps.

You won't be approved by most department stores. You'd have to go to a bank and get a "student credit card." Yeah the starting limit sucks. I got my first credit card when I was 16 with a $600 limit. Now I'm 19 and my limit is $15,000 on visa and 3,000 on my american express card.

oh yeah, and im a "privileges member" at wacohvia, which means i get special rates on crap and free stuff. so its obvious ive started good standing somewhere

not that this has F--- all to do with this topic really

beerbong, you make valid points, however, i have stayed away from credit cards all my life because of the trouble my older bro got into when he was in college. he was a credit card "abuser" to the heart. he was a college athlete star but had no money because he had zero time for a job. myself on the other had has always had time for a job in college so there has been no need for a credit card. right now i feel like i could use it. i have full intention of paying it back and obviously, since you see me here talking about it, im not just going crazy and buying something without planning.WAKEisBack

Ah, well if you have self-control it will be no big deal. Which I'm sure you do considering you don't even have one. There is a need to open a credit card though. You need to build credit. The higher your credit the lower interest rates you will receive on your mortgages, loans, etc.

thanks guys. anyone else have something to say or add?WAKEisBack

It sounds like for a 21 year old you are in a pretty good financial situation. I say get the ps3 first, cuz you can play it on whatever tv you have and then later maybe around the holidays get the tv. The price drops on that will be more dramatic than any price drop sony MIGHT have.

If you dont or wont have that money at a single point look into getting a credit card (paying attention to the rate changes, as most have a very low rate for like a year and then shoot up...getting advice from your banker or parent would help you make the best choice). Then get the ps3 and pay it off. If you are gonna put it on credit use the money from your steady job to make responsible payments. That way you will get both and build your credit. If you are interested you can go to your bank and talk to somewhere there.

[QUOTE="WAKEisBack"]thanks guys. anyone else have something to say or add?HideoFox

It sounds like for a 21 year old you are in a pretty good financial situation. I say get the ps3 first, cuz you can play it on whatever tv you have and then later maybe around the holidays get the tv. The price drops on that will be more dramatic than any price drop sony MIGHT have.

If you dont or wont have that money at a single point look into getting a credit card (paying attention to the rate changes, as most have a very low rate for like a year and then shoot up...getting advice from your banker or parent would help you make the best choice). Then get the ps3 and pay it off. If you are gonna put it on credit use the money from your steady job to make responsible payments. That way you will get both and build your credit. If you are interested you can go to your bank and talk to somewhere there.

thanks broski, thats what i like to hear

[QUOTE="CyanX73"]Dude, only you and those that know your financial situation should advise this. You're talking about a luxury item when you state you don't have a lot of money to throw around. See what I mean? Do you have money to pay your bills? Are your books paid for that you'll need next semester? C'mon man. You know what you can and can't afford. Credit cards are tricky because you can mess up so much in a real short amount of time so use your own judgement. tgschmidt

[QUOTE="CyanX73"]Dude, only you and those that know your financial situation should advise this. You're talking about a luxury item when you state you don't have a lot of money to throw around. See what I mean? Do you have money to pay your bills? Are your books paid for that you'll need next semester? C'mon man. You know what you can and can't afford. Credit cards are tricky because you can mess up so much in a real short amount of time so use your own judgement. tgschmidt

whoot whoot!! i hear that!! and u should be doing dat all night long lol!!! but i'm 15 and i think ur better off without a ps3 at the moment cuz like u said having a girlfriend is cash and i know cuz i have one now and paying for everything is killing my fundz lol but its like they said ur better off saving ur money for a ps3 to pay for it all at once... and the HDTV isnt all that necessary... it just adds in finer details and stuff but the point is to play the game... and besides the ps3 doesnt have that many essential games and u'll most likely be spending most of your time doing work for school right??? ur better off waiting a little while... and plus video games may kill ur relationship lol

You're a college student so you should know some math and math at this situation shoudnt be hard. If you use your card only for ps3 and tv but nothing else, you will be fine but depends on your income.

I spend 5 thousand in one day on ps3, sub and hdtv on financing with no interest till next year and i manage to pay for it. I pay 500 every month for a year . BTW my income is average (2,000) and i rent my own house.

So if you can manage it, go for it.

This is american, thing is suppost to be easy here.

anybody have any experience with this? with best buy? id like some throughts

anyway, heres my story...

so im a college undergrad and i dont exactly have alot of money to throw around and i cant seem to save money. being 21 and having a girlfriend is making saving a little harder than i thought. ive been thinking about financing a setup for quite a while but ive been trying to hold out for a while. the 100 dollar price drop and the new socom coming out is really making me think about taking the plunge

WAKEisBack

anybody have any experience with this? with best buy? id like some throughts

anyway, heres my story...

so im a college undergrad and i dont exactly have alot of money to throw around and i cant seem to save money. being 21 and having a girlfriend is making saving a little harder than i thought. ive been thinking about financing a setup for quite a while but ive been trying to hold out for a while. the 100 dollar price drop and the new socom coming out is really making me think about taking the plunge

WAKEisBack

just keep dis in mind...if u finance, open up a credit card with them or a plan that has no interest rate for like1-2 yrs...das what i did wit my tv, im almost done paying it, and i havnt payed a dime in interest...think about it