Made a HARD Tool Decision!

[autoace]

It finally happened...I was on Grainger(loading up my virtual cart) with some Proto goodness, and I whipped out one of my credit cards to seal the deal,BUT.................

I finally decided, in these tough times, NO more tool purchases until ALL my credit cards and Cornwell tech credit are paid off in full!

Heck this is just as hard as quitting cigarettes, and that was tough!

I figure the only way I will prosper is to make less payments for myself. Now if there comes a time I need a special tool to do a specific job, like for timing belts or something fine, but otherwise ZERO

This is going to be tough! I finally stepped in on myself!

How many of us here, really "should" do this also?

 

[kwhitelaw]

How many of us here, really "should" do this also?

I agree. I have resorted to cutting myself off unless im picking stuff up to pass onto friends. Need to pay off my SO bill.

 

[DiStOrTiOn]

Of course I should. I'm in.

 

[speed bump]

You made an excellent choice.

Personally after awhile I came to the conclusion that I need to quit buying things like sockets and move more to expanding the things I can do with my tools so most of my purchases anymore are things that I need to borrow a lot or would really make my abilities or job easier.

 

[bchee]

count me in too. It's hard, but it's the best thing for me

 

[r6_cannibal]

I did the same thing a few weeks ago, and have moved on to trading things I don't use anymore. Working a deal off craigslist to trade my c-man welder for a snap-on tool box. I'm thinking -if- I do decide to purchase more tools, it'll only be from proceeds of selling things around the house. A workaround to still getting my tool fix

 

[BigK600]

Count me in to I'm a college student, I'm at least going to wait untill summer when I'm back to working 60 hours a week. These last few weeks have been hard.

 

[Damon L.]

We've been digging ourselves out of the debt hole for a couple of years now. Count us in as I haven't bought any tools that I couldn't borrow since September '06.

We'll be out later this year, with any luck I'll be building the shop to keep newly acquired tools.

If anyone is looking to get out of debt, we highly recommend the plan laid out on www.daveramsey.com

 

[CarWashGuy]

Dave Ramsey is the KING! I'm working through Financial Peace University right now. I've paid off over 10K in credit card debt which would have been impossible without his help.

 

[Hawk321]

Me too! I only buy tools, if I need them for my private car....everything else is to much.

 

[billymade]

I'm slowing down; I have also decided to use "trading in" tools I don't want or need that are in my box; to get prices down I things I need! This is in the used market situation, I don't have any account with any truck and don't see myself getting one (I'm not a "pro" like many of you guys but I am working more at the shop); seems to be working so far and I have enough extras, to try to make it possible. This weekend at the flea market, I am going to see if I can trade some tools or at least get prices down on some items I have been wanting for awhile this way... we'll see how it goes!

 

[fatfillup]

Guess we won't be seeing yo guys around here much Can't stay sober hanging out at the bar.

Seriously though, getting your debt under control is a most liberating feeling. Staying that way takes some disipline but becomes easier over time. Once you cut out your payments, you can start saving for your purchases and pay cash for them. Also cuts down on purchases you later regret.

My Mon and Dad grew up poor in the depression. They would't spend a nickel they didn't have to. Even though Dad became very successful, he wouldn't sign up for anything that was "so much a month". Now he took it to the extreme and wouldn't have cable or a cell phone but there is a lesson here. No don't get the wrong idea, Mon and Dad lived a good lifestyle, just not excessive. The rest was invested. Dad helped many folks and was generous. Now that he has passed, Mom will never have to worry about money. He took great comfort in that.

Get them bills paid off. Progress will seem slow at first but will accelerate quickly. A little less money pressure can have great benefits in your life.

 

[bushhawg73]

In the last two months my wife and I paid off four credit cards, 5000.00. Starting in March I plan on upping my Snap on payment from 150.00 to 500.00. That should pay it off in 6 months. After that there will only be one small credit card, 600.00 owed. It will be a great feeling. After that I will only have my house and land payment. No other debt, just the normal home electric, home phone ect. It feels great. Good luck to the rest of you. It is a hard road to travel but well worth it in the end. And YES I cut up the four CC I paid off. No more charges.

 

[walrus]

It finally happened...I was on Grainger(loading up my virtual cart) with some Proto goodness, and I whipped out one of my credit cards to seal the deal,BUT.................

I finally decided, in these tough times, NO more tool purchases until ALL my credit cards and Cornwell tech credit are paid off in full!

In this economy its probably a smart move. You make your living with those tools though so I don't see how you can quit completely.

I saw your Cornwell guy about 3 miles from my house the other day, I was tempted to stop,, then I figured not a good thing to stop at a ToysRUs store

 

[walrus]

And YES I cut up the four CC I paid off. No more charges.

I've been doing that also. I called Discover to shut off one card and they just about cried, tag teaming me to keep it. They got a senior retention specialist telling me it would hurt my credit rating to shut a card off. I laughed.

 

[NSXSOON]

My wife and I are on the other end of the spectrum. We have no credit card debt and haven't for 20 years or more. We do have two credit cards that we pay in full each month that we use as charge cards not credit cards:

Chase Freedom Visa with 1% back on everything and 3% back on gas, groceries and fast food (I don't understand the fast food thing but whatever). When you accumulate $200 worth of rebate they send you a check for $250 (extra $50 bonus for waiting till $200 to withdraw instead of $50 increments).

Discover Card with 5% back on the first $100 of gas each month. Gas and Sam's Club are the only thing we use this card for.

After you get your debt payed off it's even a better feeling to have the credit card companies pay you. Their rebates earn us over $1000 each year and we pay them zero interest and no fees. It doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming you do the above and have no other "revolving" debt (monthly payments) other than an affordable mortgage payment your credit score (FICO) will be over 800.

You guys are right, it's time for us to start driving the bus instead of the financial institutions that have proved their incompetence.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I've never owned a credit card, so I don't have to worry about it.

 

[paramudduck]

Except for buying tools we absolutely have to have to get a job done. We quit buying new tools about a year ago. I will occasionally pick up used tools to fill out sets. Other wise not many tools bought this year.

And the way things are looking I may have to fall back on the trade system to get the specialized tools we occasionally need.

 

[Rickster]

Silly people!.... Tools are not like smokes where you throw them away after one use! A tool puchase lives on forever. You can always go out to the garage and hold a newly purchased tool in your hands any time you want to.... and you want to because it feels good! You can cut back on the McDonalds visits for lunch, but never give up your tool purchases, they are what really makes you happy. Go on, visit the classified section and check out whats for sale. Maybe post a WTB ad. You know those empty Hanson tray pegs are callling to you... cover meeee!!!

 

[wrenchr]

Going out to buy tools now!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[T56 Impala]

Yeah, I have cash in hand these days. No CC.

 

[rcleaver]

My wife and I are on the other end of the spectrum. We have no credit card debt and haven't for 20 years or more. We do have two credit cards that we pay in full each month that we use as charge cards not credit cards:

Chase Freedom Visa with 1% back on everything and 3% back on gas, groceries and fast food (I don't understand the fast food thing but whatever). When you accumulate $200 worth of rebate they send you a check for $250 (extra $50 bonus for waiting till $200 to withdraw instead of $50 increments).

Discover Card with 5% back on the first $100 of gas each month. Gas and Sam's Club are the only thing we use this card for.

After you get your debt payed off it's even a better feeling to have the credit card companies pay you. Their rebates earn us over $1000 each year and we pay them zero interest and no fees. It doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming you do the above and have no other "revolving" debt (monthly payments) other than an affordable mortgage payment your credit score (FICO) will be over 800.

You guys are right, it's time for us to start driving the bus instead of the financial institutions that have proved their incompetence.

I agree. But I would add one thing. I try to group credit card purchases near the billing date. When you do that, the charge doesn't show up for a month and you get another month to pay for it. So you delay paying for it while using the money to make more money in an interest bearing account.

 

[Richard Givan]

My wife and I are on the other end of the spectrum. We have no credit card debt and haven't for 20 years or more. We do have two credit cards that we pay in full each month that we use as charge cards not credit cards:

Chase Freedom Visa with 1% back on everything and 3% back on gas, groceries and fast food (I don't understand the fast food thing but whatever). When you accumulate $200 worth of rebate they send you a check for $250 (extra $50 bonus for waiting till $200 to withdraw instead of $50 increments).

Discover Card with 5% back on the first $100 of gas each month. Gas and Sam's Club are the only thing we use this card for.

After you get your debt payed off it's even a better feeling to have the credit card companies pay you. Their rebates earn us over $1000 each year and we pay them zero interest and no fees. It doesn't get much better than that.

Assuming you do the above and have no other "revolving" debt (monthly payments) other than an affordable mortgage payment your credit score (FICO) will be over 800.

You guys are right, it's time for us to start driving the bus instead of the financial institutions that have proved their incompetence.

I approve your spending discipline. Mostly because I am a tight ***, my wife and I also have taken this same path. In addition, I have never bought a car on finance. I have had to take out a 6-month note a few times to float a particular car purchase, but nothing longer.

Simply put, if I don't have the bucks to buy something, I don't buy it. I understand all too well how compound interest works, and, if I forget, my wife the mathematician is there to remind me. Of course, house mortgages are another matter, but I have strived to pay them down and off as quickly as possible, too.

I hope this doesn't sound sanctimonious, and I do understand how unplanned expenses have an ugly way of shouldering into our lives. I've been blessed never to have gone through a divorce, have had a stable job all of my career (as has my wife), have endured no catastrophic illnesses, so my plan was never put to a serious strain, but I paid my own way through four years of college plus three years of post-graduate study (never went hungry, but was a bit leaner than now), and built from there.

We do have two or three credit cards, but in the last 25 years never failed to pay off the entire balance each month, and never carried a balance beyond two months.

I view live in the same perspective as the game Monopoly. Avoid debt as far as you can, invest as much and early as is reasonably possible, and you will hang onto much more of what you earn in the long run.

 

[Mike83]

I have been having the same thoughts about a tool cease fire. I refuse to carry a balance on a credit card (unless 0% interest - we had a lot of appliances and furniture to buy). I divide up those payment so that there is no accrued interest charged after a year. I have never paid a finance charge in four years of having credit cards and I don't ever plan to. Her diamond is paid off as of this month - no interest, feels good!

If I find myself wanting new wrenches or something I already have, I try to convince myself that the money is better spend on a new type of tool, or nothing at all. I was very fortunate to have qualified for a substantial tax credit as a new homeowner, but that cash is going toward our wedding this summer. My main goal is to be sensible about buying tools - will it pay off in terms of work I can do on my vehicles?

 

[kythri]

If all you guys stop buying tools, then the economic stimulus is going to fail, at least in the tool industry!

 

[Rickster]

Does this mean I could apply for a bailout??

 

[kythri]

I'm going to!

 

[wrenchr]

Just got back from my buying spree!!!

 

[Stuey]

Me too. I'm holding off on tool purchases for a while. I just bought a new camera. lol

 

[autoace]

In this economy its probably a smart move. You make your living with those tools though so I don't see how you can quit completely.

I saw your Cornwell guy about 3 miles from my house the other day, I was tempted to stop,, then I figured not a good thing to stop at a ToysRUs store

This is true, I make a living with the tools, but I have ALOT of tools. I'll wait until I see a desperate need, otherwise I can get by with what I have for now.

 

[autoace]

If all you guys stop buying tools, then the economic stimulus is going to fail, at least in the tool industry!

If I keep buying tools, I may not have mortgage money soo..........By the time I start buying tools again, they may be cheaper............Cornwell raised their prices 30% on alot of things for 2009!

 

[Frank Elson]

Thirty years or so ago I built up a lot of credit card debt. Didn't like it so I paid it off and only buy what I can afford with cash or a debit card now.
Since retiring I've been going through the house and garage - what we don't need gets sold or given away. Amazingly I've made a few quid doing it.
There are still some tools I need - but I stopped buying new. I hunt car boot sales and ebay (always click on "used"). Doing fine like that, I also enjoy the hunt.

...then you guys come along and I ended up buying an old Snap On ratchet I didn't need.

 

[Coach James]

Dave Ramsey is the KING! I'm working through Financial Peace University right now. I've paid off over 10K in credit card debt which would have been impossible without his help.

Carwash, my wife and I are doing the same thing at church. We just had the second class this past Sunday. It's been pretty good so far.

Coach

 

[autoace]

I'm getting out of debt, because I want one of these! I REALLY want one of these.

http://www.chevrolet.com/camaro/exp...Camaro_Photo_and_Video_|_2010_camaro_pictures

 

[Merkava_4]

I'm getting out of debt, because I want one of these! I REALLY want one of these.

That's how I used to feel about the 1986 Mercury Capri 5.0 when it first came out. It's a damn good thing no one would give a 21 year old credit.

 

[billymade]

I went to the flea and pawn shops today; I carried my "tool list" with me, of tools I already have and it stopped me from buying a duplicate snapon line wrench, plus a socket; turns out I already had both of them!

 

[autoace]

Just got in from the garage, was working on a 2002, Chevy 2500 HD. I could barely remove the caliper cage bolts, thunder gun wouldn't touch them, heat and a breaker bar, nope....heat, and now a bent breaker bar later they came off. I only had 1/2 inch drive 21mm sockets, looks like I need a 3/4 inch drive 21mm impact socket, so I get to buy that...........must be strong and not load up my virtual cart...........turns out Cornwell and Snap-on etc....don't make a 21mm, 3/4 inch drive, impact socket Proto makes one

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Not buying tools is not a hard decision for me since I'm currently unemployed. I want to stay debt free; I believe this economic recession is going to last quite a while before any resemblance of decent jobs ever return to this area....if ever