How do you decide how much to put in your "bling fund?"

[wildcat03]

I am wrestling with this and am trying to figure out how much to allocate towards jewelry. I have a good job and my bills are paid. I owe a significant amount in student loans but am paying them down aggressively. My car is paid off entirely and even my accountant boyfriend approves of my retirement contributions. I have a six month emergency fund. I receive small quarterly bonuses and I used the last one for a 0.62 carat diamond and halo pendant setting. The cost was not enormous by any means, but when I left the jeweler after paying for the setting I felt guilty for the next day or so until I finally convinced myself that I had earned it. Going forward I would like to avoid feeling guilty, so I'm looking for input from other shiny- sparkly-loving people as to how you determine what goes into your bling fund.

Thanks!

 

[telephone89]

I dont have a specific bling fund, but i do have a fun money fund lol. Once bills/necesseties are paid, savings are added into, you have a certain amount left. That is what i call fun money. I have no kids, but if I did i would make sure part of that goes to them, but otherwise for me, most of it goes to travelling. If there is something expensive I want I will usually try to save up 'new' fun money to get it. I never feel guilty haha

 

[Begonia]

I don't have any advice as I'm wondering the same thing.

Jobs are going well for both of us, and we're on track for saving and paying down the mortgage. I'd like to upgrade my EC to a larger size but don't know what to set for a budget. I've always done the right thing financially and the upgrade money could always be used somewhere. I've been putting money aside and have saved for the upgrade, but still I wait...

 

[PintoBean]

My suggestion - every time you pack a lunch or eat dinner in instead of going out - take that money saved and put it towards bling!

 

[partgypsy]

Elizabeth Warren and her daughter had a formula like necessities, savings, spend. It was something like keep necessities under 50%, savings at 20% (I think paying down debt is considered under savings), and 30% for spending. So depending on what you spend money on, that could be a little or a lot for jewelry!

 

[baby monster]

I don't have debts so half of my yearly bonus, if I get one, goes into jewelry fund and half into savings. IMHO student loans need to be paid off first especially if you are not getting a tax deduction for them. I also take time to figure out what jewelry i want at the end and whether i can upgrade my way to it. That way there's something to enjoy wearing while saving up for ultimate piece.

 

[stracci2000]

I go about my bling funding a little differently.
First, I make sure that my purchase is the absolute best deal I could get.
Once I'm satisfied with that, I make the purchase, with a promise to pay myself back.
If my new bling costs $1200, I make sure to put $100 dollars back into my account each month for 12 months.
Or some other payment plan that makes sense to you. But you gotta stick with it.
It kinda justifies the purchase, when you already have a plan to refund yourself.
I do this for vacation funding, as well.

 

[tyty333]

I go about my bling funding a little differently.
First, I make sure that my purchase is the absolute best deal I could get.
Once I'm satisfied with that, I make the purchase, with a promise to pay myself back.
If my new bling costs $1200, I make sure to put $100 dollars back into my account each month for 12 months.
Or some other payment plan that makes sense to you. But you gotta stick with it.
It kinda justifies the purchase, when you already have a plan to refund yourself.
I do this for vacation funding, as well.

And keeps you from buying anything new until you've paid off your last piece. I like this idea.

I don't have a bling budget and I'm a SAHM so it makes it even harder to figure how much I can spend on bling (without feeling
guilty ).

 

[Laila619]

I would prob pay off student loans first. If I have outstanding debts, I don't feel comfortable buying jewelry.

 

[Stone Hunter]

While I agree with those that said paying off student loans is very important I really like the idea of upgrading that baby monster suggested. I haven't found any stores that will take other stores diamonds as trades so choose carefully! Of course if anyone knows of stores that will take diamonds from elsewhere please post it! And remember a bonus is meant to reward you!

I don't have debts so half of my yearly bonus, if I get one, goes into jewelry fund and half into savings. IMHO student loans need to be paid off first especially if you are not getting a tax deduction for them. I also take time to figure out what jewelry i want at the end and whether i can upgrade my way to it. That way there's something to enjoy wearing while saving up for ultimate piece.

 

[madelise]

No one can tell you that answer because there is no right answer.

I would agree that loans need to be paid off as a priority. I myself JUST graduated with my masters, so am fresh with a shit ton of loans. But does that mean you "punish" yourself for doing something responsible? No. Just be reasonable about it. Give yourself a % of your income that you feel is safe but big enough to feel rewarding for your work, and use that as your fun bank. Whatever you have left over from going out and having fun with, use that for bling. No guilt allowed.

Shit, if I prioritized student loans > bling, I'd have to sell off my whole collection. And that would be too punishing to me. I would feel like I'm punishing myself for having gone through school. I reward myself. Often.

 

[madelise]

While I agree with those that said paying off student loans is very important I really like the idea of upgrading that baby monster suggested. I haven't found any stores that will take other stores diamonds as trades so choose carefully! Of course if anyone knows of stores that will take diamonds from elsewhere please post it! And remember a bonus is meant to reward you!

I don't have debts so half of my yearly bonus, if I get one, goes into jewelry fund and half into savings. IMHO student loans need to be paid off first especially if you are not getting a tax deduction for them. I also take time to figure out what jewelry i want at the end and whether i can upgrade my way to it. That way there's something to enjoy wearing while saving up for ultimate piece.

Sometimes upgrades aren't worth the $ from price increases though, rather than buying outright? I wonder if anyone's done an analysis of a safe/smart amount/time to wait for upgrading. I'm guessing yearly incremental upgrades would = losing $$.

 

[Stone Hunter]

While I agree with those that said paying off student loans is very important I really like the idea of upgrading that baby monster suggested. I haven't found any stores that will take other stores diamonds as trades so choose carefully! Of course if anyone knows of stores that will take diamonds from elsewhere please post it! And remember a bonus is meant to reward you!

I don't have debts so half of my yearly bonus, if I get one, goes into jewelry fund and half into savings. IMHO student loans need to be paid off first especially if you are not getting a tax deduction for them. I also take time to figure out what jewelry i want at the end and whether i can upgrade my way to it. That way there's something to enjoy wearing while saving up for ultimate piece.

Sometimes upgrades aren't worth the $ from price increases though, rather than buying outright? I wonder if anyone's done an analysis of a safe/smart amount/time to wait for upgrading. I'm guessing yearly incremental upgrades would = losing $$.

I upgraded a pair of earrings once and it was a good thing for me. But if prices are rising quickly I could see it not working. It probably depends on the market.

 

[madelise]

While I agree with those that said paying off student loans is very important I really like the idea of upgrading that baby monster suggested. I haven't found any stores that will take other stores diamonds as trades so choose carefully! Of course if anyone knows of stores that will take diamonds from elsewhere please post it! And remember a bonus is meant to reward you!

I don't have debts so half of my yearly bonus, if I get one, goes into jewelry fund and half into savings. IMHO student loans need to be paid off first especially if you are not getting a tax deduction for them. I also take time to figure out what jewelry i want at the end and whether i can upgrade my way to it. That way there's something to enjoy wearing while saving up for ultimate piece.

Sometimes upgrades aren't worth the $ from price increases though, rather than buying outright? I wonder if anyone's done an analysis of a safe/smart amount/time to wait for upgrading. I'm guessing yearly incremental upgrades would = losing $$.

I upgraded a pair of earrings once and it was a good thing for me. But if prices are rising quickly I could see it not working. It probably depends on the market.

Yeah. My first diamond ring was a 0.7 GIA F VS2 that cost $1600. One year later, my ex let me upgrade it as a graduation gift and gave me another $1500. With the added money, I could've purchased exactly the same stone . Prices go up over time unfortunately

 

[Dancing Fire]

100% of my checking account...

 

[baby monster]

Prices go up over time but it's not possible to spend money that's not on hand today without going into debt. As time passes and I'm moving up in my career, there's more money available for luxury purchases. I'd rather spend more in the future than go into debt today for jewelry. Upgrading offers building up on prior purchases.

 

[wildcat03]

While I see the point re: student loans, I am somewhat tired of depriving myself of nice things in the name of education. Through 4 years of medical school, 4 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship I took exactly 2 vacations, almost never ate out, and worked myself to the bone at 80 hours a week for 6 of those years. I still live well below my means, but I'd like to figure out how to do some nice things for myself in the mean time - including saving for jewelry even if it is a very slow and steady process. I have the option of taking backup call which pays a small amount for each day - I could save that over time and it adds up over the course of a year.

madelise - congrats on finishing school!

 

[amc80]

I don't see anything wrong with spending money now. Your bills are paid, you're aggressive paying off student loans. What's the point of working hard if you don't get to enjoy it a bit? I'd take half of any windfalls (tax return, bonuses, etc.) and put them in the bling find. Throw the other half at your loans. Or whatever. As long as you're not taking money away from what you're currently saving/paying down, go for it.

 

[Imdanny]

If you pay the mortgage, pay the car payment, and have three months of living expenses saved, I'd say put 100% of what's left away for jewelry if you want! And don't be afraid to spend a lot of money. A $10,000 VCA jewel will last generations. No new car will be worth anything in about 15 years.

 

[missy]

We are at a different stage in life than many of you in that we are older and our student loans are paid off and the only debt we have is one mortgage as we have completely paid our other mortgage on our NY home. So we don't really have a formula on how much we can spend on "fun" projects including bling but if we want to spend a significant amount we start putting money into another account for that specific project.

For example my dh wants to dig out the partial basement we have in NJ to make a full basement for his woodworking workshop and that is going to require significant funds. He started a savings account labeled garage project for just that job and it has more than enough in it should unexpected problems arise while doing the project as we know they will because the unexpected always happens during construction/renovations.

We have a similar account set up for the beach kitchen reno when we are ready to do that. As for bling I usually set aside a certain amount for each project give or take and then I save up if there is nothing I want for let's say my birthday/anniversary etc so I can save that way for a bigger bling project if I go that route. However if I really want something I could get it but I try to be careful because sometimes it is easy to get carried away (for me) with bling.

Our motto is not to live within our means but below our means so we do have enough in case of rainy day fund necessities and also of course retirement which is looming ever so near these days.

I agree that one shouldn't punish oneself if you are paying off student loans etc as long as you are conservative and smart about it you should enjoy life and we know for PSers that involves enjoying bling. Wildcat it sounds as if you are being smart about money and enjoy what you purchase because you have worked hard to get to this point in your life and you should enjoy. Guilt is a wasted emotion if you spend too much energy feeling that way.

 

[chrono]

If the student loan amount is small, I would pay it off and use the future "savings" as my bling fund. If the student loan amount is huge, then I would set a side a small amount each month and let that grow whilst I think about what I really want and reward myself with that. It takes me months to decide because:
1. I don't want any regrets. I want to be sure this is a piece I will treasure and wear often, without thought of reselling it to fund something else that I want a few months or years later.
2. Wait for that good deal, sale price, secondhand or something similar.

The wait or search allows the fund to grow and even once the purchase is made, if you continue this monthly contribution, you can use it to buy another piece in the future or use it however you want as well without more debt.

 

[aviastar]

I don't see anything wrong with spending money now. Your bills are paid, you're aggressive paying off student loans. What's the point of working hard if you don't get to enjoy it a bit? I'd take half of any windfalls (tax return, bonuses, etc.) and put them in the bling find. Throw the other half at your loans. Or whatever. As long as you're not taking money away from what you're currently saving/paying down, go for it.

I've always called this 'found money' and I use the same concept. If it's not money that I count on for monthly and yearly budgeting, then it can go into a savings account and the savings account is evaluated every few months or so to see where we are and what we'd like to do with it. In the event that we don't have much found money (I'm not teaching any classes or workshops on the side, smaller tax return, etc), we've set a balance we each like to carry in our checking accounts and when the balance exceeds that we move the money into savings. That's all after bills and monthly expenses are accounted for; we have automatic deposits into the IRA and long term money market set up and consider that saving to be a set monthly expense.

 

[rubybeth]

I suggest making a wish list of pieces you'd like, and work from there. A big part of the fun in jewelry collecting for me is the hunt. I enjoyed looking at different options for earrings for many months, considering different settings and backings, different sizes and shapes. And then when I found a pair of bezeled earrings via Pre-Loved, at an amazing price, I knew it was the right decision.

I don't really have a "fund" anymore, but I do have a wishlist. When DH and I were paying off our debt, we each had a set amount of "fun money" each month. He would spend his, and I would save mine. Usually after a few months or a year, I could buy something larger. It was a very small percentage of income that we were both comfortable with. But after a while, I stopped doing this and focused more on my wish list. I made the list a long time ago and have updated as I've found I either won't wear something or changed my mind about it. I also find that the the wish list really makes me keep track of what I already have, and appreciate it.

Things I had on my wish list:
engagement ring and plain wedding band
bezel diamond band to stack with wedding set
diamond earrings
right hand ring
5 stone ring
diamond pendant or diamonds by the yard necklace
diamonds by the yard bracelet
antique engraved wedding band
upgraded engagement ring

And then, as I found good deals on things, I'd buy them. I got married, so I got a wedding set. I got a right hand ring when I finished grad school. I got the bezel band for my 30th birthday. I got the 5 stone ring for our 5 year anniversary. I found a good deal on the earrings via Pre-Loved so went for it, even though it wasn't a big occasion. And I've discovered I don't much care for necklaces, so I've removed that idea from my list. Because I got an upgraded engagement ring, I may take the stone from my original ring to turn into a bracelet. You get the idea. Good luck!

 

[telephone89]

You've gotten alot of good advice! I cant edit my post, but I wanted to add that I would never go into debt for a purchase like this. Obviously that is subjective to each person, but I wanted to add that for mine I'd rather just save up.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I haven't read all the replies, but my answer would be to look at what amount you have left each month after paying all bills, putting money in savings and retirement, and leaving some for entertainment and misc expenses. If there is $100 left at the end of the month that you don't need, then great, you have $100 to put in the bling fund! But if you have a month with extra gifts to buy for a holiday or birthday, then maybe that month you can't put in anything. Luxury expenses come after everything else. I would never treat it like an automatic investment like one would consider savings.

We had extra money that I was counting on using for jewelry in the near future, but we had a car accident that is the other person's fault, but the replacement vehicle was more than the value of the one wrecked, unfortunately. So that put a dent in my bling funds! We always pay cash for vehicles (car savings account) and it was really not time for a new (used) one yet so we used some of the extra money towards the new vehicle.