how much is too much money to spend on jewelry?

[partgypsy]

I showed a picture of the whiteflash semibezel pendant necklace to a friend/coworker (because it is on my permanent wish list!) She told me the following week that she keeps thinking about it, even had a dream about it. However she said that she would never buy herself a piece of jewelry that expensive; i.e. even if she had the money for it (and she does) she could never justify spending that kind of money on herself and would put it towards camps for her kids, college fund etc.

Anyways, I was curious if other people had internal limits of how much they would spend on jewelry. That is, if one hypothetically had tons of money in the bank and no outstanding debts, but say past a certain point one would prefer to put the money in the bank/house/college funds etc.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 11/21/2006 5:03:18 PM
Author:part gypsy
I showed a picture of the whiteflash semibezel pendant necklace to a friend/coworker (because it is on my permanent wish list!) She told me the following week that she keeps thinking about it, even had a dream about it. However she said that she would never buy herself a piece of jewelry that expensive; i.e. even if she had the money for it (and she does) she could never justify spending that kind of money on herself and would put it towards camps for her kids, college fund etc.

Anyways, I was curious if other people had internal limits of how much they would spend on jewelry. That is, if one hypothetically had tons of money in the bank and no outstanding debts, but say past a certain point one would prefer to put the money in the bank/house/college funds etc.

my husband sure does!! haha! technically - if I took all of our money I could buy some *serious* jewels.... BUT there is more to live (I know, I know) than diamonds and jewelry.... enriching the lives of my children really is paramount to enriching the view of my finger. And of course there is retirement...

If there was an endless amount of money then it would matter not that I spent an endless percentage of that on *whatever*. If I had say.... 50 billion dollars, a 5 million dollar ring really wouldn''t be difficult to justify. Well, unless you thought it better spent to feed and clothe the poor or something *silly* like that (TIC - tongue in cheak - not tolk ideal cut lol)

some people like to do things and some people like to own things and some like a balance between the two.... everyone has different priorities. One person might think, "hey my kid is fine without four camps every summer - that''s $1500 I can spend on a pendant! While another might think the experience for their child is worth far more than a bauble.

 

[cutes814]

i think if you''re spending outside of your means for jewelry, then that''s too much.

if you can afford it, then no amount is too much. it all depends on priority.

 

[bookworm21]

What Milly said.

I would also like to add that even if I were a millionaire or billionaire, I probably wouldn''t spend more than $50K on a single piece. Of course, I don''t have that amount of money now, so maybe my thinking will change if I became that rich? Dunno. Keep you guys updated if that happens.

 

[partgypsy]

I don''t think in her case it''s about spending beyond her means (to give you a hint she is in her 40''s and has 400K in her retirement account, has her house paid off, college funds for her two kids) it may do more with a kind of New England frugality /conservative with money mindset.
But then again, maybe that mindset has allowed her to be where she is, money-wise.

I guess everyone has their comfort level between putting luxury items on credit to never spending money on oneself.

I feel I''m fairly conservative how I spend my money, but my internal reaction was a mix of "wow, what self control" and "man you need to live a little!"

 

[Mara]

hehehe well i can say that a $2k pendant wouldn't be my idea of 'too much' spending on myself...but then again i am not in the self-deprivation business...hehhee. my husband would probably say i'm probably a little too firmly in the 'self-spoiling' business.

if i had the cashola in the bank and it wouldn't be a big deal to spend it...i'd probably be okay mentally with going up to like $5k for a fun spend on something i really wanted and could mentally justify it (aka i would wear it daily or at the very least 'almost all the time'! but for anything more than that it would seem like the money might be best spent elsewhere unless we absolutely did not need it for ANYTHING else, which i find hard to believe!

 

[Kaleigh]

Some women still feel uncomfotable buying themselves jewery as they were brought up that someone has to give it to them as a gift. I certainly am not one of those!!!

LOL!! I do treat myself now and then, but it''s always within my means. And I do like to live a little, ok a lot!! Hehe

 

[the other Jake]

I think that you''ve spent too much on your jewelry when people look at what you''re wearing and think its fake...

 

[firebirdgold]

$3,000 is my personal mental limit! I wouldn''t really be comfortable wearing something that cost much more than that!

 

[the other Jake]

insurance can take care of that problem for you

 

[Allisonfaye]

The number $65k sticks in my mind. But that would only be if all debt is gone, all house is decorated...hubby has new car...in other words, it would be extra money when all of our financial goals were met.

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 11/21/2006 7:18:03 PM
Author: IndieJones
$3,000 is my personal mental limit! I wouldn''t really be comfortable wearing something that cost much more than that!

exactly what i was thinking. for, me, personally, it''s amazing what you can get for 1-3k new or secondhand.

 

[justjulia]

Hmmmmm, lots to think about on this one. Here''s my situation: I have a 3 ctw diamond bracelet on "layaway" at my jeweler. I put a little into the kettle when I can. In the end, I will have a nice piece that I will wear every day. I find that if I can get something all at once, 1) I don''t appreciate it as much, and 2) it usually gets deep sixed into the jewelry box. But, I have to add that I have gone on silver earring binges and enjoyed every minute of it. These days, I''m into pieces that are white gold or plat that I pretty much wear all the time.

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 11/22/2006 6:39:51 AM
Author: justjulia
Hmmmmm, lots to think about on this one. Here''s my situation: I have a 3 ctw diamond bracelet on ''layaway'' at my jeweler. I put a little into the kettle when I can. In the end, I will have a nice piece that I will wear every day. I find that if I can get something all at once, 1) I don''t appreciate it as much, and 2) it usually gets deep sixed into the jewelry box. But, I have to add that I have gone on silver earring binges and enjoyed every minute of it. These days, I''m into pieces that are white gold or plat that I pretty much wear all the time.

i, too, find that i appreciate it more -- all the hard work that went into the piece if i layaway it and pay it off slowly.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

There''s no such thing as spending too much on jewelry. Life is too short to deny ourselves the things we can afford.

 

[ephemery1]

Date: 11/22/2006 8:37:21 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux
There''s no such thing as spending too much on jewelry. Life is too short to deny ourselves the things we can afford.

Agreed. If somebody has the money, more power to them... and if they post here, I''m just happy to live vicariously!

A few years back, my dad gave up on trying to come up with creative gifts for my mom for holidays, and just resorted to an "all jewelry, all the time" policy. She''s in heaven. When my FI asks what I''d like for a particular occasion, and I point out a new bracelet or earrings, he''ll say "aren''t you sick of jewelry??" But somehow, inexplicably, I''m not!!

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 11/21/2006 7:04:01 PM
Author: part gypsy
I don''t think in her case it''s about spending beyond her means (to give you a hint she is in her 40''s and has 400K in her retirement account, has her house paid off, college funds for her two kids) it may do more with a kind of New England frugality /conservative with money mindset.
But then again, maybe that mindset has allowed her to be where she is, money-wise.

I guess everyone has their comfort level between putting luxury items on credit to never spending money on oneself.

I feel I''m fairly conservative how I spend my money, but my internal reaction was a mix of ''wow, what self control'' and ''man you need to live a little!''

sometimes people admire things without a strong desire to acquire them (say that 10x fast lol). And yes, that mindset is *exactly* what got her to where she is... my husband is the same way. "Interest compounds, save now - spend later."

 

[KristyDarling]

Ephemeryl -- I LOVE THAT! "All jewelry, all the time." Hehe, like a TV jewelry network or something.

*IF* we had no outstanding debt, kids' educations taken care of, no mortgage, retirement all saved up, (those are BIG ifs!) then I say the sky's the limit for jewelry!

I guess the dollar limit would depend upon how much hypothetical cash we had lying around! But since that scenario isn't gonna happen for a looooong time for us, in my family right NOW, "too much" is when we start digging into our monthly deposit into kids' college funds, mortgage payment funds, or daily living funds (i.e groceries, electric bill, etc) to pay for jewelry. Basically, if we don't have the extra cash for it, we won't buy. That policy applies to jewelry, fancy cars, vacations, etc. Pretty basic money management.

 

[kcoursolle]

To me, too much is when you aren''t meeting your other financial goals because of a jewelry purchase. I have monthly goals to put money into savings, pay bills, rent, and other expensives that must be accounted for. When there is extra beyond that it goes into another savings account that we use on fun stuff. We would never finance for a jewelry purchase or dip into our normal savings, only our "fun" savings account. My fi probably thinks spending $10 on jewelry is too much, but he understands that my rings are important to me and I understand that his electronics are important to him.

 

[february2003bride]

Assuming no debt, house paid (or close to it) no car payments, college funds for the kids is fine, I probably have no limit. I am easily the type of person to drop $300 on a pair of shoes, $100 on a pair of jeans, etc. As long as I LOVE it, it''s not a fad (which I ususally would never buy anyway) and it''s amazing quality, why not?

 

[partgypsy]

I think I agree with Milly, Cinderella, Madam Bijou and others, I think of it more as, set your financial goals (for me no debt, cushion in bank, how much contribute to retirement) and after that, disposable income is fair game as long as you talk to your spouse about it and no one feels deprived.

 

[Scooba]

I have no limits on how much I spend, I love this particular 5 million dollar ring and I would buy it in a second if I could

 

[Scooba]

I mean on how much I would spend

 

[Ann]

For smaller things like bracelets and pendants, $6-8,000.00 But I don''t do that often. I go in spurts and then will have a dry spell, like right now!

Last year for Christmas and anny, I had Signed Pieces/Facets make my eternity bands ($4,300.00 I think) and make my diamond hoops ($4,000.oo ish) and that was all purchased within 1 month. But I wear these everyday, they were not a frivilous purchase.

I still have not upgraded, partly because I cannot make up my mind and partly because dropping 60K on a ring bothers me.
But we also bought 2 Vettes this year and paid cash for both. So in a way I feel as though I am driving my upgrade. My Vette was not a "need" purchase, I just wanted it. My husband did need a new daily driver, so his was more justified than mine. (and I wouldn''t let him drive mine)

I have a feeling that within the next year I will fork out the cash for the upgrade. But it will still bother me to spend that much. But if I am going to upgrade, it has to be up to a large stone, I don''t want to settle.

(ok, PS''ers are famous for being enablers, just check out the purse threads, so show me some stones!!!)

 

[C Smith]

If you are still able to pay your bills and set money aside for your retirement, you''re not up to your spending limit yet.