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To the ladies who buy their own expensive jewelry...

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anne_h

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I am just curious to know how you do it? As in, how did you get to a place in life where you could afford it?

Looking forward to some interesting stories (and inspirations)... :)

Anne
 

lim

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interesting question. i imagine that possible responses would be the women 1)married a man who makes a lot of money, 2) they have lucrative careers 3) they save privately over time to buy what they want
 

Dee*Jay

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Anne, for the first several years of my marriage I would dedicate my annual bonus to buying a nice piece of bling for myself. Now, I have somehow found myself with a lucrative second career in addition to my other full time job and my husband INSISTS that I use my commission for anything that I want (translation: jewelry, LOL!).
 

lim

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i would be interested to see the ladies favorite piece that they have bought for themselves!
 

Regular Guy

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DeeJay,

Do you mind sharing what your second career is?
 

Dee*Jay

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Ira, I am the chief compliance officer for an investment firm by day (that's how we pay the mortgage
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) and I am a real estate agent by night/weekend.
 

Regular Guy

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DJ, good for you. Our older son''s friend is over, and apparently his mother does that, too...though her husband says it''s a bit overkill on their schedules.
 

Dee*Jay

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Ira, I have found over the years that I need to do *something* extra in addition to my regular job or else I go a little bit crazy.

When we were first married I had a job where I was on the road 5 days a week. Monday morning take the 6:00 am flight to either Phoenix, Salt Lake or Denver, work all week, come home late Friday night, do laundry on Saturday, pack on Sunday, back out again on Monday.

I left that job after a nuber of years and went to a "regular" schedule; 9-5 Monday-Friday. But I would come home in the evening and sit on the couch and read a house magazine (this was long before I found PS, LOL!), eat dinner with my husband, read another house magazine, get in bed and read a novel, and finally go to sleep. I felt like I was stagnating.

I was never particularly interested in a lot of social things or club activities, so most of what I did was solo or with the happy hubby.

So, when the opportunity came up to *do something* I tried it out and I really love it. It is very cyclical though; January - June I am swamped with real estate activities, July-September it is slower. October and November are busy. And I have very little to do around the holidays (which is fine because I''m gearing up again for January!).

My husband doesn''t mind at all. He is also very good at being solo. We go out to dinner a lot, especially on weekends, and he also cooks several other nights a week so we almost always have dinner together. He works a lot of hours and likes to work out several times a week, plus he volunteers at the Anti Cruelty Society on weekends, so he''s pretty busy himself. And of course he always has The Demon Dog to keep him company!
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Ann - Sorry for the threadjack. I wanted to answer Ira''s question and I seem to have gotten a bit carried away!
 

anne_h

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Dee Jay,

No apologies necessary, I find it interesting. :)

I second the poster who asked to see each respondant''s favorite piece(s) they bought themselves.

I am 28 and just starting to buy myself a few things, but I couldn''t categorize them as expensive or significant (the most expensive one so far is 3k).

I too am using bonus money from work (I''m in management). I did make a profit a few years ago selling a property I owned, but am trying not to touch that money. Oh, but there are so many things I have my eye on!! My weakness is vintage/antique jewelry, especially diamonds in platinum.

Attached is a pic of my favorite thing I have bought myself so far (not the most expensive). It''s a vintage Deco watch, platinum case, 1.5 ct round/baguette diamonds G VS1. It runs well, I wear it every day.

Hope to hear back from some other ladies!!

Anne

annes_watch.jpg
 

ladykemma

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Date: 12/28/2006 2:16:19 PM
Author: lim
interesting question. i imagine that possible responses would be the women 1)married a man who makes a lot of money, 2) they have lucrative careers 3) they save privately over time to buy what they want
1. yes 2. yes 3. no i go buy what i want, usually on layaway over time if it is a retail piece. or estate paying cash. most of my stuff is estate jewelry.

the pear in my avater (with a wrap) is my best piece. my mikimoto pearls are my my favorite.

i learned a long time ago not to wait for hubby to buy me anything.

i didn't get diamond and pearl yearnings until i was 40, and we were financially set and the house was paid for. I think, before, i wouldn't have allowed myself to do any of this.
 

Lynn B

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I have a friend who always wanted a beautiful ring, but she never felt like she could really afford to spend the money. (They were certainly doing OK financially, but they had 4 children, and a mortgage, and all the other expenses that a large family brings.) Then one day she received an unexpected inheritance and her husband was supportive, so she used it to buy herself a lovely ring. I always thought that was a very good use for that money!
 

Kaleigh

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Date: 12/28/2006 10:35:30 PM
Author: Lynn B
I have a friend who always wanted a beautiful ring, but she never felt like she could really afford to spend the money. (They were certainly doing OK financially, but they had 4 children, and a mortgage, and all the other expenses that a large family brings.) Then one day she received an unexpected inheritance and her husband was supportive, so she used it to buy herself a lovely ring. I always thought that was a very good use for that money!
I think that''s great!!!
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kcoursolle

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I have relatively low income compared to many pricescopers here. I am a saver by nature and spend very little money on transportation (don''t own a car), clothing, and in general I live a simple life style (I cook instead of eating out for ex.). However, I love nice jewlery purchases occasionally and I have purchased nearly all of them myself.

I have financial goals each month that include not just paying the bills, but also putting money aside for retirement, house, etc. If I have money left over I put it in a separate account and occassionally I will buy myself something nice or fi and I will go on a vacation. We always pay in cash for our purchases and our definition of something "really nice" is over 1k.
 

ladykemma

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Date: 12/29/2006 3:30:13 AM
Author: kcoursolle
I have relatively low income compared to many pricescopers here. I am a saver by nature and spend very little money on transportation (don''t own a car), clothing, and in general I live a simple life style (I cook instead of eating out for ex.). However, I love nice jewlery purchases occasionally and I have purchased nearly all of them myself.

I have financial goals each month that include not just paying the bills, but also putting money aside for retirement, house, etc. If I have money left over I put it in a separate account and occassionally I will buy myself something nice or fi and I will go on a vacation. We always pay in cash for our purchases and our definition of something ''really nice'' is over 1k.
me too. my most expensive piece is 2000 dollars.
 

anne_h

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Didn''t intend to diss those of us for whom 1k - 3k is "expensive"... I''m in the same boat!

My original question was posed to the ladies who buy substantial pieces for themselves... which to me is 5-10k and up! I want to know how they got to a place in life where they could afford that.

I''m currently drooling over a 17 ct Art Deco diamond and platinum tennis necklace. It''s 21k USD. Someday I''ll get there!! lol

:)

Anne
 

zhuzhu

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Well, I really don''t buy anything that YOU GUYS will consider expensive... BUT for a student they are!!! :D

The most important "tool" I believe is the ability to save and manage finances - I started earning money as a piano teacher and orchestra musician since senior year in high school, and worked in a "real job" only for a couple of years between two advance degrees. Luckily the advance degree program pays me stipdend enought to pay for daily expenses - but the "bling money" definately comes from saving and investment, not my stipdend. :)
 

bae7

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My first 1ct diamond ring was bought for our 10th wedding anniv. (when we got engaged we couldn''t afford a ring and I said I''d wait for our 10th). We still weren''t rolling in the money but we bit the bullet and took the money out of savings. I was widowed after 16 years of marriage.
For my 10th anniv from my second marriage (in Aug) hub said I could upgrade. His biggest mistake was procrastinating and leaving his last two bonuses in our checking acct - so I knew no matter what I chose, he couldn''t say it was too expensive, or he couldn''t afford it. I decided on a 1.75ct Lazare diamond set in a pave setting. I love it and it was worth the wait.
 

ladykemma

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Date: 12/29/2006 1:58:21 PM
Author: anne_h
Didn''t intend to diss those of us for whom 1k - 3k is ''expensive''... I''m in the same boat!

My original question was posed to the ladies who buy substantial pieces for themselves... which to me is 5-10k and up! I want to know how they got to a place in life where they could afford that.

I''m currently drooling over a 17 ct Art Deco diamond and platinum tennis necklace. It''s 21k USD. Someday I''ll get there!! lol

:)

Anne
well if you look at my avatar that is a 1.25 carat pear with 1 carat of sidestones. bought retail it would have cost between 6-8 thousand dollars.

buying used is one way we can have what we want.
 

woobug02

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Woooooooooooooo to the LADIES :) Over the last couple of years I too have begun buying myself some nice jewelery... It was weird in the beginning, I had real guit. Now I say WHY NOT :) WOOOOOOO I think my favorite thing is my 1.10 RB and sapphire RHR... I bought the stone and then the setting....I love that ring... I have bought several other things... WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GO GIRLS
 

ladykemma

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Date: 12/29/2006 1:58:21 PM
Author: anne_h
Didn't intend to diss those of us for whom 1k - 3k is 'expensive'... I'm in the same boat!

My original question was posed to the ladies who buy substantial pieces for themselves... which to me is 5-10k and up! I want to know how they got to a place in life where they could afford that.

I'm currently drooling over a 17 ct Art Deco diamond and platinum tennis necklace. It's 21k USD. Someday I'll get there!! lol

:)

Anne
this is how i would buy this piece.i would approach the owner and ask if he/she would consider payments over time (layaway). after all all of us finance cars of that sum all the time. the owner would have possession of the piece until paid for.

21k would be about 400-500 a month for 5 (edited: error 4) years. could you swing it?

other than that, even with our joint income, it is beyond our (hubby and I) middle class reach. unless saved for for 5 years, with no other luxury expenses.

i forgot - a lot of the people here do upgrades. start small then build over the years.
 

Dandi

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I''m kind of in the same boat as DJ, my first job pays the mortgage and bills, and is a management position also, so reasonably well-paid for my age (24). My second job is at a jeweller (woo hoo!!) and all the income from that is spent on me me me! DF is the same, he is an industrial electrician, and he also has his own domestic electrical business for which he takes cash in hand. That''s HIS spending money for HIM. So I tend to save my extra earnings and get something good when I want it, I research it well to get the best deal I can while I save. While not ridiculously expensive (the most pricey piece I bought for mysekf was $2k) they are lovely and I adore and wear everything I''ve bought myself. These are a few ''presents to me, from me''!

TennisBletWristNo4.jpg
 

Dandi

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I bought myself all these except the 3-stone RB which my DF picked out and bought (my Ering)

DiaRingsOnTable4.jpg
 

Sparkledrops

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I LOVE your 3 stone, Dandi!!!
 

Ellen

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Date: 1/4/2007 6:10:56 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

........ Zhu can teach me to play piano!!
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I''d *gasp* rather buy a piano right now and learn to play than (I can''t believe I''m saying this) buy a piece of jewelry.... Did I just say that... no... really.. did I?
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That''s it girls, cut up her PS membership card.
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