Making a large purchase can be a time consuming and sometimes, scary process. I will talk about car, house, etc... purchases in the future, but right now I want to talk about pool tables.

Pool Tables?? What about being frugal and living simply?

Each person's definition of frugal and simple living will vary. For me, I am not one to completely deprive myself of things that I will get much use and enjoyment out of. One way people get into debt with this way of thinking is to purchase items on credit (and not being able to pay it off completely by the end of the month) or to buy something when they have other bills, debts, essential living items to purchase, but can't because they spent money on a non-essential item.

We are frugal in certain areas so we can spend more in other areas. We have a debt, savings and budget plan that we stick to so we can purchase other non-essential items (always paying for it with cash).

Spyros and I (along with most of our friends and family) enjoy playing pool, darts and other games you may find in a bar setting. So we have been thinking about buying a pool table for awhile now.

Last night we went out with some friends and played some pool and darts. We ended up spending $2.75. (And our friends had also spent money.) But if we had a table, that would not have been the case.

Now granted $2.75 is not a lot, but if we were to go out every weekend and spend $10 (inculding an occasional drink or food) we could buy a good used table in a couple of years.

So look closely at something you enjoy doing often, and pay for everytime you do it. (Could be bar games, horseshoes, canoeing, etc...) To find out if it is more beneficial for you to purchase the item instead paying for it's use each time;

1. Add up how much it costs you each time you pay to use the item (including travel costs, drinks, cigarettes, food, etc...)
2. Figure out how often you use it each year.
3. Multipy 1. and 2. together.
4. Comparison shop for the item (Either used in good condition or new)
5. Divide the purchase price by how often you use it each year
6. If the cost that you put into paying to use the item every year is close (1-3 years or so) to the purchase price, it may be more beneficial to buy the item.

(And even if it takes you 5 or 6 years to recoup the costs of purchasing the item, it still may be worth it to buy it if you will be using it for 20 or more years.) **Example below.

But for the best way for this to work is:

You have to be content with that model, so buy one that you really like. If you update it in a few years, you really won't be saving anything. You have to be willing to use it for a long time. So think about what features will be important to you and if the model has the features.

You have to also take into consideration, if this is something you really like doing, or if it's just a passing phase. And another thing to think about is if you have the space for it.

If you don't have the space, perhaps a friend or family member would not mind storing it. They could either use it when you were not, or you could trade a service (mowing their lawn, babysitting once a month, etc...) to "pay" for the storage space.

It's human nature to want things. And to want things that are non-essential. But there are ways to get those things without going into debt. All you need is patience. (To save up the cash and to do your research).

Ask my husband anytime about my patience. He would say, it's really lacking. So surround yourself with support and do whatever you need to in order to become more patient. It will be worth the prize in the end!!!

**Example
1. Cost for us to play pool and darts (including travel, and the occasional drink or food item) averaged out is $10 an outing.
2. We play on the average once a week, so that would be 52 times a year.
3. 10 X 52 = $520
4. A good used pool table with balls, a couple sticks, etc... = $1000
5. $1,000 divided by 52 = $19.23 (Chances are we would use it even more if it was at our house.)
6. So looking at the figure that it costs $10 an outing, and if we bought it, it would be $19.23 an outing, it would take us about 2 years to pay for the cost of ownership. (But once again, chances are we would play many more games if we owned it.)