How Much Gigantic Television Can You Afford?
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: entertainment, technology
Part of the American Dream has always been to own an incredibly large television. More and more these days, families are taking trips to their local electronics superstore “just to buy season six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and end up coming home with a 47-inch plasma TV with six-speaker surround sound and a gold-plated HD-DVD player. The price tag of these purchases is staggering; consumers in the U.S. spent $11 billion on LCD TVs last year.
Before you rush out to pick up your own oversized talking picture box, you should take into consideration a few things:
- How much money do you have?
- How much money do you make?
- Can you really afford a massive high-definition TV?
- Probably not, so put that credit card back in your wallet.
Unfortunately for our debt-riddled society, TVs are one of those items that people feel is a necessity. Thus they often don’t think twice before dumping X number of dollars on a new one, even if the old one is working just fine. But since we live in an “iPod Nation” where acquiring the latest gadgets regardless of price comes before things like financial security or intelligent thought, people will continue to buy large TVs they don’t need, can’t really afford, and shouldn’t watch as much as they do.
If you’re fully convinced that you need a new TV, and nothing I say can stop you, I hope you’ll use the following process to help guide your purchase.
Determining How Much Television You Can Afford
First, you’ll need to answer a couple of questions about your TV habits.
- Do you currently have a working television?
- How much television do you watch each day?
If you answered yes to #1, then stop reading this article because you don’t need a new TV. If you answered no to #1, or if you originally answered yes but have since taken an ax to your TV just to change your answer, then continue.
Now if you answered less than 2 hours a day to question #2, you’re not watching enough TV to justify spending $1,000+ on something larger or newer. And if you’re watching 2 hours or more each day, then you’re watching too much television and shouldn’t own one in the first place, let alone buy another.
Everyone should have been eliminated by their answer to #2, but if you cheated and are already on your way to the TV store, consider this formula to help you determine how much television you can afford:
Your annual television purchase budget should not exceed 0.1% of your family’s gross annual income.
So if you and your spouse are making a combined $100,000 salary annually, your TV budget each year should be $100,000 x 0.001 = $100.
This doesn’t mean you should purchase a new $100 television each year, and it doesn’t mean that a pricey high-def TV is out of your reach. If you only purchase a new TV once a decade, you can pool your yearly TV budgets. That $100 a year means $1,000 every ten years, and there are some nice LCD or plasma TVs that can be had at that price.
A few more points:
- Pay for the TV with cash or a credit card you pay off every month, or don’t buy one.
- If you have any form of non-mortgage debt, do not buy a new TV. Pay off your debts first.
- When you find yourself having to choose between putting food on the table and buying a new TV, please buy a new TV so you starve to death and do us all a favor.
Here’s a visual guide that’ll show you the kinds of TVs you can expect to afford given your financial situation. Please feel free to print it out and take it with you on your next trip to buy a television.
| If your home looks like this… | And your bank account looks like this… | You can afford this TV… |
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98 Responses »
1.
mbhunter
March 7th, 2007 at 1:39 am
How did you get past the dogs to get that close-up of my orange house?
2.
Stephanie
March 7th, 2007 at 2:17 am
Hilarious! Although, I’m proud to say that when I went out to buy the sixth season of Buffy, the only extra thing I came home with were the Firefly DVDs! =)
3.
Clever Dude
March 7th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Ooh! Since we haven’t bought a new TV in, well, ever (ours were gifts or pulled from the dumpster), that means we can spend like $3000 on a new TV! (give or take a few hundred).
Oh wait, I have non-home debt. You’re such a party pooper.
4.
Nick
March 7th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Clever Dude, I’ll make an exception in your case, but only if you’re kind enough to frequently invite your next-door neighbors over to watch your large TV, whoever those wonderful and lucky people might be.
Stephanie, it seems our tastes in television are similar!
mbhunter, sorry man, I didn’t know that was you. I thought it was fivecentnickel’s house!
5.
Midnight Raider
March 8th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
When we moved into a new home, our new living room meant we were sitting 15 feet from the TV, and I could barely see anything on the tiny one we had purchased 5 years before. So, I confess, we purchased a new 46″ LCD. However, before buying it, I did a bunch of extra freelance work on the side to save up the cash for it. It was all “gravy” money, so we didn’t need to dip into savings, purchase it with credit, or even lower the amount we typically put toward our savings each month. And no, we don’t have non-house debt. Unless you could student loan debt. Which I don’t.
6.
Nick
March 8th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I think if you can afford a home where your TV is 15 feet away from you in your living room, then splurging on a 46″ TV is perfectly fine.
7.
Midnight Raider
March 8th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
LOL! That’s funny, because our house is the smallest in our neighborhood (1,100 square feet). It’s just the layout of the living room that forces us to sit that way (and our bedrooms are all tiny).
8.
Clever Dude
March 10th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Our TV was about 15 or more feet from our couch until I moved it. Haven’t measured the room though, but you know it was far. It would take about a 50″ to look reasonable in that space, but our 27″ CRT that our friend gave us for Christmas in 2005 will be fine for now.
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mapgirl
March 16th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I still say we invade Jim’s house and watch his TV.
March Madness makes me want a TV. *gnash of teeth*
But I’m still not buying one!
I just don’t understand rotting daily on the couch in front of the TV after work. I can understand the weekend veg out, but I usually read a book instead. It’s A LOT CHEAPER.
Of course, it’s also cheap to date someone who has a TV and happens to cheer the same teams I, er, um, *you* do.
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fivecentnickel.com
May 13th, 2007 at 7:20 am
“mbhunter, sorry man, I didn’t know that was you. I thought it was fivecentnickel’s house!”
Hey! Looks like I need to read the comments over here more closely!!!
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June 28th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Can I hook up the plasma tv to my thumping car stereo in my hot orange car!
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Gadget Mania
September 16th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Actually, the question is whether we need such a large television.
Secondly, Its about whether we can really afford or deserve it.
Its surprising to know that 11 billion bucks were spent on buying plasma televisions.
I think we could have done a lot better by just saving or donating that money!
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December 13th, 2008 at 1:02 am
the plasmas r ruling the world nowadays
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April 22nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I can afford any tv….hehehe….
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twink
June 13th, 2010 at 12:27 am
that means we can spend like $3000 on a new TV! (give or take a few hundred).
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kevin
July 14th, 2010 at 3:25 am
How did you get past the dogs to get that close-up of my orange house? yes i think also..
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Regina @ TV stands furniture
August 7th, 2010 at 10:00 am
“spent $11 billion on LCD TVs last year.”
Wow! that was huge! I never thought we Americans are spending big moneys like that just to satisfy our cravings.
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August 30th, 2010 at 11:39 am
having this tv in my movie room would be a great accomplishment to me.,I am a movie fanatic thats why it is really nice to watch in this kind of tv.
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