Yes, you should have a Home A/V or Home Theater financial plan. You should be saving for anything you might want or need to spend a bunch of money on in the future. As a side note, I use Quicken to manage various “Savings Goals” in several areas like medical bills, auto maintenance, etc. These Savings Goals act as separate accounts in Quicken, so I can leave all of the money in my high-interest reward checking account and still see it all separated out in Quicken (so I don’t accidentally spend it)
That said, here are some tips for your personal finance life that are applicable to your Home A/V saving/spending plan:
Have Goals
J.D. at Get Rich Slowly is one of my favorite bloggers and he says this well:
Each of us had a story about how we’d done dumb things with money. In every instance, these dumb things were the product of some psychological or emotional impulse. We weren’t acting rationally. We’re smart folks — when we were in high school together, we were in the college-prep classes together — and we understand the mathematics of our choices, but we make them anyhow. Why?
Because smart money management is more about mind than it is about math.
If you set some goals and get emotional about them it will help you along in your financial journey. I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey’s baby steps. They keep you focused and running hard towards the goal of becoming debt-free and financially sound. Becoming debt-free is still one of my goals, but another one I have is to get a new receiver for our home theater by next spring. We need a receiver that supports lip-sync delay because our projector is a bit slow processing video frames. Without any delay on the audio the sounds come out just a tiny bit before the video shows them. I have established this goal and I’m focused on saving for it. Every time I watch a movie I’m reminded that I need to stay focused with my finances.
Do It For The Right Reasons
FrugalDad says it right:
Forget about trying to impress people. Do you have any idea how much money is wasted in a lifetime trying to impress other people? Just think of the things we buy, and the options we choose, for show rather than for practicality. Flashy cars, big houses and expensive jewelry matter little to those working towards financial independence, because we recognize you’ll be paying for that stuff long after we hang up the employee badge.
Set up your personal finance plan according to your needs and convictions. Don’t get a huge screen to impress your buddies. Consider your values, dreams, and future when you plan out big purchases like Home Theater equipment.
Make Sure You’ll Use It
Adam at Man Vs Debt has a great post titled: Could You List Every Single Item You Own?. The post brings up a great principle; how many possessions do you have, and do you really use them? Spend a little bit of time considering how you will make good use of the money you spend on your home audio or video gear. Should sell some stuff to help pay for it. What sacrifices do you think you should make to ensure that you stay within your budget? It would suck if I had spent thousands on a home theater system and hardly ever used it, thankfully, my family and I make great use of it and we have really enjoyed every moment.
Focus On Functionality
J. Money says “So What If People Make Fun Of Our Frugality!“:
I used to sneak cheeseburgers into my pockets all the time at the movie theaters
I’d swing by McDonald’s 10 mins. before start time and pick up some double cheeseburgers right off the $1 menu! Not only was it cheap, but it was craaaazy filling.
The speakers I built for my home theater look…cheap. They ARE cheap too! They also sound darn good for having only $7 woofers in them and similarly priced tweeters. My subwoofer is painted bright blue and is huge, but it is super loud and goes down to 20Hz easy.
My point here is that you need to be OK with your frugality. Buy good equipment that’s cheap. Focus on the functionality, not the hype or the looks. DIY when you can.
Hopefully these tips help you in your quest for A/V excellence. What other tips or tricks do you use for your Home A/V financial plan?
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