Spending 10% of earning for Audio Hardware, is it sensible?

Try Boston... I'm right there with you. Except that my 1860 Victorian has quadrupled in value in 18 years (and continues to rise).

 

Nice! I have a lot of family in the Boston area. Home values way up out here too. 25% of after tax income on the mortgage payment is still a lot though! Get there easier with two income families.

 

Happy cook happy me.

 

Live fast
Die young
Leave a good looking corpse

 

Depends on if you would get the same level of self-satisfaction had you instead spent that as tax-deductible charitable donations, or a tithe to your, ummm, "denominational social organization"...

And then there's the question of whether you intend to continue this allocation throughout your working life, or just until you get the system (in the case of a turntable, of course, I can expect you're likely to continue for years after you've thought you were done...those things are like hot rods and teens...).

 

Ahhhh digital. Well the digital I have HAS gone up in value. I own an Oppo player. Not real expensive, but now out of business and coveted. I'm mainly into analog. But good preamps and amps will hold value.

 

I fully agree with your first two points.

 

Are you paraphrasing Dylan?

 

I do not disagree with you. I am largely in the same housing market situation as California here in downstate New York/Manhattan. Except I’d guess a Manhattan apartment won’t shown the same appreciation as you have because of COVID - at worst probably flat since 2014. I spend as much of income on housing as you. Things cost what they cost for very good reasons and if you’re not OK with that we wouldn’t be living where we live.

But I wanted to remind you that a real estate dwelling might best be most financially conservatively viewed as a non-performing asset. After all, you still need a place to live. It matters only to realize the cap gain when you cash out selling the property and then what? All these folks that experienced large housing valuations during COVID fail to recognize the wash in selling property unless they were taking those gains from a high cost location to a low cost location. To me that is not living because I like where I live and have no interest in speculating where the next hot housing market is by buying and living there myself.

But you and me - no worries. San Jose - gold. Manhattan - gold.

 

Who is Dylan?

 

You know, "Do not go gently into that good night"

 

Writer/poet, not musician (although he did too)
First vs. last name

 

Bob Dylan Ballad of a Thin man
"But nobody has any respect, anyway they already expect you to all give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations…"

 

One of my absolute favourite compositions.

 

You and me both brother

 

As Paul Simon said, "...unless you're talkin' about Dylan Thomas...whoever HE wuz..."

 

Probably, if you've got everything else covered . . . including savings, appropriate insurances, education funds for kids if any, home maintenance and repair, on down the line . . .

 

That depends on many things...especially the number of commas in your 10%.
My $55 is meager compared to others.

 

Please stop with these equivalencies. It doesn't depend on anything. If you spend 10% of your income every year for 20 years on stereo equipment you need to put down the crack pipe.

 

It depends on so many things. Let’s say I start out with a relatively good system that totals around 50k. Suppose I’m happy with my speakers which will be the biggest expenditure.

All I would probably have to spend over the life of the system is the cost of replacing equipment that is not performing well or faulty or maybe there is enough advances in the front end source to warrant upgrade.

Unless I require or desire a whole new system or I move to a very different space I can’t see why I would keep replacing equipment at regular intervals.

Other than my speakers my systems usually lasts for an average of about 15 years or so before needing major change.

I think this would be very average but maybe I’m way off base.

 

You can run comparisons and many times renting and buying are closer than one may think in the long run.

I never looked at my home as an investment per se, but a place to settle and modify to suit.

If you own a home 20 years and it doubles in value but with mortgage interest you paid double it's listed price. Not to mention real estate taxes, up keep, etc.

Sell it
Buy up to avoid gains
Buy down and pay the gains

It usually ends up being cheap rent

 

Compared to me you're way off base. Compared to others around here, you're a lightweight! I don't change anything ever unless it breaks once I've found something I like. I've been using the same speakers, amps, turntables, CDs, cassette decks, etc. for years. Some going back 35+ years.

 

I'm good on equipment. My money goes to buying music. Used to be records and CDs now CDs or SACDs.

 

All I’m looking at now is a reasonably priced redbook CD transport so that I can access my disc/sacd library. It’s all I really require or desire.

 

Didn't you just spend a fortune on a new digital system?