I did end up getting a TV last week, a Samsung 40″ 1080p/120hz LCD flat screen. I paid $1190 for the TV, and another $170 for a protection plan. I know, I know, protection plans are almost always a scam, but I have a lot of issues with power surges in my apartment and, according to my research, power surges can be deadly to flat screens. And I actually ended up using the protection plan on my computer and it saved me about $200. The TV is being delivered next Saturday and I am so excited. The cool thing is that Best Buy is also hauling away my old TV and recycling the parts for free.
I did end up financing the TV, interest-free for 3 years. I certainly plan on paying it off before the 3 years is up, but it’s nice to have the flexibility. I could just pay it off with summer school money, but that would cut into the big chunk of money I was hoping to put into savings.
I know I broke a cardinal PF rule by financing a consumer product, but I’m not just upgrading to a nicer model because I feel like it, my TV is broken and I actually need a new one. And I really don’t have a problem financing anything, as long as I don’t end up paying more for it.
What do you think? Should I pay off the whole thing with summer school money, or should I keep that money in savings and stretch out the (interest free) payments on the TV?
