How about some Horse Sense?
Beth G. asked: How do you feel about purchasing a horse? If you have your emergency fund times three to six months wages in savings?
Not knowing the whole story behind your question, I will tread very carefully here. . .like I used to do in marching band when we had to march behind the horses.
You mention having a good-sized emergency fund, but not whether you have any consumer debt such as credit cards or car payments. If you do, you should absolutely not make any nonessential major purchases until you pay them off. Otherwise, keep reading.
My rules for making any major (over $500) nonessential purchase are as follows:
- You must be out of consumer debt and have an emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses.
- You must pay cash for it (no financing your friend Flicka).
- You and your spouse must agree on the purchase, or at least work out a tradeoff where each spouse gets to spend the same amount of money on a major nonessential item. You get a horse, I get a 48-inch LCD TV.
So that’s my financial take on things. I assume you’ve already addressed the logistical concerns like where the horse will live, who will feed the horse and clean out its stall, and whether you have time to ride/exercise it.
If you’ve read all this and still have a hankering for a horse, then giddy-up and ride-em cowboy.
