purchases Archives - Empathic Finance

How to know if a large purchase is affordable

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on June 6, 2022 | Featured

People often think only of the per-month cost when determining what they can afford, but that can be an expensive mistake. Can you afford it? It’s a simple question on its face, but the more you dig into it, the … Read More … Read More

Tags: affordability, loans, mortgages, purchases

Photo credit: Self Drive Vehicle Hire https://sdvh.co.uk/

Why you make status purchases

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on January 7, 2019 | Featured

It’s natural to look around your life and see if there is any way that it can be improved. The changing of the new year is one of those times, along with birthdays and springtime (the proverbial “spring cleaning”). The … Read More … Read More

Tags: buying, purchases

Why it’s okay to make a bad financial decision (sometimes)

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on July 23, 2018 | Featured

I was pretty hard recently on people leasing cars. That’s because I feel very strongly about how it’s a decision that can have a significant negative financial effect on one’s life. And not only that, but the implications of and … Read More … Read More

Tags: planning, purchases

Why it’s so hard to buy online and maintain any privacy

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on March 26, 2018 | Featured

In a perfect world, no one would have any right to know what I buy, where I go, and what I do unless I gave them that access. This seems rather quaint now. Today, everything you do is scrutinized, advertised, … Read More … Read More

Tags: anonymity, online shopping, privacy, purchases

How to know when to make an impulse purchase

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on August 7, 2017 | Featured

Ramit Sethi, the I Will Teach You To Be Rich guy, has a rule about books: If you’re “thinking about” buying a book, just buy it. Don’t waste 5 secs debating. Even 1 idea makes it worth it. I may … Read More … Read More

Tags: impulse, impulse purchases, purchases

Calculate the opportunity cost

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on January 26, 2017 | Featured

Opportunity cost can be defined as “the value of the choice of a best alternative lost while making a decision.” Or, more colloquially, it’s “what you could have done if you had chosen differently.” I’ve talked before that one should consider … Read More … Read More

Tags: flights, purchases, travel

How my 1990 Geo Prizm helped me buy a home

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on January 23, 2017 | Featured

I kept my first car, a 1990 Geo Prizm, for years longer than anyone said I should. But that decision later enabled me to buy my first home. … Read More

Tags: car, purchases

I’m getting a new phone!

Posted by Mike Pumphrey on December 29, 2016 | Featured

With the new year approaching, it’s time not only to reflect on the year that’s passed, but it’s also time to look at where you are today and see if it’s still working for you. What would you like to … Read More … Read More

Tags: dumbphones, phones, purchases, reveal

purchases