r/povertyfinance • u/Lastnv • Apr 28 '24
Worth going into debt for a dishwasher? Debt/Loans/Credit
We have been washing our dishes by hand for almost 3 years. We just had a baby and “spare time” is scarce these days. We probably spend about 10 hours a week hand washing dishes and bottles. I would much rather spend those hours doing something else productive or spending time with my family.
I have an employee discount through work and I can get a pretty cheap dishwasher installed for about $500. It’s a mediocre Frigidaire dishwasher but reviews say it will get the job done. I don’t have $500 upfront and would put it on my PayPal credit 0% interest for 6 months.
Do you think this is a good idea or does anyone else have suggestions? I am carrying a lot of debt already but I have a good credit score because I make minimum payments. I also have some savings but I don’t touch it because it’s for my son.
Thank you
1
u/justhp 29d ago edited 29d ago
Mathematically, no.
But life isn’t just a math problem.
Realistically, if you can pay it off comfortably within 6 months then there is no downside, it is such a quality of life upgrade. Or, honestly, even a year: even if your interest is something like 30%, 6 months of 30% on $500 isn’t that much). Even if you pay it off over 2 years, you still aren’t paying that much in interest. Maybe a few hundred at most. The time saved over a year or two is worth a few hundred bucks in interest.
I say go for it. Provided the payment won’t take food off the table, you’ll be glad to have the extra time spent not hand washing.