You aren't "investing" your money, you're spending it.

[Torak]

I hate it when people say they are "investing" in the purchase of some sort of pricey consumable item.

I'd be interested to see your ROI on that £500 baby sling. 🙄

Gifting is another one I hate. But today I'm irritable about investing.

@Torak

Oh you are so pleasant to chat with, Polly. P'raps you also invested in people skills.

I guess if you read Polly’s responses on other threads you’ll see she’s delightful!

I'd rather have a better house.

Do you also enjoy projection?

@Torak

Oh you are so pleasant to chat with, Polly. P'raps you also invested in people skills.

😂

@caringcarer

I think my engagement ring has gone up in value x3 over the years. Not that I would sell it.

That is probably its value for insurance purposes. If it was stolen then you would get the value back ,as long as it is mentioned as an individual item of a particular value on your contents insurance. If you sold it back to a jeweller it would not achieve anything like that value. After my divorce I took my wedding and engagement rings to a jeweller . They weighed the gold and added on a bit but that was it. Nothing like what they had cost.

I understand what you mean OP. I think it’s up there with ‘curate’ instead of ‘choose’ and ‘source’ instead of buy.

Of course somebody could genuinely be employed by the V&A to source vintage clothes which will be exhibited and and appreciate in value etc. etc., but it’s often just used to mean ‘more expensive’.

@PollyPage

Message deleted by MNHQ.

Irony isn't your strong suit, is it?

@PollyPage

Message deleted by MNHQ.

Nobody was being bitchy. You came straight in with a brag and a biscuit.

I think people aren’t using “investment” in the same way as those investing in say shares would. For me, an investment is a thing that makes money and also hopefully increases in value.
However, I think saying “I invested in these expensive boots” isn’t wrong because they’re basically saying “they’ll save me money because I won’t have to buy new ones for ages, better to spend £500 now than £100 every year”. It’s not an investment per se as it doesn’t make anything, but it does save money. It’s only a turn of phrase.
Same with expensive watches etc. My dad likes a nice watch (not Rolexes which are too Essex for him), nice handmade beautiful pieces. He doesn’t “invest” in them as he buys them to wear, but he is aware that they are now worth more than he paid for them as (for example) only a certain number were made etc. They don’t make or save him anything though and he has no plans to sell them so they’re not a true investment as he won’t realise the capital.

@PollyPage

Romford market? I live in the Middle East we both high earn tax free, I wait list most watches so hardly fake. Why do you assume everyone is like you?

Course you do

It can be literally straightforwardly true for Rolexes, top end handbags and Lego. And indirectly true for childcare and education.

But usually it's a metaphor that we all understand as meaning "it'll save me money in the long term". An Instant Pot is a metaphorical investment if it will steer you away from ready meals and takeaways.

Some watches and bags are an investment because they do increase in value.

Some good quality boots and coats are an investment because if say y they are £200 but last 10:x longer than a £50 pair then you have saved money so that is an investment.

Some other items are not because second hand value is low , however they may be expensive because they are more useful / easier to use etc .
Or perhaps people pay more because the item is more comfortable.

Investment does not always mean money does it ?

@PollyPage

We have 12 rolexes, worth about 10 to 20k each. I have 4 1980s chanel bags, one owned by someone famous and dead, total worth around 30k. I'm not saying it's the type of house I would care to live in but a house none the less. Do you really care enough to want photos? I can't really be flagged to offer proof to someone who clearly has no idea of assets as they probably don't have any.

Have my first ever

It isn't a phrase I normally use, but it can be valid in more than one way. As pps have said, sometimes (if you can afford it) buying a high quality item that will last works out cheaper than having to replace a lower quality one.

And some purchases do appreciate in value - antiques, designer and limited edition items, collectables.

My baby sling was an investment for my mental health and my infants happiness. I agree with you when people say investing with handbags and similar and buying the most expensive of anything (even slings) is usually to show off but my moderately expensive sling was 100% an investment.

Imagine having 9 Rolexes and going “what do I need more of? Rolexes!”
I just can’t imagine being so….brash, I guess.

This thread has quickly evolved into something quite strange.

Some purchases are most definetely investments. A few years ago I bought a car in order to be able to commute to a well paid job. The car and fuel I've invested have repaid themselves more than ten times over (and now I don't even need to commute anymore! Hurrah! So I could even sell the car for extra profit)

I also bought myself some new interview clothes in order to get that job. I might not have got the job otherwise, as first impressions count, and my wardrobe was bare. Again, that (small, but timely) investment paid off, in cold hard cash (when combined when hard work, obviously. But hard work alone might not have done it)

Now we've got a house, we may invest in solar panels or a heat pump. Again, the idea is that they will make us a profit over the years, compared to not having them. An investment. Which would also increase the value of the house if we want to sell it.

We also invested in childcare... I kept working, built up my career... Short term hit, long term profit. Investment.

Can you invest in a baby sling or a push chair? If it creates financial opportunities that wouldn't otherwise exist, definitely! A good travel system can make the difference between being able to take baby to nursery in order to go to work, or having to stay at home and see your income crash. Investment.

With you op, can I also add, “sourcing” something rather than just going bloody shopping .

I bought a smart wool coat from Jigsaw in my first term at university. It cost far far more than I had ever spent on an item of clothing in my life (I remember feeling nervous going into Jigsaw, a smart grown up shop I had never been in at the time, just to look, 'obviously' I wasn't going to buy my coat from there....). Over 20 years later I still wear it almost every day in winter, I still love it, I still think it looks smart. So in a way it was an investment as if I had bought a cheaper coat I no doubt would have replaced it multiple times over in the 20+ years since. I don't think I had that level of brilliant hindsight at the time, I just knew I loved it far more and it looked far better, better cut, better quality fabric, than the alternatives I was considering from Benetton and Miss Selfridge.

I bought some really high quality baby stuff sling, bed, eating chair thing and managed to sell each item for at least 50% of what I paid new. If I’d purchased lesser quality, more affordable stuff I wouldn’t have gotten 50% of retail price at resale, so for me it worked.

I see it as getting any kind of return from a product. Financial is the most common interpretation, but also emotional.

I buy milk and bread and lightbulbs and plugs. They’re functional and consumable items.

I invest in guitars. None of my guitars have risen in value but I get great enjoyment from using them so to me, I’m putting in £ and getting out smiles. For other people, it won’t be guitars but handbags or books or something. My father has a collection of cars that he will never sell so their investment value is irrelevant, but he just loves having them.

Posters are at odds with the multiple meanings of investment. Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing, springs to mind.
I buy outside the price range of what people on my income level would usually spend, either for aesthetic or longevity reasons, I'm investing in those things. I got a result that was worthwhile.

*PollyPage

My rokexes and vintage chanel bags could buy a house tomorrow. I must tell them that they are worthless. Maybe just chuck them away*

Oh no don't tell them they are worthless. It may offend them. Why not tell them to buy a house tomorrow instead?