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.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

A new piece of Apple technology an investment? No. A piece of expensive but highly sought after branded jewellery (as long as it's silver, platinum or gold) probably yes.

Neither are, branded jewelry isnt worth any more then none branded unless you find a specific collector of that brand, all jewelry values are based on the materials quality/clarity and fashion, I.E the stone cut and mounting types go in and out of fashion so the value changes but mostly its purely about the materials value, 22crt gold etc and ones that need plating are worth less (white gold) rhodium plating was very popular a few years back, heavily pushed because they need re-plaiting every few years so extra profit from returning customers, but when the shoes on the other foot and your trying to sell it again they will factor in the fact its going to need re-plaiting when they value it and make an offer.

@Anonmousse

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'm a jeweller and would agree (in most cases) with this. Both diamonds and metal have increased in value very recently but in majority of cases you would get scrap value. Insurance valuations are what it would cost at todays price (full retail value) to replace what was lost or stolen.
Exceptions include palladium (this used to be a cheaper alternative to platinum but now is around £45/g scrap) or very rare/high quality diamonds or coloured stones, but the majority of jewellery I don't think you would get back anything like what you paid.

@ClariceQuiff ⬆️

Two carat diamonds don’t appreciate…

@CharacterForming

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.

I bought an instant pot to make food. Love it. Then I got into growing my own mushrooms. I note use my instant pot to pressure sterilise my mycology equipment and I sell the sterilised results on line. Given that it was night for food, but now actually earns money- did I make an investment or a purchase?

Just kidding, I don't care. But I'm loving some of the comments on this thread. 😂😎

A relative bought all four of his boys (he had no girls) a Rolex each before he died. That was about twenty years ago. I would expect they've appreciated in value considerably in the past two decades.

Plenty of things are in low supply and increase in value

I bought an old hi top sprinter van a few years ago. (Just passed its MOT) it has been well used and I am turning down offers of more than double what I bought it for as there is a shortage of cars and vans.
I would sell it if I knew I could get another similar one for less or I didn’t need it but I need transport and it is a work vehicle.

I 'invest' in a really good coat once a decade rather than spend frequent amounts on lesser quality items.

I sold a printer & garden umbrella for double what I paid on ebay during the pandemic as there was a shortage apparently.

@Tulipomania

Is anyone else wondering where you can buy a black skirt suitable for work for a fiver?

I think even £20 is cheap for a work skirt.

No, because the OP is obviously talking about buying the £20 skirt quite some time ago.

The trouble is @Torak, what you are really complaining about is other people’s self-justification for their folly, I think. The actual definition of the word isn’t that important.
I did read that ‘it’s fuck all in a five-year plan’ was a way to justify any extravagance to your OH. I wouldn’t try it myself.

I take the point about metaphorical investment, but I do think people use it in a way to justify the purchase of expensive things.

It isn’t “metaphorical” it is the other definition of the word investment.

an act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

Maybe you’ll be less irritated if you understand the word has more than one definition.

It annoys me too. Investing in the latest pricey upmarket handbag or designer clothing.

I suppose I invested in a wok.

I could have got another frying pan after the surface of my last one ended up all ruined, but instead I went to a chinese shop and bought a proper chefs wok with a bamboo handle that I had to spend 3 days pissing about seasoning.

but now I never have to worry about scratched up teflon again.

Actually do have clothing that I no longer fit into that I bought in the 80s that I was looking at EBay prices the other day and they have gone up.
I bought good quality and top designer brands of clothing mainly in their sales that I did wear for years. (Unfortunately no amount of dieting and exercise will push my ribcage back into position after Ds or Dd or both pushed my left side ribcage so it now sticks out at a strange angle when they were dancing away inside me)

That’s great @Kennykenkencat but it is unusual for someone to keep clothing items in good condition for 30-40 years. If you’ve managed to then brilliant, you are a better woman than me. I still think the word is well overused, so support the op. Especially overused by influencers, who will probably buy/be gifted four or five expensive handbags/coats etc rather than one and use it for years. Wine and Rolexes are different to clothes I’d say.

@Tulipomania I think op means £20 in the eighties which was probably a lot

Sorry I mean pp

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

Happy baby? Happy parents?

Some very high end fashion items increase in value (whereas normal clothes depreciate). just as some classic cars increase in value (where as the usual cars depreciate).

I think when people say they're making an investment in a winter coat or whatever, they mean an investment in themselves, ie they will be warm and look good this winter.

They don't mean it in a financial sense.

But there is also probably a justification element there too - "investment" sounds better than "splashing out" for example.

I have a genuine question here. I have £17,000 in premium bonds at the moment.
It's obviously not enough to be life changing or even ever so useful while I'm working and managing, but we will probably need it in the future. What is the best investment for this amount - Rolex? Gold?

I'd personally keep it in PBs

Or put some into s&s

@allthegoodusernameshavegone

Well I don’t have any money, so I’m not investing, I’m out

Best comment!!

@LimeSupper

Dictionary definition of investment: the action or process of investing money for profit.

Buying a handbag or expensive pair of work shoes to save you money over the long term is not an investment. It may well be spending your wisely though!

Why can't an investment also be seen as spending wisely?

For example - If I needed a handbag and I could pick up a decent enough bag for say £50 and the 'shelf life' of that handbag is maybe 2 years of daily use but I could spend £500 on something that would last 20 years of daily use, that would, to me be both spending wisely and an investment as I wouldn't have had to replace that handbag as frequently as the one for £50 (so not being wasteful by having more handbags that I would need) and economically I wouldn't have had to spend as much on handbags overall (thereby me having more money in the end in my pocket).
Does that make sense?

Similarly, if you're starting out on the road of having children, if you spend a lot on a baby carrier for #1, wouldn't that be seen as both spending wisely, and an investment if you can use it for #2 and #3 as you wouldn't have to buy again for them?

Or am I spectacularly missing the point here ????

@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

Their value rests completely in that company's brand manager. If one of their top tier is outed as a massive nazi or KKK member tomorrow, the brand can end up untouchable by the gen z's who like to buy this stuff second hand. Look at Russian brands at the moment.

Happy baby? Happy parents?

A baby doesn’t know anything about brands and the sling isn’t better than one that is much cheaper, so happier baby would be debatable.

Happy parents possibly, but as pp says, there is no difference in this case between investing and splashing out - it’s just that one is perceived to be more virtuous than the other.

People should just buy what they want to buy.

@hobstey

I'd personally keep it in PBs

Yes, probably right - can't be doing with all the faff!

I would say "it was well worth me investing in X" but not that they're an investment. If that makes sense!
For instance I have a pair of ariat boots that I winced at buying. Now had them 12 years which is longer than any others, and they have been WELL worn with water/horse muck/mud