To Spend £1345 on a Set of Earrings ?

[Moaning5]

My dad has just gifted me £2000 - how nice !

My parents have NEVER gifted me money in this way. He’s done something with his pension and given all of us (4) the same amount.

I have no real savings to speak of other than an emergency fund. I have no mortgage to put it towards. I have grown up children who are independent. I have no debt to clear.
AIBU to pay £1345 for a pair of gold hoop earrings with pear drops as worn by Princess Catherine which I have always loved ?
Or am I being ridiculous and it needs to be be spent more sensibly ? On what though ?

What use would 2000 be? That's nothing. Might as well spend it on earrings.

People on Mumsnet are so miserly! If you love the earrings, buy them. You can wear them every day for the rest of your life.

WTF has age got to do with it?

Absolutely buy the earings! Your father gave you a lovely gift and a beautiful pair of earrings will be a memory of that for many years to come but paying a bill or putting it in savings wont be!

Well for me it would be a couple of months rent and bills- handy if I suddenly lost my job and hardly "nothing".

It would also be repairs to a car or emergency dental treatment. Again, hardly nothing.

Obviously they aren't 25 if they have grown up children. That said, it makes no difference anyway.

Have you looked into insurance if you did buy them? Considering they are something so easily lost.

I would personally save it for other eventualities eg car repairs, unexpected need for private health procedure etc.

Surely with that attitude no-one would ever save anything?

Agree with this. £1345 won't make much difference in the grand scheme of things. The fact it was money from your dad will also mean they are sentimental.

OP, you are obviously not destitute because if you were you wouldn’t be considering spending so much money on a pair of earrings.

Savings and beautiful earrings are two separate things. Buy the earrings and start saving, best of both worlds.

I kind of did the same thing and enjoy my piece of special jewellery everyday.

Enjoy them!

I also vote earrings - life is short, and they would always remind you of your dad and his kindness. You can still save the rest!

I mean, if it's definitely money that you can spend on a treat and don't need for anything else then yes, if that is your choice of treat YANBU.

Personally, I wouldn't consider spending more than £10 on a pair of earrings because I love big, chunky colourful jewellery, not quality gold and jewels. But, if I had that kind of money to spare, I would happily spend it on going to the theatre every weekend for a year - which would be another person's idea of a clossal waste of time and money. So if the earrings are worth that to you then they're worth it.

OP said she'd paid off her mortgage. You must live in a very cheap area if 2000 would cover 2 months' rent AND bills, a lot of places that would barely cover 1.

No she didn't, she said she had no mortgage. Not that she'd paid one off. Therefore OP could either be renting or own her own home outright.

Strange response! If anything I would say the other way round. More possibilities, more uncertainty, more things to save for, more time to change your priorities when you are 25. At 45 or 55 or 65 you are more likely to be in a position to say: been there, done that, I know what my financial position and priorities are, and what I really want now is some expensive earrings.

I mean, there is nothing wrong with setting aside small amounts of money regularly and building up a pot. But 2000 is a paltry amount to start a savings pot, you might as well start from zero and build up, and spend the 2000 on fun things.

I wouldn't personally.

Although what I would do would be to put perhaps 2/3rds into savings, and the other 1/3rd towards starting a little savings pot to save up for the earrings slowly and steadily.

I say buy the earrings and enjoy them.

I would save it as you have no idea what your future holds. No one would know if your were wearing a pair of earrings for £1500 or £25 in reality so it seems like a complete waste of money, unless knowing their value would make you feel special. I genuinely wouldn’t spend that much on a piece of jewellery if I was a millionaire but then I wouldn’t spend it on any designer item.

I would however think nothing of spending it on13 luxury afternoons teas and I know some would be aghast at that so do what makes you happy!

Although I wouldn’t ever say anything I’d be pretty miffed if I was your dad. Earrings are easily lost and you could get some gorgeous dupes for much less than that. Save half, top up your health insurance buy or something then take him for a special day out theatre whatever.

Which ones?
There must be a cheaper alternative.
Post a picture on the Style and Beauty board.
Then you get both the earrings and to keep the money.

dresslikeaduchess.com/2023/12/21-pairs-of-kate-middletons-favorite-pearl-earrings/

Well it’s more use than nothing…I don’t understand this logic. That’s a car repair or the most of a boiler replacement. 🙄

I’m trying to work out what ‘done something with his pension’ might mean. I assume he’s either cashed in a small pot pension, or taken a tax free lump sum and wanted to share.

Either way, his pension is something he has saved up for all his working life. It seems insane to me to spend most of what he has given you on earrings rather than a much lower value treat and more financial security of savings.

Thanks for that link! Lovely earrings. She obviously loves pearls. So do I. Diamonds and pearls!

She doesn’t want cheaper ones. She wants the nice ones.