Money in the bank, or Guitars ?!

[zhunter]

Guitars will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no guitars.

Tip'o'the hat to Freewheelin Frank.

hunter

[blindboyjimi]

Originally Posted by seesound

Would you rather have $10k extra in your bank account, or 10k worth of good acoustic guitars around the house?

I view my guitar collection no differently than a weekend sports car, boat, Rolex watch, vacation home, charity contribution, or whatever your hobby where you spend your “extra cash”. Expensive guitars are luxury items you buy after you have what you need. I would hope that anyone buying a $10,000 guitar has a bank account that doesn’t need the “extra” cash, or is a professional that requires such an instrument.

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by seesound

Would you rather have $10k extra in your bank account, or 10k worth of good acoustic guitars around the house?

I pick these guitars:-)
Martin D35 50th Anniversary Brazilian, a Gibson J45 rosewood, a Taylor Coco GA limited and a Martin D28 (2018)-versus 10k extra $ in the bank right now.

It depends on how cerebral you are and how much you know about guitars and their values. If you establish rules then the decision becomes easier. Without rules you're gonna lose no matter what you do.

Guitars:
1) BUY USED or new at used prices. Face it, if you buy new, you're going to take at last a 30% hit the moment you exceed the return period, unless you steal it.

2) Pay no more than 60% of new retail for used gear. 50% even better.

3) Understand that even if you buy correctly, unless you've virtually stolen the instruments you will need time and hope that the value of new instruments keeps rising... and that the makers (i.e. Taylor/Martin,et al) don't keep changing their models so radically as to further depreciate yours.

4) With that in mind, inflation is your friend with instruments. 5 years ago you could buy a used Fender MIM Strats for $200. If you kept it in mint shape you could easily get $400 (I know, because I just did) because $400 new then is $600 new now The stated rate of inflation has been (falsely stated IMO) at 2% and bank interest has been below that.

5) It's all speculation. In contrast to my Fender example, had you purchased an Epiphone Dot 5 years ago you'd have paid nearly $300, but they are blowing out Epi 335 pros for $350. You'd have have to virtually stolen one (as I did in a swap for a Squier Strat SE) to retain proper value.

6) Buying instruments is not an investment. It is at best a currency hedge and again, speculation and diversification. We don't know how much our money will buy one, two, 10 years from now. Based on trends and recent history it is unlikely that we will have massive deflation- but not out of the realm of possibilities either.

Bottom line: I think the smart thing to do with extra $$ is a split of used, in-demand instruments, ETF's and simple money market or bonds. But if you're daring and just want a whole bunch more instruments... Have at it.

[Napman41]

Money in the bank is always the best choose. Have you ever tried convincing your plumber or your Dr. that a 4 year old used Martin D-18 is worth $1500 towards a new boiler replacement or chest x-rays and a handful of sutures ?

[Napman41]

Originally Posted by Guitaurman

Money doesn't do a thing for you until you spend it. Guitars make me feel great when I play them. I'm lucky though. I'm able to gig with mine and they kind of pay for themselves. I have been broke before, and I lived through it. Now I have plenty of dough. I worked hard for it. Life is too short to not have the instruments that make life worth living. Get the guitars!

I will assume that plenty of dough means you’ve got money in the bank correct ?

[BoneDigger]

If I already have good cash flow then the extra $10,000 would be fine to spend on guitars if that is your primary hobby. However, if you are low on funds, that $10,000 could mean the difference in eating and not eating. So, really, it depends on your financial situation. I probably have close to that amount in various guitars, but I'm doing okay financially and spread the purchases out over several years.

People around here buy $40,000+ bass boats for recreation. So, $10,000 on guitars is not unreasonable.

[Cypress Knee]

Everyone has their own personal situation that helps formulate their own response. In my case, if I had an extra ten grand and decided on more guitars rather than cash in the bank after consulting this board without consulting my wife, one thing is for sure - I would have plenty of time to practice on my new guitars!

[zombywoof]

In the bank unless you take a younger spouse who will continue working after you retire.

Originally Posted by seesound

Would you rather have $10k extra in your bank account, or 10k worth of good acoustic guitars around the house?

10k in the bank is the same as 10k in guitars. In fact the guitars will gain value in relation to inflation or other factors (assuming you don't damage them). Money in the bank will lose value in direct relation to inflation. Now, if we're talking stocks or bonds or otherwise, that's different.

[1Charlie]

Guitars are wooden assets. But even purchased intelligently, you are unlikely to make any significant money off of them in the short term, should you need to liquidate.

In the longer term, Martins and Gibsons from the '30's to '50's are a pretty safe bet to keep appreciating. That is where most of my investment is.

[seannx]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

It depends on how cerebral you are and how much you know about guitars and their values. If you establish rules then the decision becomes easier. Without rules you're gonna lose no matter what you do.

Guitars:
1) BUY USED or new at used prices. Face it, if you buy new, you're going to take at last a 30% hit the moment you exceed the return period, unless you steal it.

2) Pay no more than 60% of new retail for used gear. 50% even better.

3) Understand that even if you buy correctly, unless you've virtually stolen the instruments you will need time and hope that the value of new instruments keeps rising... and that the makers (i.e. Taylor/Martin,et al) don't keep changing their models so radically as to further depreciate yours.

4) With that in mind, inflation is your friend with instruments. 5 years ago you could buy a used Fender MIM Strats for $200. If you kept it in mint shape you could easily get $400 (I know, because I just did) because $400 new then is $600 new now The stated rate of inflation has been (falsely stated IMO) at 2% and bank interest has been below that.

5) It's all speculation. In contrast to my Fender example, had you purchased an Epiphone Dot 5 years ago you'd have paid nearly $300, but they are blowing out Epi 335 pros for $350. You'd have have to virtually stolen one (as I did in a swap for a Squier Strat SE) to retain proper value.

6) Buying instruments is not an investment. It is at best a currency hedge and again, speculation and diversification. We don't know how much our money will buy one, two, 10 years from now. Based on trends and recent history it is unlikely that we will have massive deflation- but not out of the realm of possibilities either.

Bottom line: I think the smart thing to do with extra $$ is a split of used, in-demand instruments, ETF's and simple money market or bonds. But if you're daring and just want a whole bunch more instruments... Have at it.

The above plus what Fazool and others have said that's in the same vein. I recently bought a Firebird V 2015 electric, used off of Craigslist, for $200 less than they are selling for on Reverb. The money was sitting in an interest savings account paying virtually nothing. The $6,500 I put into my IRA this year has lost $25 in two months. Over the long term it will (hopefully) increase, but there are no guarantees. And I get a lot of satisfaction just having guitars and musical equipment around. My youngest son is a very talented and proficient guitarist, and music major at UCSD. He's designated to get all my guitars, amps, and other equipment in my will.

If all someone had was $10,000, then I agree with keeping half in the bank, or in some form of safe, relatively liquid investment.

[guitar george]

$10,000.00 in the bank is decreasing in value every day due to government regulated inflation. (the price of everything is inching up every day) They never want deflation. Negative economic growth for 2 quarters in a row is called a recession, which could lead to a depression, and that is to be avoided, at all costs, by use of fiscal policy. Also the dollar could decrease in value which would require more dollars to buy the same item.

So with inflation and the possibility of the dollar becoming less valuable, it is better to invest in items that will guard against inflation like property, collectable items and some guitars.

Eg. If inflation was at 2% per year, the $5,000.00 cost would be increasing by around 2% every year. If you buy a guitar for $5,000.00 today and the dollar became devalued by 50%, it would now cost $10,000.00 deflated dollars to buy that guitar.

Money in a bank account will not give you much of a return You might be able to find a safe investment guaranteeing an after tax return of 2%, but, every investment has an element of risk.

At least with guitars, you can enjoy them over the years and probably get most or all of your money back in the future.

[Jcamp]

IVe lost money on every guitar that I’ve ever sold so for me I’d pick the money in the bank. However if I could hav 10k worth of guitars that I could actually sell for 10k at any given time that’s as good as money in the bank..... that’s pretty unrealistic tho some even some very nice guitars set on here or Craigslist for a very long time without selling.

[Pachowder]

I would buy one of the many guitars listed for sale here and bank the rest...or do I have to get a $10K guitar? My playing would have to get a whole lot better to justify a $10K guitar. Now, 3 $3K guitars I could justify in my mind

[AcousticDreams]

Of course...it all depends upon the individual and his current state of affairs. Each of us has different needs. However...with that being said...I will say that the beautiful sounds & feelings a great acoustic can make will give you something that money in the bank can not.
I will never be a millionaire...but I can get that million dollar sound from my acoustics.