How can i convince my parent to allow me to buy a home theater projector?

Question

When i get the money, i feel that the unseen force that causes grown-ups to be soooo lame and close-minded will over take and I will be told that 3k-5k should be "spent on college" or a car blah blah blah.

Im 16, any suggestions?

Answer 1

I am going to have to agree with Flare and Matthew on this one.  Spending every last sent you own for something is rather silly.  Knowing my luck if I did something like that, I know that some opportunity would present its self and I wouldn't be able to do it.  Given that I just turned 23, you might actually want to listen to my reasoning.  Matt is right, you might not have any expenses now, but you will shortly.  College IS really really expensive.  If I was in your shoes I would try to save as much as that money as possible but still use some of it to enjoy myself.  (For instance going out with friends once or twice a week to the movies or dinner and being able to afford doing so without having to think where else that money should be going.)  I would rather be loaded and live a simple life where I dont have to worry about money because I have enough to live the lifestyle I want to live than have the most awesome home theater ever and be a slave to it because I cant afford to do anything else.

Like I said.  I am 23 and have only been out of college for a year.  I got through college without having to take out any loans because I made a deal with my folks that they would pay for the direct costs as long as I kept a 3.0.  Needless to say I worked my butt off and ended up with a 3.5.  I still had to pay for my books, food outside of what was provided, supplies, etc but I did so with the money I made working odd jobs, and summers ever year since I was 14.  Now I have a great education and a great job that pays well and I can afford the multi-thousand dollar electronics, and the expenses that come with adulthood but you can be sure that I am still squirrelling money away for emergencies (major car repair) and plan to buy a house sometime this year or next.  (Which is quite amazing given my age!)

Bottom Line.  Figure spending about 20% on yourself from what money you earn.  Example: If you earn $100 a week only plan on spend $20 of that, which lets you build up your net worth while still being able to do things.  If you want to buy something that is more than your weekly allocation, you shouldnt spend any of the other money that you are saving and should plan on saving a few weeks until you have saved enough with the $20 per week to afford it.  You will also have to reevaluate how much you spend out of your income for every new reoccuring expense (cell phone, cable bill, etc)you are presented with.

Do what you want, but I am pretty sure you will regret spending that money in the future.

Answer 2

Projectors can be a real money suck.  The bulbs burn out after a couple thousand hours and cost $300-$500 each!  Plus you generally need a totally dark room for them to look good, and a proper screen to produce good contrast isn't cheap either.  Cars are also a money suck, but at least they can drive you to a real theater!

Answer 3

I have a suggestion, but don't think your gonna like it.  I say save the money for college.  Trust me college is very very expensive, and I am not talking about fees and books, just living day to day in a college atmosphere is quite costly.  I mean very costly.  Parking pass is like 400.00/per semester.  Food is costly daily at the cafeteria.  Laptop computer is a necessary item.  Beer, pizza and transportation.

When I left home to go to college, I had no idea how expensive it would be and wound up working two jobs just to afford the extras.  Although having a projector would be nice, having a quality education is much more rewarding and hopefully after college (when you become "lame and close-minded" you can afford whatever projector you like.

BTW I'm 40 and play Playstation 3 games, love my three HT systems and crank movies like "Cloverfield" to ear bleeding levels, with a main HT system consisting of 8 subwoofers.  So don't think just because someone is "old" that they are "lame"  we may seem lame because we were once were in your shoes and just trying to help you not make the same mistakes that we made as kids.

I also would love to party like I did in college also, but being "lame" and all, I have to pay off a mortgage, a car payment and bills just to keep a house running.  You know it's your parents being "lame" is them working hard to put a roof over your head and food on the table, so they probably get a little miffed when they are working hard and hear you want to spend 5,000 on a projector when they are saving up to help pay for your college education.  And yes I know that answer seems lame, but sadly it's just life.

Answer 4

The first thing you can do is to post this where it belongs, in Y/A's "Families & Relationships" forum where they are interested in "touchy, feely" questions like this.

This is not the Ann Landers forum, it's Home Theater Electronics, where the discussions are centered around technical home theater system and TV operational and electronics problems.

Answer 5

Personally I agree with your parents, but if you really really want the projector, you could always say..."You know it is my money and I can technically buy what I want with it."  But then again I am someone with a car loan and wish I had that much money so that I could pay some of it off...but that's just me.