Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by wyuenho 1247 days ago
If you parked the money and it lost value, it doesn't matter, because that's only relative to everything other than the stand mixer you bought. The price of the stand mixer is fixed at the time of purchase, it doesn't go up as time goes by.
1 comments

I don't get it. If you bought the mixer and paid for it a year later but a year later when you have to fork over the money and it's suddenly not 800 bucks anymore but, say 750, you need another 50 bucks. So you spent 850 instead of 800, no?
The amount of what you owe is fixed at the time of a 0% interest BNPL purchase, just like a real purchase. Even if the interest rate is not 0, it’s still fixed.

It’s not a margin account where you have to call it if the value dips too low over time.

What in such simple concept is so hard for you to understand?

BNPL suggests that it's better to take the 0 percent and pay off the 800 bucks, say, 2 years later and park the money somewhere accrueing interest.

All I'm saying is if you're getting a 0 percent loan for the mixer, interest rates on your savings are not going to be great either and returns on index funds are not going to consistently go up either. It's not unlikely that you end up with your 800 bucks turning to 750 after 2 years but you still have to spend 800 for the mixer after 2 years. 800 you put in at the beginning, 50 you have to chip in at the end, you just paid 850 for that mixer.

> What in such simple concept is so hard for you to understand?

Be better than that!

> 800 you put in at the beginning, 50 you have to chip in at the end, you just paid 850 for that mixer.

Honestly, if in 2 years you still haven't managed to save > $800 worth of your time with the stand mixer, you probably shouldn't focus on that $50 of depreciation.

Haha got it. I think we settled the debate :)