Dear AMS,
      I have to make a difficult decision. The hard drive on my computer died, and now I have to choose between visiting my friends on the North American holiday my wife and I were planning next year and my 'puter.  I have to go into debt for either one, but there's not enough money for both. So what should I do?

In A Dilemma,
Melbourne, Australia
 

Dear Dilemma,
      I see this as a TMS- Temporary Money Shortage. You aren't talking about buying a house or some other item that would really incur long-term debt. For the most part a computer, if purchased wisely, can be broken down into fairly manageable monthly payments. Its entirely possible that if you buy your computer now you'll have it paid off by your the time you want to take your trip. I realize taking a trip to North America from Australia is very expensive. And perhaps postponing is the only way you can manage it. I also know that the more appliance/electronic/vehicle items you own the more likely you are to be replacing/fixing them to the point where you can postpone the rest of your life indefinitely to keep them all running. If its not the computer it will be the television, or the heater, or the car, or the CD player, or the air conditioner, or the microwave,  and on and on. Does that mean you shouldn't own them?  No. It just means that you should be careful not to delay too much of your life for them. Life goes by much too quickly. And they certainly won't be the highlights of your life in the end. (Not like bungee jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, spitting off the top of the Empire State Building, or any other "you can only do it in North America" vacation dream ideas you had your heart set on.)
 
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