The $8,000 watch, or Your Money Test (Part One)

When Jessica and I first got married, I couldn't afford an engagement ring. Jessica's mom gave me her engagement ring to giver her. (Isn't that amazing? She's so cool.)

Anyway, I bought Jessica a new diamond ring last year...the one I would've liked to have gotten her years ago. And she loves it.

The only thing is that her wedding band is yellow gold and the diamond "engagement ring" she selected is white gold. So she hasn't been wearing a band.

Last week, I called my jeweler (Ken Kirkland of Kirkland Jewelers) and told him we wanted to come in and look at a custom wedding band that would match Jessica's ring.

So, later that afternoon, we were sitting in the jewelry store and Ken helped us figure out the best way to make a custom band that would fit right next to Jessica's ring. It's going to look great...

But, before we left, I browsed over to the Rolex watch display and it occurred to me how long I've wanted to own one. (I wanted the white Rolex Daytona but Rolex intentionally limits production and you can never find one. Most dealers won't even sell one to strangers because they don't want them to wind up on Ebay the next day for thousands of dollars more than they cost.)

But, while I was standing there, I spotted a blue-faced Rolex Submariner. . . . absolutely stunning. I told Ken I wanted to try it on and did. It's magnificent. Not my first choice but wonderful.

Then, Ken did something totally unexpected...he looked at me and said, "Tony, would you like a once in a lifetime opportunity?"

I smiled and said 'yes'.

He said, "Are you familiar with the Rolex Daytona?"

I said, "Ken, don't tell me you've got one in this store!"

He said, "I sure do. But, we don't keep it in the display case."

As he walked to the back of the store to get it...I started laughing. How many times do we do that in life: disregard what we REALLY want and settle for what we think we can get?

He brought it out...it's magnificent. I tried it on and immediately knew it's what I wanted.

Then it occurred to me. What did this watch cost? They routinely sell on Ebay for $14,000. You just can't find them and they're in huge demand.

I turned the price tag over.

Eight thousand dollars.

Eight thousand dollars for a wrist watch.

I thought about it for a minute and said, "I'll take it".

And I did. I bought it and am wearing it as I type this.

And the cool thing is that -- if I wanted to (I don't) -- I could put this watch on Ebay right now, sell it for $14,000 and pocket $6,000 in a single afternoon.

And even if I decide to trade it in on another Rolex in a couple of years, I'll STILL get more for it than I paid. (Try doing that with a Seiko.)

Now, let me ask you this:

What do you think of me spending $8,000 on a wrist watch?

You don't have to tell me...but you do need to think about it.

How do you feel about it?

Because how you feel about it may say a LOT about where YOU are in your financial life.

In Part II of this, we'll go deeper in the story and how it relates to you and your Money Test...

--TR