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- Fresh Food - Good, fresh meat and produce costs more than frozen, heavily-preserved food, but it is worth every penny. Your body and your taste buds will thank you for spending a little extra.
- Insurance Coverage - You can customize your insurance coverage through higher deductibles and coverage changes to suit your needs and save a little bit of money, but it is imperative that you have adequate term life, home, and auto insurance. Doing so protects you and your family when disaster strikes.
- Snow Tires - If you live in a place that gets a real winter, you need snow tires. Full stop. I don’t care how long you’ve been driving in the snow, or if you have AWD, or how big your SUV is- all season tires don’t cut it in icy weather. When you refuse to invest in a set of decent snow tires (and the net cost is minimal, as you’ll be saving wear on and extending the life of your other set of tires), you don’t just put your own life at risk, you put mine at risk. And I don’t appreciate that, thank you very much.
- Charity - Charitable donations are often the easiest of expenses to cut back because they deliver no immediate gratification, no tangible return. Yet there are countless organizations that keep our society running that rely on your donations. Saving money is important, but not if it costs you your humanity. If that’s not reason enough to keep up your donations, remember that you’ll receive a tax credit for doing so!
- Light Bulbs - When we first moved in to our house, my wife and I noticed that we were going through light bulbs on a fairly regular basis. When my electrician cousin stopped by, I asked him if we might have a wiring problem. “Nope,” he replied, “You’ve got cheap light bulbs”. There are some items where buying the cheapest version can end up costing you more in the long run, and light bulbs are just one example. Buy for the long term, and don’t be afraid to spend a bit extra for higher quality and greater durability.
Do you agree, or am I just a flamboyant, fancy-light-bulb-buying big spender? What items do you refuse to cut from your budget?
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Like yourself with the lightbulbs, I try not to buy cheap stuff that will wear out quickly (it can be hard to know when the higher end version is worth it or not).
I’ve found footwear is worth spending the extra $$$ on (I’ve had cheap hiking boots fall apart within a month of purchase).
I totally agree with you on the fresh food, snow tires, and everything else.
I am also adding comfortable shoes.
Re: buying expensive light bulbs.
I had a problem a few years ago with the recessed lighting in my basement. The bulbs were burning out too fast. I figured it was the cheap bulbs I was using so I went out and bought expensive ones. They burned out just as quickly!! I also had an electrician look at the wiring, no problems there. It turns out it was the actual fixtures. The metal tab at the base of each fixture was fried! This is caused by the bulbs being screwed in too tightly which creates too much heat at the base. The metal tab deteriorates quickly under those conditions.
I replaced the fixtures and went back to using cheap bulbs with no further problems.
See http://www.askthebuilder.com/EM0017_Light_Bulbs_Burn_Out_Quickly.shtml
for more info.
Hmm, I’ve got one of those “quick fry” bulbs in my shower. Think I’ll have to get up on the ladder and check inside the fixture for “melting” and/or tab not bent upward.
@Traderpaul - Thanks for the suggestion. That might actually be my problem, too.