*This is the 28th day of the One Month Spending Freeze Challenge. Please click here to see all of the posts in this series.*
Several years ago, my grandparents came to visit me and my husband. The first thing my grandpa asked me was if I had a ladder and a light bulb so he could change the light bulb on my front porch. My grandma excused him and said, “Oh, he just needs something to fix. He’s always fixing something.”
© sakkmesterke / Dollar Photo Club
I didn’t mind one bit. I let him change the light bulb.
I admire people who have a knack for getting little things done around the house, making sure things are in working order and nothing is being neglected.
For today’s challenge, I’d like you to evaluate all the big stuff you have and find out what kind of maintenance you can do to prolong its life.
Why Should You Care for Your Things?
If you are in a position that you can take care of your stuff, please do. You can save thousands over the life of your item if you maintain it regularly, whereas, if you don’t, you will likely have to replace it sooner.
Taking care of your stuff also shows that you are grateful for it. Do you know someone who has a well-maintained home and car, as well as pretty much anything else they own? I know quite a few people like that. Those are the kind of people who are content with what they have. They don’t have to go out and spend more money to buy something very similar, thinking they will be happier with the newer and better item.
I want to just admonish you to be good to your things. Maybe you have very little time and money, but be sure to recognize the things that cost the most and maintain them the best you can. The more you take care of the big things, the less you will have to spend in the future for replacements and/or maintenance and repairs.
What do you maintain regularly to prolong its life?
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I love this Charlee! I heard a radio ad a few months ago where the person was talking about being “too poor to live cheap” – meaning they couldn’t afford to buy cheaply made products. I’m still undecided how I feel about the ad itself (it was selling mattresses) but the concept is cool to think about. Spend a little more on a quality product that will last you longer, or frequently buy cheaply made items and hope they last? Your post here solves the former, and I think it makes sense. Why not spend a little more money on a higher quality product, keep it for as long as possible, and make sure you’re keeping it maintained. We’ve had our TVs for a really long time. They’re still flat screens so they’re not THAT old but I’d guess about 8-10 years. We just make sure we take care of them. I always tend to keep stuff until it is un-usable. In fact, I recently traded in a 2000 Saturn LS with a ton of miles on it for my new Honda Fit – that thing was on it’s last leg. My car before that was a 1999 Jeep Cherokee that had 203,000 miles. Thanks for this post – very thought provoking!
Despite being so frugally minded, I didn’t realize until more recently how much more money you will actually end up spending on cheap stuff. It makes complete sense when you factor in the life of the item. Your TVs are a lot newer than ours! My husband bought a huge TV on sale before we got married and it lasted about 8 years. We would have bought a part to keep it going, but we just snagged my mother-in-law’s TV since she was getting a new one. It’s great that you keep your cars for that long. If you have kids, they’ll hate you for it, though! Glad you could identify with the post, Chris!