Let's discuss cheap things that save money in the long run. Constantly buying a cheap thing over and over when it breaks could be cheaper than buying 1 expensive thing that lasts for a while
1) Cheap Cars. Spending $1k on a car that gets you through a year of use and replacing it every year with another one for another $1k might be better off than buying one great one for $20k that only last you seven years or so (that is $7k for 7 cars versus the $20k for the one)
2) Cheap education. If that cheapo law degree allows you to sit for the bar exam and you pass ... it won't make a difference to your clients when you hang that "Se habla espanol" shingle in the window.
3) Cheap appliances. If you get that $10 toaster at Wal Mart and it lasts you 1 year --- you can get another clean one every year ---- that is a clean toaster every year instead of the $30 one getting dirty and being stuck with it for 3 years
4) House! If you buy the fixer-up for $100k --- you stand to lose only $25k in a housing market crash of 25% ---- the $400k house could lose you a $100k in the market correction
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Message edited by: germanpope on 2009-11-07 00:34:23 CST
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1) Keep car that is paid off, put the car payment you were paying in savings and then in CD and collect interest. When your paid off car starts to need minor repairs you can use some of that money. When it needs major repairs you will have a good portion if not all of the money you will need.
2)Next Simple green (with lemon) the best product I have found removes, stains, crayons, blood, pet stains and it doesn't harm the fabric. My grandson goes to private school, his white shirts always get some paint or glue etc on it. I spray , rub it in and wash it comes out perfect. I got some paint on a pair of jeans sprayed it and it came out. The bottle cost about 5.00 ( I get it at Home Depot) and I have saved thousands of dollars using it.
I dropped paint on the livingroom carpet. I thought the carpet was ruined, I cleaned up as much as possible and the sprayed and shampooed and did it a few times it came out perfect. I have used it to remove pet smells from carpet I thought I would have to tear out. It leaves a nice fresh smell after the carpet is dried.
germanpope said: 1) Cheap Cars. Spending $1k on a car that gets you through a year of use and replacing it every year with another one for another $1k might be better off than buying one great one for $20k that only last you seven years or so (that is $7k for 7 cars versus the $20k for the one) I agree with you. I always think it is cheaper to buy used than new. However, there is an optimum used level, and I am skeptical of getting a usable car for only 1,000. My thinking is that a 1,000 car would start/run but could need a ton of work to become a reliable vehicle. If you have some car repair ability you can mitigate some of the costs by doing the repairs yourself and if you have some car knowledge you can also probably spot problems in a car when you are looking to buy. Personally, I think the optimum range is to buy a 5-6 year old car (with around 60-80K miles) and try to get the price around 5-7K. This way you can make some repairs if needed and drive the car another 7 years/100K miles. Also if you are buying a new car and it only lasts 7 years either you are driving over 30,000 miles per year or you are buying the wrong type of car (i.e. Kia). My parents bought a 1989 Nissan Maxima brand new. I drove this car in college and through grad school. I had to sell it a few years ago and the millage was 215,000. Actually I am still kicking myself for selling it (mostly did it out of pressure from everyone to get rid of my old car) since it still was reliable. (FYI, I was able to sell this car for $1400.) A good car you maintain should last 200,000 miles or 15 years.
SUCKISSTAPLES said:What Japanese cars of the 80s/90s did in terms of reliability will not be replicated with current models. I have heard this from others. I have a 1997 Lexus and by inspecting the manufacture stickers I was able to determine it was built in Japan. Some people suggest that the more recent Japanese cars are mostly made in Mexico are not as good as the ones made in Japan. Anyone have any suggestions on late 90s/early 2000s cars (foreign or domestic) that have good reliability? I am in the market for another used car that can go to at least 200,000 miles.
SUCKISSTAPLES said:What Japanese cars of the 80s/90s did in terms of reliability will not be replicated with current models.
I totally agree with this and tell people not to pass on a cheap Yota from the 80s/early 90s. Sure it is outdated from a style perspective but those models really run forever. I really don't have stats to provide but me thinks Yota's surge as a major player in the car market opened more doors for quality control issues (you do hear a lot more about recalls Yota nowadays). I think back in those days they were smaller, had better quality controls and were nuts about winning over new customers.
Message edited by: redikin on 2009-11-07 07:36:29 CST
Sometimes its better to spend the extra money. I paid about $550 for a fridge almost 4 years ago and at the same time I could have gotten a slightly bigger fridge that was better built for $1k (only these 2 fridges fit in the enclosure in the kitchen).
At the time I figured that at almost half the price, I'll just buy a new cheap fridge when the current cheap one breaks. But now I have to live with the temperature not being regulated properly. Sometime food on the top shelf freezes slightly, and yes I have played with the settings to try to fix it. Next time I'm just going to spend the money for a better fridge.
If you're they type of person that can live with these minor hassles of lower quality products, then you can save a lot of money, but for some other people they would rather pay a reasonable amount of extra money for a better product.
Message edited by: gotsmack on 2009-11-07 07:54:58 CST
Between the 10,000 cars I inspect every year for the past 20 years (200 per week x50 weeks at auction) , the numerous major defects reported here at FWF and all over the net in Japanese cars over the past 6-10 years (bad transmissions in many Honda models, bad engines in Toyotas, etc).
Japanese cars of the 80s 90s tend to "last forever" as they were far simpler, built to a higher standard with superior parts, and had strict quality control. That has all gone out the window in recent years.
biomedeng said:SUCKISSTAPLES said:What Japanese cars of the 80s/90s did in terms of reliability will not be replicated with current models. I have heard this from others. I have a 1997 Lexus and by inspecting the manufacture stickers I was able to determine it was built in Japan. Some people suggest that the more recent Japanese cars are mostly made in Mexico are not as good as the ones made in Japan. Anyone have any suggestions on late 90s/early 2000s cars (foreign or domestic) that have good reliability? I am in the market for another used car that can go to at least 200,000 miles.
Spend the extra cash and get a NEW Corolla. Finding a decent used one is downright impossible.
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