Reasons Not To Be A Cheap B*stard

Wednesday, May 30. 2007

An important part of saving is always thinking about your purchases and spending as little as comfortably possible, but there are times and occasions where you should just bite the bullet and spend the cash...

My car needs tires. It's probably needed them for months. Did I know this? Well, I probably did realize it a month or two ago, but I only got around to dealing with it last week. However, it wasn't so much that I was procrastinating as it was I had hit the limit on my budget lately (or maybe even a little over) and couldn't bare to part with another $500+. Or could I? The truth is, like my tires, there are times when it makes sense to part with your money-- disregard your budget, disregard your savings, and disregard your spend-less personality!

Read on for some good reasons not to be a cheap b*stard!

The following are some general reasons to put some of your good financial habits aside:

Safety - As is the case with having poor tires on a car, a broken furnace producing carbon monoxide, or no fire extinguisher in your home, there are times when being cheap can actually endanger your well being.

Higher price in the longterm - Related to some of these reasons is the fact that being cheap today only means you end up paying more in the long run. For example, letting a small leak in your roof go unfixed can lead to structural damage costing much more after time, or not fixing the small crack in your windshield can lead to an entire replacement a couple weeks later.

Piece of mind - It doesn't make sense to worry so much about money that you can't enjoy living. If spending a little extra on something will ease your mind and let you enjoy life more, then just maybe it's a small price to pay for some peace.

Live a little - Most of us, especially us young professionals, need to remember there's more to life than just finance. Do something you like, take your mom out for dinner, join the friends at that thursday night baseball game-- don't forget part of the reason you earn money is to do things you like to do.

Club Med - Travel! Especially if you don't have a family or house to keep you tied down. However, don't use a house or a family as an excuse not to take a vacation. Remember, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.

So, those are tonight's reasons to not be a cheap b*astard.

Oh, and I did order some tires last Friday. I'm still waiting for them to come in (hopefully tomorrow), but ironically I got a flat tire on Sunday and am now driving around on a "space saving spare".

Posted by Alex Fisher in Lifestyle at 22:15 | Comments (4)

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Find your blog at facebook. Nice reading!

#1 Henrika (Homepage) on 2007-05-31 07:01 (Reply)

I'm guessing that should be "peace of mind"?

#2 Jean Francois on 2007-05-31 09:57 (Reply)

Very correct! Thanks for the correction Jean Francois.

#2.1 Alex (Homepage) on 2007-05-31 10:02 (Reply)

You can still get some good tires on the cheap. I bought some highly rated Kuhmo's from TireRack for around $70/each. Compared to the 'recommended' $125 tires the local shop wanted to sell me.

#3 KMull (Homepage) on 2007-05-31 10:57 (Reply)

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About

This is a personal finance blog for young professionals learning to manage money, to become financially independent, and to give back to the world. (more)

Hi, I'm Alex Fisher-- an Entrepreneur and Engineer in Metro Detroit.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please feel free to contact me or visit my personal site AlexFisher.net.

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