Comments on: A Life Without Debt: Take Care of Your Stuff

By: rob62521

rob62521 — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:03:08 +0000

Good points about taking care of stuff. And Jay, I agree, taking care of yourself should be at the top of the list. Eating well, exercising, having friends — good for physical and mental health.

By: larabelle

larabelle — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:05:33 +0000

This article came at such a good time. I just completed $1,300 worth of car repairs and routine maintenance (timing belt, water pump, coolant flush etc). My car is in good shape and I am sure I will have many more years of life in it. It is also paid for!!!

I happened to mention to one of my nonfrugal relatives that I had paid out $1300 and his response was that instead of paying for repairs/routine maintenance I should just buy a new car. I thought about that for about a half a second as I would have a car payment. I then realized that this same relative has always had a car payment and is BROKE!!! I think I will continue to maintain and drive my present car

By: Jay Gatsby

Jay Gatsby — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:45:23 +0000

The most important preventative maintenance you can perform is on YOURSELF. Material things come and go from your life, while your life, if you take care of yourself, will outlast any importance you placed on such things.

By: mom-from-missouri

mom-from-missouri — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:43:06 +0000

Sometimes though, it bites you.
We have run into this with our computers. Our older ones were working fine, then an issue here and there–many places won’t fix them-they want to sell you a newer one. 5 shops turned us down=then we found a guy who does it out of his home on the side and he repaired them for $30 each. He added memory or did some updates and they hopefully will last another 15 years each!

By: Monkey Mama

Monkey Mama — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:03:03 +0000

Agreed about 90%. We notice this A LOT with our friends, etc.

My only disagreement is when it comes to preventitive maintenance. Good advice, of course. But most “recommended maintenance” is WAY overkill and more costly than necessary.

Figure out what is reall necessary (i.e. regular oil changes) and follow the “fix it immediately” philosophy. I have found being debt free that we do not put off minor repairs that the average person tends to due to lack of funds.

On the flip side, most of my frugal friends are a little more discerning on regular maintenance than the non-frugal ones who believe everything a sales person tells them.

By: hair bow girl

hair bow girl — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:50:19 +0000

We recently just paid off all debut except for our mortgage. These are good tips and I’m a firm believer of taking care of your things. I also think it makes sense to watch for really good deals (especially during this recession) and buy items of higher quality and a good reputation.