Comments on: 16 Things You Don’t Want To Skimp On

By: Seth

Seth — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:26:08 +0000

I have to agree with Bill on education. I see so many borrowers with massive student debt that they could have avoided!

By: Minny

Minny — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:05:24 +0000

I agree with the pet food comment Cynthia.

By: Minny

Minny — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:03:25 +0000

You are either in bed or on your feet – so good mattress and good shoes. Worth getting the best you can afford.

I recently stayed somewhere with a very comfortable mattress, I learned it was a latex mattress. When my wonderful memory foam mattress needs replacing that’s what I’ll get.

By: Cynthia Ford

Cynthia Ford — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:28:52 +0000

I agree with most of these suggestions except maybe the pet food and education. I have a $40,000 piece of paper, I mean degree and so far I don’t feel it has benefited me enough to really say the expense was worth it. A well thought out career plan is important and doing some research to see what jobs are going to be in demand when you are going to graduate can make your college time either a productive investment or a waste of time and debt. As for pets, my parent’s always fed their dogs cheap dog food and weren’t the best at checkups and such and their dogs were not only healthy, but lived happily to very old ages. I think lack of exercise and overfeeding are two of the biggest contributors to poor pet health. That of course is just my opinion.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:53:02 +0000

Unless someone else (parents, grandparents, scholarships, etc.) is going to be paying a large part of the tab, a public university is a much better choice than any private college. There are no advantages, career-wise, of a private university over a public for that first degree. There are small advantages for getting that professional or graduate degree at a prestigious private university, but they are seldom worth the extra $50,000 to $100,000 it takes to get the degree. Once you have that first job, the advantages are reduced even further.

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:52:49 +0000

Agreed. And yes, quality counts! For example, good shoes, if taken care of, will last years and can be repaired multiple times. As you say, too, there are situations where one has to ask, what is good enough? $300, $500, $1000 mattress….? Hybrid, Electric, or traditional car? Sometimes it can get complicated.
Regarding auto and home insurance, tried and true economy measures are possible: a high deductible (set aside the deductible as part of your “Emergency fund”) and grouping both with the same carrier. There are also multiple ways to get discounts, including loyalty and [ahem] Good Driver discounts, smoke detectors, and a home alarm system. Also, document (in “the cloud”) belongings you would want to claim in case of disaster.

Nice, thoughtful article.