Saving Money By Cutting Corners... Worth It??

[MA-Caver]

Interesting article and it could help save some money here and there... check it out...

From warehouse clubs to home and car maintenance these tips are pretty good...

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107171/is-it-worth-it?mod=bb-budgeting

Here's the low down in short for details read the article:

Getting an annual furnace checkup. YES

Hiring A Lawyer to draw up your Will : YES

Joining a warehouse club: YES

Buying renter's insurance for your apartment: YES

Changing your car's oil every 3000 miles: NO

Taking the brand-name prescription drug instead of the generic: NO

Investing in a Mutual Fund with a sales load vs a No Load fund: NO

Buying an Extended Warranty for your car: NO

Getting Accidental Death Insurance: NO

Buying Premium Gasoline when the owners manual says Regular is fine: NO

Pretty neat little tips... have you got any of your own?

I've found out that it is worth buying a "pre-paid" funeral service ahead of time so that your surviving family doesn't have to worry about making all the arrangements in the midst of their grief. Also some funeral services have a payment plan that you can start making and if you or your loved one under this plan dies any time before the final payment then the funeral is all paid for with no additional cost or payments.
THAT I think is really saving (the family) lots of money, time and grief. You can pick out the coffin you want and the services that YOU'D rather have and spare the love ones the anguish of trying to remember what it is that you'd like (songs, headstone, flowers, etc.) and the guilt if they remember at the last minute that they forgot to do this or that to remember you by.

 

[Flea]

The thing with corner-cutting is that it's highly subjective as to what works and what doesn't. We all have unique circumstances and priorities. For example, my personal answers to some of your examples would differ. I've found through trial and error that I respond poorly to certain generic pharmaceuticals (but not all of them.) I wouldn't join a warehouse club because I'm single in a tiny apartment and have no room to store that inevitable avalanche of stuff. And because I have no kids, there's no point to buying life insurance.

I think the real benefit of "cutting corners" comes when people evaluate their true needs mindfully, and how their expenditures align with their philosophies and life goals. Approach it properly and it's a spiritual practice on a par with MA. Most people don't and it's a work in progress for me as well. If anyone's interested, here's a great resource on the spiritual aspect of living frugally:

http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/

Thanks for the article, Caver.

 

[jks9199]

One personal rule I have... I don't cut corners where safety is involved. I can agree with going with the outside limits on oil changes, for example, but not brake service or tires. But even with oil changes -- read the manual and pay close attention to what they recommend for how YOU drive. Many of us qualify as "heavy use"; cheating on maintenance will shorten vehicle life.

It's also worthwile to re-examine your auto insurance. Can you raise the deductible? Do you need to carry comprehensive insurance -- or just minimum collision? Those changes can make pretty big deductions in your car insurance bill. Similar review may help your home insurance...

 

[jks9199]

The thing with corner-cutting is that it's highly subjective as to what works and what doesn't. We all have unique circumstances and priorities. For example, my personal answers to some of your examples would differ. I've found through trial and error that I respond poorly to certain generic pharmaceuticals (but not all of them.) I wouldn't join a warehouse club because I'm single in a tiny apartment and have no room to store that inevitable avalanche of stuff. And because I have no kids, there's no point to buying life insurance.

Were you to be run over by a truck tomorrow, could your family easily absorb the costs of your funeral? Pay any outstanding debts? Unless your 110% certain that they could -- get at least the bare minimum life insurance. That's what it'll go to.

 

[MA-Caver]

Were you to be run over by a truck tomorrow, could your family easily absorb the costs of your funeral? Pay any outstanding debts? Unless your 110% certain that they could -- get at least the bare minimum life insurance. That's what it'll go to.

Amen to that... I've been assigned by my family to do the research on costs for my father's funeral... at present it will cost basic funeral roughly $12,000 and that isn't for the plot or head stone (which thankfully is already bought and paid for when my mother passed away some 30 years earlier).
So if your family is well to do then okay... but personally I'd just as soon not stick them with that bill... sometimes insurance doesn't cover it... unless you got something like a $50 to 100K policy.

I tend to buy things and will wear them to the ground. Making it last as long as possible. I've shoes that are about 10 years old... beat to snot but still wearable around the house for just bum-around type shoes for example.

 

[Flea]

Were you to be run over by a truck tomorrow, could your family easily absorb the costs of your funeral? Pay any outstanding debts? Unless your 110% certain that they could -- get at least the bare minimum life insurance. That's what it'll go to.

Interesting. My paternal grandparents have been stubbornly oblivious to their own mortality - at 93 my grandmother doesn't even have a will. "Why should I do that? I'm just fine!"

When my GF died a few years ago were unanimous about cremating him as cheaply as possible, in a corrugated cardboard box. Not because we didn't love him (oh!) but because he was just as dead either way, and as a hardcore cheapskate we knew he would appreciate the touch. My maternal grandparents are the polar opposite, prepaying everything about 15 years ago and giving my mother all the associated paperwork.

Personally I'm suspicious of insurance companies (see the latest story on AIG and the Hudson river plane crash.) I'd rather do the homework and save up and prepay myself. I'll be just as dead either way too, so I'm not interested in a fancy box or a big ceremony. Which goes right back to the point about effective corner-cutting being subjective.