Spending to save

Some thoughts on how an initial outlay of cash can save you money in the long run (sometimes)...

Sometimes it just makes sense to spend money.

Yesterday I had to take my car to the shop AGAIN. I just poured $632.66 into her a month and a half before (brakes and exhaust systems are important and, apparently, pricey) and was still reeling from that financial blow. I was worried about a metallic scraping sound that I heard every time I made a left turn. I was worried about the cost, but I am also a big believer in fixing little problems before they grow into big problems or before, say, your front left wheel falls off as you are zipping down the highway at 60 miles an hour. My boyfriend and I discussed our preventative maintenance philosophy on the way back from dropping my car off. Do I believe that my car needs the $400 tune-up the Honda dealer tried to sell me? No. Do I change my oil religiously every 3,000 miles? Yes. As he put it, a friend of his who knew something about cars had told him once "If it comes down to you can afford to eat OR you can afford to change the oil... you change the oil." Of course, we both try very hard to make sure that we're never in THAT position, but it illustrates my point.

Fortunately, the sound appeared to be a bent dust shield scraping a rotor-- nothing to worry about, just annoying, and they bent it back into shape for free! :)

Other times that an initial outlay can save you money:

* Personal grooming implements. I like to have neat eyebrows. I have very dark hair and fairly pale skin, so it shows if I don't keep after them. I love my relatively expensive tweezers and recently purchased a little brush and scissors set that I am still figuring out exactly how to use. Each was probably $10-15. That seems steep... until you think about dropping $10 every time you get your brows waxed at a salon. I am still working on achieving the perfect upper arch... but things are getting better and I recoup my outlay in about three months. My tweezers and $4 eyelash curler have worked great for me for four years-- though I should probably get some replacement cushions for the curler and see if there's an easy way to sharpen the tweezers a bit. :) But $30 every 4-5 years vs. $10 every month or six weeks is a pretty easy one to call.

* Oil changes. Nasty things happen to your engine if you don't keep after these. Same goes for tires-- oil changes and tires are worth staying on top of. You don't want your engine to self-destruct, and you certainly don't want to go skidding off of the road into a tree.

* A good thermos, water bottle, and filter pitcher. I take my own thermos of coffee to work every day (the machine in the lounge charges 50 cents for a mugful!) and also bring a 32-ounce bottle of water from my filter pitcher (the vending machine at work charges $1.25 for a 20-oz bottle, and I can't stand the tap water). I recouped my costs on those long ago.

* A DVD player! Have you gone to a movie theater lately?! It's MUCH cheaper to stay home and rent! At about $10 a ticket and considering the falling cost of DVD players, yours will pay for itself in about three dates. Three. Less, if you are into buying popcorn from the concession stand!

* In my case, a digital converter box. The remainder of the purchase price after the government coupon is less than I would pay for a month of cable service. If times get hard in the next year or so, I may be glad that I made the $40 investment so I can at least watch The King of Queens in the evenings.

* Quite possibly a new pair of work shoes. I don't want to retire my old black ones, but my feet have been giving me problems lately and I fear that the totally shot soles of the shoes I wear 300 days a year may be a contributing factor. Better to spend $50 now than have podiatrist bills later. :)

* This is somewhat debatable, but think about reusable feminine hygiene products. A Diva Cup or similar will cost a little less than $30, but it will last for years, as opposed to a $6 box of tampons that will last you a couple of months. I intend to discuss the option with my doctor at my next appointment; I like mine a lot, but there are some (unproven) concerns floating around the Web that they may have a connection to endometriosis. One option is to use a cup during the day but other forms of "protection" at night; this combination of methods could minimize any theoretical risk but also provide a lot of the convenience and savings benefits.

These are just a few examples. There are many, many more, and they will vary from person to person. For instance, I have a suspicion that a washer and dryer would fit this category for many people. If you have easy access to laundry facilities, you don't need to buy as many clothes to stretch your laundry days out, and I'm sure the utilities to operate them would add up to less than what you feed into the machines at a laundromat. In my current situation, it's not feasible, but I look forward to having my own laundry room someday. :)