Five Life Events You Shouldn’t Cheap Out On
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: frugality
Saving money and taking frugality to the extreme are some of the major themes of Punny Money. You’ve seen some pretty crazy tips over the years here: going without underwear, spoiling the secret of a baby’s gender, and eating a small country’s worth of food at buffets. But not everything in life should be seen as a financial obstacle to be tackled as cheaply as possible. Here’s a look at some of those important moments in life when it’s not always best to go the cut-rate route.
- Driving school. I was sent to the cheapest driving school in the area, and I got what was paid for. The instructor acted like he got his own driver’s license in a cereal box, and the school never taught us some important things like three-point turning and obeying stop signs. Fortunately Maryland requires a ton of behind-the-wheel training that made up for the school’s lacking curriculum, but I’m sure plenty of teenagers never learned to drive properly because their parents wouldn’t shell out an extra hundred bucks for a decent driving education.
- Wedding… parts of it, at least. There are countless ways to save money on your wedding—elope, tone down on the decorations, don’t invite third cousins you’ve never met. But before you go with the cheapest photographer, videographer, DJ, and other wedding service providers you can find, consider that there’s probably a reason why they cost half as much as all the other guys. So unless you’re happy with 500 out-of-focus photos and a DJ who drinks your open bar dry, talk to family and friends and try to find somebody they recommend for your wedding-day vendors.
- Moving. You know those moving vans you see on the highway that advertise something like “flat-rate moving” or “move your whole house for $399?” Yeah, if you’re lucky, they’ll just break half your stuff. Many of those movers are really scammers or staffed by inexperienced, part-time workers. If you want your stuff to join you at your new home in one piece, spend some time on researching local packers and haulers, and invest some money in a quality move team.
- Starting a new job. Beginning a new position or switching careers could mean that you’ll have to make some pricey changes to your lifestyle. A new job may require laying out some funds for a new wardrobe, a fancy briefcase, or other items you need for your move up the corporate ladder. While there are deals to be found on business dress, you may want to invest in quality merchandise that will last you a long time rather than thrift store rejects that’ll fall apart with frequent use.
- Retirement. Bringing your career to a close and settling in for a long, happy retirement is not cheap. If you’re 65 and planning to live for another 30 or 40 years without working, you better have a million dollars stashed away in safe locations. And hopefully you didn’t trust your life savings to some cheapo accountant who takes your money for a wild ride. Otherwise, you could find yourself filling out job applications with one hand and placing bingo markers with the other.
So before embarking on these big adventures, do your homework, talk to people you know for referrals, and try to find a happy balance between quality and price.
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6 Responses »
1.
Mrs. Micah
November 5th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Indeed. As far as weddings go, I think it’s better to strategically avoid certain things (like a videographer unless you’re really set on it) and spend money on quality things you like. We had no videographer or DJ, which worked out fine.
2.
Patrick
November 5th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Hmmm. How about discount child-birthing? It’s just like those 15 minute oil change shops. Walk in, grab an empty bed, give birth, and you’re done. You can even read a 3 year magazine while you wait. On second thought… Maybe not a good idea.
I agree on the wedding photos. My wife and I paid a good bit for ours, but they were professionally done and we are very happy with them. I also agree on the moving and business wardrobe ideas ~ in fact… I recently wrote about both. (shameless plug, I know)
3.
Getting Green
November 6th, 2007 at 12:39 am
I definitely agree on some of the wedding stuff. You don’t have to spend more than $10,000 to get a great and fun wedding, but you shouldn’t chimp out on the photography, that’s for sure.
4.
dr.xnlb
November 6th, 2007 at 10:37 am
#2 and #3 hit home for me.
As a musician and a DJ (I rarely do weddings - mostly clubs and bars), finding one for my wedding was easy - I bribed one of my more talented friends to come in and rock the party. However, my cousins just hired the first guy they saw. They didn’t cheap out, but they didn’t find out what his schtick was. Before the night was through he brandished a Bobby Brown style handless mic and was trying to teach 100 drunk people the Macarena. Of which the 5 year olds in attendance complied, but the rest of us just rolled our eyes, finished our drinks and left.
As for movers… Before I moved in with my wife, I always moved myself. Hell, I wasn’t even one to shy away from moving my friends. But that got old fast, and when she insisted on spending $500 on moving our 600 sq ft apartment to our new house, I resisted at first. After the move, I swore I would a) Never move myself again and b) spring for the packing service too, next time. Moving sucks, this much is certain. But there is nothing like packing yourself, and then calling over some guys to handle the rest. Not only was nothing broken, but they moved us across town in 1/2 the time I could have done it myself - even if I had twice the people helping.
5.
mbhunter
November 30th, 2007 at 12:51 am
Only $1 million? Might want to take a job as a driving school instructor if that’s all you have until you’re 105.
6.
Matt
January 10th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
“dr.xnlb” says “as a musician and a DJ” and “my cousins just hired the first guy they saw” in the same sentence. Which highlights one of my wedding issues right there.
Don’t go with an _amateur_ friend or relative for a wedding service you care about a lot, but if you have one or more who are actually _professionals_ in the relevant field, it’s worth asking them if they’d be willing to do it for you as a favor, or at least offer mates’ rates.
For ours, we had to pay for the caterer and the DJ, but with three professional photographers and two video producers on the guest list, recording the wedding visuals wasn’t a matter of spending money but soothing the egoes of the ones we didn’t ask to do it for free.
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