<p>My mother said “If you watch the pennies the dollars will look after themselves.”</p>
<p>I was thinking about eating out when I was out to lunch today. I have had some expensive meals that were worth every penny and some moderately priced meals that had me wishing I’d brown bagged it. I hate leaving a restaurant feeling that I’ve just paid for a meal that I could have prepared better myself, for less than half the price. (Today’s lunch falls in that category. :()</p>
<p>jbourne–people who negotiate real estate contracts aren’t throwing away 10K in your scenario–they are closing a deal. The result may be zero for the seller or no house for the buyer.</p>
<p>Full Golf club membership. We have the social one that allows us to use the pool and tennis courts but we can only play golf if someone who has a full membership invites us.
If we had the Full one I’d play more but I don’t want to pay the yearly membership fee…maybe when the kids are all grown.:)</p>
<p>Vlad–I understand your mindset but realize that perhaps mom and dad weren’t right about everything or most likely did what was best for them but what they did isn’t necessarily right for you in the present.</p>
<p>The minimum on rent may mean that instead of enjoying life outside of the workplace you don’t really have a comfortable home–only a spot to sleep and shower. A great place to live means you can enjoy cooking and entertaining in your own home–and save money there. It can snowball.</p>
<p>Professional services are there for great reason–
Doctors–my mom felt that way too–now she has had cancer for the past 8 years–a cancer that was probably easily taken care of if she had a doctor so many years ago.
Hope you have insurance.</p>
<p>Investment planners–I’m glad to have them. And my dad is great at investments–but he loves it and still turns to professionals for advice. We couldn’t retire today without good financial advice–it doesn’t come out of thin air. More than paid for itself in huge ways.</p>
<p>Dentists–I hate them too. But I still want to chew when I get old.</p>
<p>Lawyers–if you don’t own anything to put in a will anyways, or have relatives, or kids or grand kids, then you’re okay with legal zoom. For most people it is cheaper to go see a competent attorney and have it done right.</p>
<p>"Generic sugar is just as good as Domino. "</p>
<p>Not exactly. Domino and C&H are cane sugar. Most other generic sugar is beet sugar, or so I am told. Folks who make candy and bake say it doesn’t cook up the same. I always “splurge” for C&H, when and if I depelte the stash I buy on sale.</p>
<p>The biggest issue with professional services is that most people have little idea of what or how much they need for their situation, or how to choose the providers with better quality and value over those who tend to oversell their services, or just do a bad job.</p>
<p>For example, I would not skimp on necessary medical and dental services, but I am aware that some providers tend to push unnecessary services.</p>
<p>I am blessed with many options and a pragmatic core, as is my husband. Somehow, there is a balance between the wish to splurge on something special (usually an experience vs. a “thing”) and a resistance to wasting money or paying full price. Long may it wave. </p>
<p>There are many "not even if I won the lottery items (including mega-fancy cars and almost any items that make big statements about their cost). I like to keep it subtle, but still have fun. So far, so good.</p>
<p>No diamond ring for me either. Partly because of the 4 C’s that were mentioned, partly because I don’t like wearing rings with parts that stick out, partly because spending the money seemed insane! When I was younger I just hated romantic gestures that seemed overly traditional too. I think I was a cranky old man before my time.</p>
<p>Now, what do I do with my mother’s and grandmother’s rings that are buried somewhere in my sock drawer?</p>
<p>I wonder what kind of responses this thread would get if instead it was titled, “Is there anything expensive that you can’t afford, but you buy anyways?”</p>
<p>I have health insurance now (as of last Friday) that’s cheap (cheaper than the $800 a year to go without it) and covers pretty much 100% of everything. I don’t know what exactly we’ve had as a family before but I think it varied at different times between something that only covers extremely expensive things or just no insurance so I’m not that used to it. That’s not an option anymore though. But we’ve all lived. I just don’t see the need for a physical every year or anything like that, but I’ll probably do it anyway now just because it’s free. </p>
<p>I’d definitely have some mistrust of dental procedures that people tout as necessary. Everyone says you have to get your wisdom teeth taken out, I’ve got mine in and so does everyone in my family and we’ve had no problems. That’s thousands of dollars that really just does not need to be spent. I’ve never needed professional cleaning or anything, just brush every day, no one in my family has ever gotten cavities. But my health insurance now includes free cleanings so I’ll probably do that too. </p>
<p>My dad knows what he’s doing as far as I can tell when it comes to investing, but that’s literally like a hobby to him. For myself, I’ll just buy the professional financial products and pay whatever fee it is. With the amount of money I have it’s probably not worth my time to try to be that diligent. </p>
<p>My place is actually not bad at all. The heating and hot water is really good here. Last week when it was 20-something below the heating had no problem keeping up. And you could take a 45 minute shower here and there will still be hot water. And my room is very big, like 10’x14’ or 10’x15’ I think. More expensive apartments are mostly just better location and have a dishwasher, newer buildings, stuff like that I don’t really care about.</p>
<p>I just can’t get into cars. We have a 10 year old Honda and a 12 year old Ford, plus my husband’s business car. Our next door neighbors have a Mercedes, a Landrover, a Porsche, a Maserati, and a Lamborghini, plus a Ducati motorcycle. My boys drool when we drive by their house; I do the mental math of how expensive their insurance must be, and cringe at the thought.</p>
<p>However, it is probably worth selecting a primary physician and getting an initial checkup to get a baseline on such commonly measured things like blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol, etc. and to have an association with a primary physician whom you can go to if you get sick enough to need one. Some medical groups have physician profiles on their web sites to help you select one.</p>
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<p>In some countries, wisdom teeth are only removed if they cause trouble. Impacted wisdom teeth (coming in uselessly crooked, partially erupted, etc.) are more likely to cause trouble, but not guaranteed to do so. If your wisdom teeth are properly aligned and useful, count yourself lucky.</p>
<p>Professional cleanings every six months to a year are to remove hardened tartar deposits that can eventually cause your gums to recede. This may be more of an issue if you do not floss. Recommended frequency may be higher if you have gum disease or a high rate of tartar buildup, or other high risk factors.</p>
<p>What appears to be commonly oversold by some dentists is too-frequent X-rays to detect small cavities between teeth. The ADA’s recommendation for low risk (i.e. not cavity prone) patients is bite wings every two to three years, but some dentists seem to want to take more X-rays every year.</p>
<p>You should ask your father to teach you enough of the basics so that you can choose wisely among the financial products available. You need to know the different risk and reward characteristics of various types of investments in order to know what is appropriate for your savings and investment goals. Some carry significantly higher fees than others, which can be a drag on the rate of return you get on them. There are also occasional outright scams (e.g. Madoff).</p>