Good afternoon! AnnieJo here, guest-hosting Frugal Fridays with a heartily UN-glamorous topic in the ongoing frugality chronicles: Maintenance! We'll take a look at the intersection of maintenance and frugality from several angles -- and we'll see if I've come up with any you didn't expect, and what new perspectives the comments will bring.
In the words of your regular host sarahnity:
Welcome to Frugal Fridays where we share money saving tips, discuss living frugally and generally talk about personal finance issues.
I must confess upfront that I am no poster child for maintenance issues. I'm actually quite the procrastinator. Maintenance is often something I have to nag (or at least remind) myself to do. And I'm surely not alone in this -- it's something that happens on a governmental level, all the time. Not only does a certain bridge in Minnesota comes to mind, but so does a column I read recently by Alex Marshall in the Feb. 2008 issue of Governing magazine:
Why are streets here [the US] so pocked and pitted? There is, of course, a deep bias in our system against spending money on maintenance.... It seems to be true not just in transportation but in virtually every sector of government, from parks to schools to sewer systems. It has to do, I think, with the separation of capital from operating budgets and the ability to use debt to fund capital improvements.
I think it also has to do with the fact that we've got a bias toward new sexy exciting projects. Much more payoff for a politician to bring an exciting new "something" to her district, than to secure funding for keeping up that which is already there. And what's more fun, shopping for a new car, or keeping up with the maintenance on the ol' reliable?
But here's an initial hint on seeing maintenance in a more positive light. Being a sucker for words, I often find myself looking up the etymology of concepts I write about. Here's what I found this time: the word "maintenance" comes from the Latin "manu tenere," to hold in the hand.
I love that image -- a gentle, hands-on approach to taking care of keeping things in good condition.
So, let's talk about how we can hold in our hands that which we have, and keep an eye to frugality at the same time.
I submit four three categories for consideration today:
- Maintaining our homes
- Maintaining our "wheels"
- Maintaining our bodies
Maintaining our possessions [cancelled due to schedule tightness - maybe another time!]
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Maintaining our homes
The "home maintenance" category does have some overlap with the topic nicely handled by mbzoltan a couple of months of Frugal Fridays ago, in Frugal Fridays: DIY, the Internet, and Home Improvement. I commend to you the online resources included in that diary! The distinction that made this worth a new diary is the difference between "home improvement" (new projects) and "home maintenance" (taking care of what you already have).
In a similar vein, do check out claude's excellent Saturday Morning Home Repair series. It's a great venue to ask a home-maintenance question and get input from friendly knowledgeable fellow Kossacks!
The Web abounds with home maintenance "to-do" lists -- just Google "home maintenance calendar" or "home maintenance checklist". Some are bare-bones, some are ridiculously detailed, some are driven by a profit motive (as in, hire us to inspect your house and fix all of THIS kind of thing we'll find wrong!)
Here are some of the more intriguing ones I'm aware of:
Money Magazine ran a helpful home-maintenance calendar in an article called "Protect Your Home in 2006". As you might expect from Money, they put it into fine frugal perspective:
Termites. Water leaks. Fire hazards. They're all out to turn your biggest asset into a money pit. But home upkeep needn't swallow your weekends and lay waste to your savings. "Do the maintenance in small doses and you'll avoid the big problems later," says David MacLellan, author of The National Home Maintenance Manual.
The article then lists a year's worth of tasks, month by month, with three or four bullet points per month. A nice touch - they include some cost estimates, both pro & DIY, and link to some DIY resources.
Flylady's Home Maintenance Control Journal (a 41-page pdf)
This document from Marla Cilley's Flylady website is designed to help the poor soul who's fallen far behind in caring for their home, and might not know where to start. The first part of the document leads you through a walk-through of your home & yard to identify issues that you may have been neglecting. There's a list of a basic set of useful maintenance tools; general thoughts about various categories of maintenance (plumbing, electrical, car, yard, etc.) and then a five-page list of recommended tasks, divided seasonally.
The "money quote" (from a frugal perspective):
When it comes down to a stitch in time with our homes, it can be as simple as a turn of a screwdriver or a drop of oil. The secret is to not ignore it when you see something that needs doing; just use the "Do it now" Principle to get it done and not sidetrack you.
Another detailed calendar-based resource can be found at Demesne.info, Home Maintenance and Repair Information. This site includes a separate checklist for each month of the year, taking a broad definition of home maintenance that includes cleaning and organizing tasks (e.g. clean mini-blinds, catch up on paper filing, do taxes.) Demesne also includes monthly tips for what goes on sale when.
Bob Vila's Home Maintenance Checklist may appeal to those who want something more pared-down. This is a short-and-sweet 15-point checklist.
Here are some samples culled from the above resources. I've pulled out the ones that seem to me to have the biggest frugal bang for the buck (or the effort), things that are either remarkably easy to do, or that don't cost much to do but protect you from serious and expensive problems. However, the real value of the checklists is their use as a complete overview, rather than a piecemeal approach!
-- Grab a screwdriver and wander the entire house, tightening loose screws on doors, drawers, cabinetry and furniture. [Money]
-- Clean clothes dryer vents and hoses; lint buildup is a fire hazard! [I think that all of the above lists covered this]
-- Check your smoke & carbon monoxide alarms twice annually. A standard hint in the U.S. is to do so when you change your clocks for Daylight Savings.
-- If you have a fireplace and use it, have it inspected & cleaned annually. (More fire safety!)
-- Check thresholds and carpets for seams that could cause tripping. [Flylady]
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Maintaining our "Wheels"
I'm including both cars and bicycles here, mostly because they're both a part of my commuting patterns! And both definitely have maintenance needs.
I'm a big fan of "Car Talk" with Click & Clack (aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi), and they have quite a web presence. Although they have their own domain name, I'm linking to their site at cars.com because I think it organizes their information better in terms of auto maintenance. There's a search feature for past columns, a maintenance advice area by subject (air filters, brakes, oil changes, etc) and a section on do-it-yourself vs. mechanic service.
The Car Talk guys have an interesting take on various scheduled maintenances. For example, they recommend doing oil changes as scheduled. However, when it comes to rotating tires, they recommend that you do so only when it costs $20 or less (for example, if your mechanic already has the tires off for something). Otherwise, they claim, you end up spending more than you'd save in terms of tires wearing out.
The Flylady document mentioned above has a section on automobiles, aimed primarily at women who might be less than involved in the care of their car. Very basic tip here, but I bet not all of us have done it: read your car's manual! (Here's a link from Edmunds about how to find your car's manual online.)
The resource above from the Desmesne site includes a suggestion for car emergency kits. In May, the warm-weather kit includes water, snacks, blanket, flashlight, and jumper cables. In October, the larger winter kit includes blankets, change of clothes, jumper cables, star tire iron, chains if you live in a snow zone, sack of sand or cat litter, small shovel, snacks and water, and flashlight.
For bicycles, I find do-it-yourself to be rather less intimidating than for cars. As Jim Langley says in his bike repair site, Wrench,
One of the coolest things about bicycles is that they’re darn easy to fix; fun to fix, too. Everything’s right there, easy to see and figure out.
The Wrench site includes a nice list of bike repair articles, including an introductory article on basic bike care.
Another helpful bike repair site comes from Park Tools -- even if they're trying to sell you tools, they do have some good repair instructions. Don't be taken aback if you click on Repair How-Tos and get asked to Select a Region -- it's not that bikes are different in the South vs. the Midwest, it's that you get to choose what part of the bike you want to learn about!
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Maintaining our Bodies
For body maintenance, I'm going to take a different approach, mostly because I think we already pretty much know what it is we could be doing to take better care of ourselves. And the reasons that we may not be doing it are often tangly-complex, and it's hard to make suggestions without coming across as nagging. I offer these up more as gentle reminders of manu tenere.
Frugal body-maintenance tip #1: stop smoking (as if you needed to hear it again, right?) Money saved on the ciggies themselves, money saved in health care costs, etc. For your consideration, a recommended diary from earlier this month: Dallasdoc's Guide to Stopping Smoking
Frugal body maintenance tip #2: Get a little bit more exercise. It costs so little (the time it takes for a walk), and feels so good.
Frugal body maintenance tip #3: Mindful eating. Could be a whole diary, but I'll just say two frugal words: portion sizes. There, that was easy!
Frugal body maintenance tip #4: Brushing & flossing. Costs little more than your time, but healthy teeth don't just save on dental bills, they can also reduce risks for heart attack or stroke, believe it or not.
Frugal body maintenance tip #5: Regular checkups, dental & physical. If you have insurance coverage, this should be a frugal given. If not, it may be more of a thought process, but consider: HMOs, the ultimate oddsmakers in health-care penny-pinching, find preventative care to be worth their financial while...
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OK, I ran out of time & energy for the "Maintaining our Possessions" section. Besides, I've run on long enough. Include it in the comments if you will, or maybe it's a separate diary sometime in the future.