Chismillionare's Save or Spend-

The latest issue of Money addresses whether you should spend extra for certain things because it is worth it or save on it because the cheap stuff is good enough or the expensive is not noticeably better. Lets take a look shall we:

Money-
Fridge Save
Microwave Save
Knives Spend
Cabinets Spend
Pepper Mill Spend
Garbage Disposal Save
Pots and Pans Spend
Food Porcessor Save

Chismillionare agrees on all counts except the garbage disposal and food processor which gets a who gives a F&^$

Money
Sofa Spend
Blinds Save
Coffee Table Save
Flowers Spend
TV Save
Theater Save
Cables Save

Chismillionare disagrees on the Flowers, TV, Theater and cables.
Flowers have a very short lifespan with high maintenance and a limited audience. No need to spend more on them.

While you may get as good a picture on your 700 dollar Shinsonic plasma, Chismillionare feels paying a bit extra for materials, fit and finish and warranty is worth it, particularly with an asset having a useful life of 5-7 years. Don't think for one minute you've got the same thing as the guy with the 50" Pioneer Elite plasma because you don't.

Same thing with speakers. The home theater in a box at Wal Mart for 599 may be loud and have 5.1 surround, but it can't hold a candle to anything over at Bang & Olufsen or Bowers and Wilkins or KEF. Think about this- saving on these guarantees your speakers can never be a conversation starter. Not a good thing.

Cables are what hold your pricey equipment together. You are going to spend thousands on equipment and cheap out on a few hundred in cables?? Makes no sense. Don't be the guy who spent 200 extra on his receiver so now he can't get anything other than red yellow and white banana plugs!!!!

Money
Desk Chair Spend
Printer/Scanner/Fax Save
Shredder Spend
Laptop Spend

Chismillionare says SAVE on a laptop. You can get a 15" screen with a Core Duo and 1GB of memory and a 120BG hard drive for about $500 running Vista Premium. Why spend $2000. It makes no sense. It they are selling you that to protect yourself against future obsolesence then it won't work because that is what their schtik is all the time. Why buy now then if it's just going to be worthless next year? Buy cheap, you won't notice a difference and if it gets all trashed, you don't have to worry about throwing the money out the window or making a homeowners claim. Exception for Mac laptops- thoughtful design, durable, a great user experience, terrific user support, great software(Iwork 08 is amazing) and it just plain works. Worth the $1500 I suppose but wait for Leopard before purschasing

Chismillionare says SAVE on a desk chair. Why is it that only people at work have $900 chairs, but at home nothing like that. A $200 leather office chair from Staples is fine. Actually a big green pilates ball works well too. Helps stretch the hips and lower back!!! As we all now blood flow is key. It's so these silly HR ergonomic people can have jobs and Herman Miller can say what cool people they are.

Money
Mattress and Box Spring Spend
Sheets Spend
Comforter Save
Special Occasion Suit Spend
Everyday Suit Save
Diamonds Save
Pearls Save
Jeans Spend

Chismillionare says SKIP the everyday suit. To me, every time you wear a suit it should be a special occasion. It tells people, you mean business. It is the home field advantage of clothing. Chismillionare gets his custom done in Bangkok and Hong Kong for the price of everyday suits state side. In fact, the savings of international custom over domestic often pays for Chismillionare's trip. George Zimmer may tell you you'll like the way you look, but with top shelf stuff he won't need to, you'll know!!!


Money
Driver Save
Grill Spend
Stationary Bike Save
Drill Save
Treadmill Spend
Golf Balls Save

Chismillionare says Spend on the driver but only when the tech is truly a breakthough(Shop for the shaft, it is the engine of a golf club). Fujikura, Aldila NV come to mind.
Same for the golf balls. Spend on the Pro V1 or Nike Platinum if you aren't a complete hacker. They are clearly better than anything else out there even though they are 45 a dozen.

SPEND on the drill!!!!!!. Come on, it's a few hundred. Buy the best you can afford as far as power and battery life. You'll have it for years. Bonus that the new lithium ion batteries allow smaller drills for female users to hang their nick nacks.