The Case for Cash

I know you don’t want to hear this and neither did I, but we wouldn’t be in a financial mess if we’d only lived within our means…….”cash means” that is and paid close attention to our wealth. Borrowing on time is a gamble. It’s a gamble that you are still living with the same job or better during the agreed upon time it takes to pay a debt back. It’s a risk you and your creditor take that you and/or your family or those you are obligated to will remain healthy and prosperous so that you do have the means to pay back your debt. It’s an assumption that life will stay status quo or just as it is or better when you agree to the debt. Well, for some the gamble pays off but today a large part of the country lost that bet. There are millions of Americans currently are in debt up to their eyeballs either through mortgages some couldn’t afford, high credit card debt, loans borrowed on assets that have lost their value, positive cash positions in investments and retirements lost and that big old ugly word no one wants to hear, unemployment. But it’s not just in these troubled times that we sometimes find ourselves in this predicament. It is our reliance on credit that we have become accustomed to that can create serious problems in any economy.

I could quote statistics all day but I’m not because you already know how dire this economy is. If financial stress hasn’t touched you yet it may one day. The reliance on credit cards is massive. In the wrong hands credit cards can kill a financial future and sometimes even a personal relationship. If you can’t pay for it with the money in your pocket you don’t need it. Sure its tough to wait for “things” that are wanted and not needed but the sense of accomplishment, self worth and less stress are well worth the wait.

The numbers of homeowners who are homeowners no longer are now in positions of renters and some are homeless. Imagine the numbers of children losing the comfort of the only home they have known and not understanding what has happened. Could it have been avoided? While there are many who have no choice through unemployment or illness to let homes go, a whopping group that has single-handedly become victims through their own fault have set our home values plummeting, banks in need of financial help, tightening of future credit and an atmosphere of mistrust in the housing industry.

The Enron workers losing all their savings in the company pensions and stock should have been lesson enough that you can’t invest in just one thing all your lives. The simple physics rule can be applied here as with all things. “What goes up must come down.” And down it has come; some investments worse than others and some little at all. That would indicate that “diversification” or spreading your investments around into different companies, different funds, different classifications might have been a safer bet. You might have lost less had you been watching from the start. And then we have the greedy little Bernie Madoffs of the world who too are scammers. Shame on those who saw but didn’t believe or pay attention. They are the ones who have lost.

The one pass I will give most people today is the rising loss of jobs. Companies just as guilty of aggressive growth and financial gambling have found themselves having to cut out their most important resource….their workers. True while some responsible companies don’t have a choice there are many companies who grew at all costs without regard to eventually running into a financial brick wall. It happens. There’s a cycle for everything. Even the oldest and most sustainable of companies have had their cycles. The question is, has the management prepared for it?

I would have to say that my sympathies, even with myself are not given freely when it comes to viewing this massive financial mismanagement on so many levels. I am not advocating becoming a miser but I am advocating the power of cash. The need to be debt free is what will ultimately save us and our futures.

Home Remodeling Savings

With these days of “less is best” in terms of spending money it pays to take a little time to shop and pay attention to what companies have to offer. I found one such company online while looking for a specific faucet to complete my much needed bathroom remodel. I bought an older home (circa 1965) and my old hot water shower faucet died two years ago on Memorial Day weekend. You can imagine I had to pay top rate for an emergency plumber. The shower faucet was shot and the plumbing needed work. The bathroom was uncomfortably grotty at best so we decided it was time to completely redo the bathroom. Being a single mother, trying to be frugal with my money I decided that any home remodel would be done in cash and I would not go into debt over upgrades. I would do as much myself as possible with the help of 3 of my 4 able-bodied boys.

Long story short, it took me 2 years and I am on the finishing touches. The last of my purchases was a matching sink faucet to the shower fixtures. I chose Kohler for their durability, reputation, upgrade and appearance. I was looking for a specific sink faucet and called plumbers who can purchase through Kohler showrooms, contractors with discounts at showrooms and construction companies and then looked online. The prices locally were $340.00 to $270.00. I, of course, was looking for a brushed nickel finish which is more expensive. I was a bit wary of ordering plumbing supplies online but I looked because cash matters. I found the lowest price of $252.66 at a place that, upon review, appeared to have some "unsatisfied" customers. Keeping in mind that any company can find friends and family to go out and plaster great reviews I explored further. I found a few other plumbing suppliers around the country with prices anywhere from $290.00 down to $265.29. Of course you’d like to get the best deal possible but I happened upon a company from New York that listed my faucet at $269.95. However, upon closer look at their website, they guaranteed that if you could prove this faucet listed lower elsewhere they would match it. They had great independent reviews as well.

I called PEX Supply Inc. to ask about the faucet, in-stock status and whether they would meet the price I found on another site. What a friendly and polite customer service person! After giving her the information she professionally got approval to match the price after looking for the website I gave her. We completed the transaction. She also explained (as I’m always wanting things yesterday) that the order is processed promptly and sent to the nearest warehouse to me for fastest delivery. She also made sure it was in-stock for me.

I received my purchase in two business days (I’m sure some other orders may take longer) and I have what I was looking for to finish just in time for a graduation party. I saved $17.29 which may not seem like a gold mine to most but is enough to pay for a full week of lunches for me. Not to mention getting a good price from a good company is somehow so satisfying. Saving money on quality products allows one to get what one wants. My bathroom, I can jokingly say is the nicest room in my house at present and a far cry from the 1965 mess I had. On to the next project!!!!