You keep promising that you’ll fix it — when you have to.
You’re trying to be thrifty.
Until then, that broken thing is still working well enough, so no harm, no foul, right?
Here are five reasons that this mentality is draining your wallet more than you think.
The Never-Ending Repairs
One repair doesn’t seem like much. But these fixes add up over time, and before you know it, you’ve spent more patching up that old car or appliance than it would’ve cost to just get a new one. It’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle that many people find themselves in because they want to believe they don’t need to invest in something new.
Sometimes that’s true; you shouldn’t replace something just because it broke once or twice. It’s when you’re knee-deep in the sunken cost fallacy that you need to take a hard look at whether these constant repairs are worth it.
Higher Bills
Old appliances are nowhere near as energy-efficient as new models. They’re even worse when they’re broken or unoptimized. Yes, that AC from the 90s technically can cool your living room in a pinch, but you’ll certainly be paying top dollar for a subpar experience.
Much like waiting for repairs, it can get bad enough that you’d end up funding a new appliance with how much more you’re spending on electricity. This could take a year or two to be true, but that doesn’t make it any less worth looking into replacing things before they get to that point.
The Mental Drain
It’s not just about time or money. It’s the frustration. The constant low-level stress of stuff that just won’t work the way it’s supposed to. It’s an exhausting way to live, especially if more than one appliance or electronic in your home is hanging on for dear life.
This isn’t a direct financial cost, but it’s still draining away a precious resource. And most people won’t even realize just how much these small things can affect them until the appliance finally kicks the bucket and they upgrade to a new one.
Liability and Hazards
Playing safety roulette with things that need attention, like your electrical or HVAC unit, is a risky gamble that doesn’t pay off. These things can start a fire, and suddenly, your savings go up in smoke.
It’s easy to think it won’t happen to you, and many people could get away with a broken appliance without something dramatic happening to them. But when you consider what happens if you’re wrong, you’ll realize that it isn’t worth it, monetarily or otherwise.
Delaying the Inevitable
The most frustrating thing about putting off something that needs repairing or replacing is that it’s only ever going to get worse. Quick fixes might buy you some time, but these band-aids rarely last as long as you need them to.
Unless you solve the problem, the original issue gets worse and hemorrhages more money. You’re almost always left with a bigger and more expensive mess than if you’d just forked over the cash when you first noticed the issue.
