Even better I’d put out a request on Freecycle to see if anyone has a cord they don’t need.

On a related note, I’ve been reading Dante’s Inferno and those who waste are placed in the Fourth Circle of Hell. So being frugal is probably a good thing. (Note: hoarders end up in the same place, so don’t be too cheap. Balance is key.) Interestingly, squanderers – those who do violence to their possessions – are in the Seventh Circle of Hell and are chased by a pack of ravenous hounds who tear off their limbs. (Presumably their limbs grow back so that this can continue for eternity.)

So I guess all I’m really trying to say here is… if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: wiggling a power cord isn’t really so bad, right?

It sounds like there are some things smoldering in your life that could soon turn into fires (phone, wiper blades, and cord). This is where an emergency fund might come in useful. No one wants a financially rainy day to happen, but it does. I would consider setting aside a couple of hundred dollars next summer that you only use if you have some unforseen financial need (telephone battery, wiper blades, and power cord come to mind).

In the meantime, I suggest you buy the three items you need. They aren’t wants … they really are needs. You need to drive safe. You need to have the confidence and security that if you have an emergency you will be able to contact help. Lastly, you owe it to yourself to have a little less stress in your life knowing you won’t be left high and dry when you need to get online or write a paper.

I realize it means you’ll pay off around $50.00 less next month toward credit card debt and, after all your scrimping and saving, it feels like you’re going a bit backwards — you aren’t. You still have your eyes set firmily on your goal of paying off the credit cards by November. What is more, I think you will succeed.

Thanks for the blog and keep up the good work.

Kathryn

Anyway, after reading your comment I think you should order the stuff in importance that you have been putting off. For example, my phone and wiper blades would be more important to me right now because of the crappy weather where I live. The cord would be last because it still kind of works and doesn’t help me call anyone if I have an emergency on the side of the road.

Plus, the “wonky-ness” and the wiggling just give your powercord character

I’m not surprised that the opinions on this are as varied as the ones I’ve been receiving from my friends when they actually see me jiggle the power cord in person! A few notes I’d like to make:

1) I was originally lead to believe that a new power cord for my computer would cost about $100, which is why I was so leery of getting one. After writing this post and seeing a few comments, I went on eBay and priced out cords. Turns out I can get one for about $20 – WITH shipping! That changes the landscape significantly.

2) This question isn’t entirely about the power cord – there are other things like it that I really should buy, but haven’t. For example, the battery in my cell phone (which I need for work and school because I commute 16 miles and am often out of the house for 15 hours or more a day) has been unreliable and hasn’t held a proper charge since…. July? I think? Anyway, I thought that would cost me about $50, but then I found one on Amazon for $16, and am considering that as well. (I don’t get a replacement phone until August, it’s probably worth it to extend the life of my current phone until at least then.) There are other items as well – so the general question is not “power cord or no power cord?” but “should I relax my budget a bit because I’m really not buying all the things that I probably should?” (Another item that suddenly comes to mind? new windshield wipers.)

3) For the “frugal” vs. “cheap” thing, I know that I’m both. I tend to think of “frugal” as things that really only affect me personally, and “cheap” as activities I do to save money that adversely affect other people. (Like all the food I mooch. All the time. Sorry guys, but you really should stop offering to buy me food, because you know I’ll always say yes.)

4) Yes, I’m fairly certain that it’s the power CORD and not the connection between the cord and the laptop itself. How do I know this? Well, honestly, I know it from what part of the cord I have to jiggle to make it work! It’s no where near the connection to the laptop.

That said, it would be best if you could test with someone else’s cord to make sure it is the cord. It would be wasteful to buy a new cord when it is the connector in the PC that is the problem. If it is that, from experience, you should ride it out until it breaks down on you. Those can be pricey.

I say do not reduce the credit card pay-down. Your friend doesn’t have it together and is just trying to make you feel bad. That said, I have recently reduced my credit card payments to bolster our lifestyle a little. I’m weak

“That wasn’t the case just a generation ago. 30 years ago, when your home appliances broke, you called the Maytag man. What do people do now? They throw out the dish washer (or whatever) and buy a new one.”

The problem is that repair costs are often so expensive now that it is nearly as cheap, if not cheaper, to buy a new unit than to get the old one repaired.