It’s Called Currency

Maintenance is a word usually prefaced by “car” or “auto” for most of us. We maintain our vehicles with regular oil changes because we know that if we don’t, our transportation will be sitting on the side of the road getting us nowhere. The added benefits of regular maintenance is long-term savings: fewer trips to the mechanic, longer vehicle life, higher resale or trade-in value.

What about other areas of maintenance? Don’t you do yard maintenance when you mow each week, reaping the benefit of a more beautiful home and mitigating the risk of someone being injured by something hidden in tall grass? And how about dish maintenance when you wash them and put them away so that they don’t accidentally get knocked off the counter and broken? Every time you do maintenance, you save yourself money in the long run.

Here are some maintenance items you should be scheduling:

• Vacuum the carpets once a week. This means the dirt isn’t breaking down the fibers and the backing causing you to have to replace the carpet sooner and more frequently.
• Change the filter in your ventilation system monthly. A clogged filter makes the system work harder, resulting in more frequent calls for professional repairs.
• Change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors once a year. Not only could it save your life, it can save you hundreds or thousands in repairs and/or replacement costs.
• Use a monthly enzyme treatment for your septic tank. One extra flush can keep you from some major sewage headaches.
• Get your car tuned up according to your mechanic’s or the manufacturer’s recommendations. This is right in line with why you get those regular oil changes.
• Wash and vacuum your car every couple of weeks. Keeping it clean will help with holding its value over time.
• Visit your doctor annually for the recommended screenings for your age and a physical. You’ll want to catch problems as soon as possible for the best hope of preventing serious illness.
• Get regular exercise, preferably 30 minutes daily. Keeping your body maintained reaps a multitude of benefits including fewer doctor visits and hospital stays, more stamina to get you through stressful times, and a better outlook on life in general.

Sometimes maintenance is little more than putting things away when you’re not using them. I know someone who spent thousands on a motorcycle that he really wanted. After a few months of playing on it, he got busy and didn’t ride much anymore. He left that bike sitting in the side of his yard and paid no attention to it for a couple of years. When he finally decided he wanted to sell it, it was extremely rusted and in very sorry shape. He ended up giving it away because he couldn’t find a buyer. Had he spent just a few minutes moving it to a sheltered location or even putting a cover over it after the last time he rode, he might have been able to get some cash for it.

Or how about the guy who didn’t put away his tools when he was done with a project in the garage? His wife didn’t know there was anything in her parking space and blew two tires parking the car.

Or the couple that didn’t take the time to cover their plants when an early frost warning was posted and lost all of the new plants they had just bought at the nursery with the $100 gift card they had been given for their anniversary?

Maintaining our stuff, and ourselves, is the easiest way to save money in the long run. As Ben said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

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