Do Your Homework!

A good friend of mine posted this comment on Facebook the other day, in response to my request for more frugal ideas.

Frugal suggestion: when getting ready to purchase pricey cleats for soccer-playing daughter... cleats that SHE picked out... seek advice from someone besides said daughter. We just got back from buying her a new pair of cleats because the first pair—the oh-so-overwhelmingly-expensive-Christmas-surprise cleats—are for defenders... NOT STRIKERS. And yes... our kid is a STRIKER!!! And she is soooooo busted.

I had to laugh at the sooooooo busted part, but I could totally sympathize with her dilemma. It's happened to me before, too. When making a big purchase, it pays to do your homework. be sure the item is not only what you want, but also that it's what you need. Here's a couple more lessons learned the hard way:

Never buy a front-loader washer (or any large appliance) based solely on industry reviews. Talk to people who own the type of appliance you want to buy. Find out how it works in the real world. I've already ranted about my pathetic, pitiful excuse for a washing machine. I was swayed by all the industry reviews in the press. I believed "the experts" when they said that the high-efficiency washers would get your clothes cleaner with less water. I should have talked to people who already owned them. It's only after suffering through many laundry woes that I've learned that I am not alone in thinking these washers are anything but highly efficient.

Know all the facts. My son's xBox 360 was having problems. It would not read some disks, or would freeze up or boot him out of games (frankly, I didn't see this as a problem). He did some research online and decided that he needed to replace the DVD drive, a diagnosis that his father agreed with. He went online, found a good price on a DVD drive that was touted to be for xBox 360, so he bought it. It arrived, and when he and his dad started trying to figure out how to swap the old one out, they did some more research online. Only then did they realize that there are two different brands of DVD drives that get put into xBoxes, and that they had purchased the wrong type. As the two have different architecture, it was not going to be possible to use the one he purchased as a replacement. Luckily, we ended up only being out the cost of return shipping, as the seller was very understanding and allowed us to return the drive. My son settled for giving the inside of his xBox a good cleaning out with compressed air, and if he ever has time to play it again (junior year in high school is tough!), he'll have to decide what to do at that point.

The moral of the story: do your homework! Be sure you know what you are getting before you plunk down major cash.