Time ran an article last week about 10 things you might want to pick up for cheaper now that the recession has hit. As always with these list thingies, Cheaplanders should take them with a grain of salt. Sometimes a grain of salt the size of a house, since “news” nowadays is so often mere entertainment.

But nevertheless, I went through their list and wrote down whether I agreed with them or not. Please remember - this kind of stuff always comes down to individual tastes. I’m no expert and you’ll probably disagree with everything some things.

1. Fancy Clothes - Disagree

I’m a typical guy so of course my fashion sense is suspect. But I really believe that the amount of money that most women, er, people, spend on new clothes is frankly, OBSCENE. In the article, they reference cashmere and fancy tuxedos. Come on, Eileen. I understand perhaps buying clothes for work, and maybe a few more pricier items for special occasions. But it’s just stupid to have a huge closet of brand new clothes, each one that will maybe get worn once or twice TOTAL in it’s lifetime. It fills me with fury. OK, not fury. But anyway, it’s ridiculous. There is way too much attention being paid to “fashion”. Screw fashion and the cable show (whatever that was) horse it rode in on.

Now, buying fancy threads at the thrift - that’s a different story.

2. Computer Memory - Agree Somewhat

Memory and Hard Drive prices have pretty much dropped through the floor, even before the “recession” started. I have to admit picking up a 500Gig hard drive for backups recently, even though I’ve sworn to cut down on the number of tech things we buy. I’ve also considered upgrading memory for our laptop. I think it’s been a good time to jump in for awhile, but no need to go overboard. Just get what you need.

3. Cameras - Agree

Digital cameras are so cheap nowadays it’s not even funny. Everyone and their mom (especially moms, it seems) has one already. And while I don’t want to encourage yet more lookieloos crappily snapping away and then posting gratuitously to flickr, if you were waiting until a dip in prices, this seems like a decent time to get one.

4. Misc Home Furnishings - Disagree Somewhat

This is a pretty big category, but I think it comes down to this: Don’t buy crap you don’t need. A second corollary is: Don’t buy new crap when your old crap works fine. Beyond that, there are bargains out there - but it can be hard to stick to buying only what you need when everything seems like a bargain. Although, I have to admit I’ve been waiting and waiting to get new flat screen TV. We still live in the age of the cathode ray tube - last TV purchase was in 2001? It’s become almost a game to outwait the dropping prices.

5. Lobster - Disagree Completely

Uh, ok. They just put this bullet point in because they couldn’t think of anything else. Someone needs to put a bullet in that bullet point’s head. I also disagree with all the other luxury food items like Caviar, Foie Gras, crap with Gold Foil in it, and any of those Richie Rich joke $1000 food items. P.S. my disagreement partially has to do with the fact that you can go catch lobster of the SoCal coast pretty easily when they’re in season, and the license isn’t too expensive. Plus, the Chinese restaurants near us always have $4.99 lobster specials…

6. New Cars - Disagree

New cars are vastly, vastly overrated. Domestic or foreign, it don’t matter. I didn’t buy my first new car until I was almost 30. I think I’m a bit biased because there’s a serious auto mechanic streak running in the family. We’ve always bought used cars, and someone would be around to fix ‘em. But still, I don’t see a reason to jump into something like a new car, unless you were looking to buy it already.

7. Travel - Agree Somewhat

Again, I think I’m a little biased because we haven’t been on a nice vacation in awhile. The deals are there, you just have to pick and choose. We’re not adverse to doing the Motel 6 style roadtrip, so it’s going to take a little convincing to get us to fly to Tahiti or wherever. But we’re considering it.

8. Country Club Membership - Disagree Completely

OMG. Don’t make me laugh please. Another bullet point that needs a bullet in it’s head. They just threw this in to make me laugh. Farking stupid lame country clubs.

9. Housing - Agree Completely

I know there are a lot of folks (especially in countries other than the U.S.) who will never own a house. They’ll rent till the day they die, and they probably won’t be any worse off for it. For many, it’ll be the right thing to do. Still, I feel like housing in general is one of the most imporant things you can think about buying. I’m no expert, and the “right time” to buy will always be different for every individual, but it seems like there will always be advantageous and disadvantageous times for a Cheaplander to buy a house. And it seems like right around now, if you have the means and a secure job, might be an advantageous time for a buyer. That’s all I’m saying.

One last thing - mostly because of dumb luck, but partially because of Cheaplander-ish insight, we have a small house with a mortgage that will be paid off in 5 years. We will be around 40 years old. I’m not saying we’re going to retire at 40, but it’s going to be a whole lot easier not to have pay rent or a mortgage. I’m not saying we’re never going to buy another house, but it sure helps to have that option. I’m not saying that we were smart not to cave into variable refinancing bullcrap that so many of my co-workers did when the rates were low. Wait. I AM saying that last one. But that’s another article for another day.

10. Stocks - Agree Somewhat

After losing my shirt in the Penny Stock Dot Com days, I admit I’m a little more cautious about these things. Still, I’m a big fan of Roth IRAs and we try to put in at least some every single year. Often, I wait until the last minute (near April of the following year) to contribute when I should be spreading it out throughout the year. But this year, I was thinking of putting in more right now instead of waiting longer, because the markets are still in a depressed state. Do I think the market will go back up starting in the Fall? I have absolutely no idea, and if anyone tells you they “know for sure”, they’re lying. I just know that if you’re a steady, long term IRA index investor, you probably haven’t seen levels like this in awhile. [Editor’s Note: And as I finished writing this, the DOW suffered the biggest decline in 2 months. See, there IS no such thing as timing the market…]