The main lesson here is that your kitchen remodel WILL be behind schedule and over budget. They have a saying about contractors: Between high quality, low cost, and on time, choose one.

Is anyone else here a fan of The People’s Court (@thepeoplescourttv)?! Along with Jeopardy superstar Ken Jennings, rock climber Alex Honnold, People’s Court Judge Marilyn Milian is one of my three celebrity crushes. She’s incredibly sharp and smart and doesn’t take any nonsense! She also loves giving life advice via old-timey Spanish maxims. One of those is “lo barato sale caro”. It translates to “the cheap comes out expensive”. As you might imagine, a lot of people trying to take the cheap way out ended up with an expensive mess on their hands and found themselves in The People’s Court!

So while I’m a big fan of FRUGALITY, that doesn’t always mean buying the CHEAPEST option. Often times buying it right the first time can save you money in the long run AND you end up with a nicer product along the way.

So when you’re looking at that next kitchen remodel, blender, pair of shoes, or whatever, beware of going too cheap in a way that will cost you more down the road.

p.s. All renters saved between $22,000 and $35,000 on this post.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.

-Jeremy