Here's part 5 of a piece from Money Central titled "10 Things You Shouldn't Buy New":
Office furniture -- Built to take a beating and last a lifetime, good-quality office desks, filing cabinets and credenzas are relatively easy to find even when a recession isn’t cratering the local economy.
Exception: Some people balk at buying used chairs for the same reason they won’t buy a used catcher’s mitt -- it’s had too many hours to mold to someone else’s body.
I've had the same office chair and desk for years. I wouldn't trade them for something new in a million years. (FYI, I've had to glue, nail, and re-coaster the chair to keep it functional, but it's a gem.) ;-)
Hand tools -- Well-made tools with few or no moving parts -- like hammers, wrenches, shovels, hoes, etc. -- can last decades with proper maintenance and are relatively easy to find at yard sales. If you’re not going to use a tool frequently, you may be able to rent it or borrow from a friend or neighbor rather than buying something else to clutter up your garage. (Some neighborhoods even run tool-sharing cooperatives.)
Exception: You’re a hard-core do-it-yourselfer and you need power tools, especially cordless versions. These have a relatively limited life span and you may not know how much time they’ve got left. If the tool is cheap enough, of course, that may not matter, but most often you’ll want to buy new if the power tool will get substantial use.
No, no, no. I must have new tools! I must! I must!
Ok, so now I find out that this article wasn't written by Money Central after all. It must have been written by my wife! ;-)
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