I learned recently that you sometimes pay a heavy price for being cheap with home maintenance. For some reason I thought caulking a bathroom shower would be a waste of money. But a $8 tube of caulk can prevent the walls underneath your shower tiles from rotting and creating mold in the bathroom. I learned the hard way that once you allow this problem to start, you’re wasting money on heavy bleach cleaning chemicals to eradicate the mold every time it returns. But if you can seal the area for good, there isn’t any mold to worry about. When I’m changing my oil in my old car, it’s worth it to me to spend a tiny bit more money to get high mileage oil or full synthetic. If it keeps the engine in my car running longer, then it’s worth the small added expense each time. Unfortunately, I had to learn this rough lesson with the filters in my central air conditioner. HVAC filters aren’t cheap, with some costing upwards to $20 a piece if you get viral and bacterial rated filters. I didn’t see the reason for spending $15 a month on expensive filters, so I went with something cheap instead. It took me a few months to realize that my allergies were out of control. But I didn’t make the connection to the air filters until my doctor asked me which kind I was using. When I told him about the cheap filters, he urged me to buy an allergen filter. For $13 a month, I could have unrestricted air waves and sinuses that aren’t terribly congested. After making the change, my allergies immediately started to abate. I think my health is worth the extra money each month on HVAC filters.