Cathryn and I were on a tour of the canals off the Intracoastal waterway in Fort Lauderdale a few years ago, ogling mansions of the rich and shameless, when the guide pointed to the biggest shack on the block. Guess who owns that? he said. The guy who invented the extended warranty.

So, now you know where all that money goes when you never make a claim on the extra cash you pay for anything from a USB cable at The Source, to your new refrigerator. If you’re a wise soul like I think I am, you look at the clerk like he’s got two heads and ask what can go wrong with a simple cable.

But when I buy appliances I think about what moving parts they contain and the chances of something going wrong with them over their lifespan. Common sense, wouldn’t you agree?

The problem these days is that electronics have creeped into everything we own now, from alarm clocks to the cars we drive. And circuit boards run all the fancy do-dads that we like to have. I think you know where I’m going with this, especially if you’ve already fallen victim.

Shit ain’t made to last these days. Cases in point – my brother’s three and a half year old washing machine, and our three and a half year old smart TV, both of which were no longer under warranty. Should we have purchased the extended warranty? I can’t speak for my brother, but I thought, what can go wrong with a brand new television?

So, to skip the whining and complaining part, we decided it wasn’t worthwhile to spend $350 to fix our ‘old’ TV when we could get a ‘newer and better’ one for about a hundred bucks more. Hence the extended warranty dilemma. Add another $150 to the price tag for the four year warranty, guaranteeing a new TV if ours fails. (And btw, you should know extended warranty prices are negotiable)

The bottom line here, my friends, is that almost everything manufactured these days is disposable and not worth fixing. You simply budget and plan on replacing it within five years. And if you’re lucky, and have purchased the extended warranty, you can replace it even sooner at no cost.

Food for thought, ain’t it?