Take a look at what a long time friend said to me the other day:

When you're just starting out you're house poor. Until the kids leave for college you're kids poor. Then you're college poor... When does it end?

He was lamenting the fact that the long and easy retirement he'd always envisioned for himself was starting to look like a shorter and shorter one. Not only that but he feared it might also be one in which he'd have to work at least part time to make ends meet.

Now in reality his retirement picture may not be as bad as he lays it out. He's a highly paid professional for a big company. He gets lots of great benefits: stock plan, options, health care... He does alright. He might have more in his retirement portfolio that you or I might need.

I happened to stumble across this article in today's NY Times about compact fluorescent lightbulbs. I guess we're one of those early adopter families. These CFL's, as their known among those in the know, have been in use around our house for years.

According to the NY Times, WalMart has jumped on board and is bound and determined to sell 100 million compact fluorescent lightbulbs. They're sold on them and they think we should be too.

Why are compact fluorescent lightbulbs a good investment? Since you didn't come here to read through a detailed ROI analysis (did you?) let me just cut to the chase. They cost more up front, but because they cost less to use and last about 8 times longer than regular bulbs, you end up saving a ton of money using them.

But that's not why I use them.<!--break--> I use them because I hate changing light bulbs all the time. Vibrations kill regular bulbs. We used to go through tons of them in ceiling and wall-mounted fixtures. Too many vibrations in this old house. Since making the changeover to compact fluorescent bulbs I hardly ever have to change bulbs.

The convenience alone is worth it to me. Compact fluorescent light bulbs save me time and frustration. They save me money on top of that. Unbeatable.