Dear Cheapskate: My wife and I are having a disagreement. I want to lease a new car now because ours is old and paying for repairs is like flushing money down the drain. She wants to keep it until we can afford to buy a better car. I hate car trouble and think peace of mind is something to be considered. I’m sure we can afford the payment but she’s not. What should we do? — James R., Alabama

Never in my wildest imagination could I have predicted the response I would get to the column I wrote about the best thing I ever bought — a carpet cleaning machine. Trust me, it’s not just any carpet cleaner. MY machine has a solid tank for hot water, not simply a “bladder.” Please, please do not do what I do if you have any other kind of carpet cleaning machine. You could ruin your machine, and then I would feel terrible.