10 Cheap Preventive Maintenance Activities

In no particular order...

1. Get a flu shot.  If you are able to get the vaccine it will save you a lot of money and misery over getting the flu (a week or more out of work, copious amounts of Kleenex and medications, even a possible ER visit...all of these will set you back much more than a cheap flu shot).
2. Get ready to change your smoke detector batteries (every 6 months) when we "fall back" to standard time.  Smoke detectors older than ten years should be replaced.
3. As long as you are changing the batteries in your smoke detectors, you should also also change the batteries in your carbon monoxide detectors too.  Note that these devices should be replaced every five to seven years.
4. Vote!  It's early voting in many places right now and Election Day is November 6; voting for representatives who will actually represent your best interests and measures that will impact your life into the future is a good way to prevent candidates and measures from negatively impacting you if you decide not to vote.
5. Prepare your home for winter.  Not only does this prevent problems like frozen water pipes and ice dams, it will save you heating and energy costs.
6. Get your car ready for winter.  Again, by fixing issues before they happen you avoid inconvenience as well as paying out the nose for emergency services.
7. Check this list of year-end financial activities and take care of money-related activities that need to be done by the end of the year.
8. Start shopping now for Christmas (which is better than waiting until the weekend before Christmas to do all of your shopping and paying top dollar!).
9. Plan ahead for some cheap, fun family activities for the holidays; here's some examples.  If you wait until the last minute, you usually end up paying full price for these activities (note, check Groupon and community websites for discounts on activities that require an entry fee).
10. Take care of your health starting now.  Many of us will put off "getting healthy" until after the holidays but even small daily activities to improve your health will help you survive the holidays in a fit and healthy fashion.