Save & Splurge

JOHN KING, 42,

CNN chief national correspondent, Alexandria

>>SAVE: "I do most of my own plumbing, electrical work and other home repairs. My dad taught me how when I was young, and it reminds me of him."

>>YIELD: At least $81 per averted plumber visit, according to numbers calculated from a recent cost survey from Washington Consumers' Checkbook magazine.

>>SPLURGE: "I splurge on vacations with my children and on Wizards season tickets -- because my kids, Noah and Hannah, love basketball. And on ties, because ties are to men what shoes are to women."

>>COST: $622-11,537 per Wizards season ticket

-- Interview by Kelly DiNardo