About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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January 7, 2010
I’ve always heard that Craigslist was a great place for bargains but is notoriously populated by flaky people, buyers and sellers alike so I was more than a little trepidatious when I embarked on this furniture buying adventure with my New Home friend who needed to furnish a new 2-bedroom abode. It sounded like we could look forward to spending way too much time to try and save money, followed up by spending way too much money.
I’m eating my fears now: it was well worth it financially to sift through the offerings, even though I bored of furniture shopping weeks ago!
We found the following deals on pieces (targeting those made by CB2, Room and Board, and West Elm).
A deep set sofa designed for sitting IN and not sitting ON
Retail price: $1,199.00
Store delivery fee: $79.00
Total: $1385 after tax
Craigslist price: $250 (bargained down, it wasn’t in pristine condition as claimed)
Slipcover bought new: $300 (had to be custom-made to fit)
Rental truck fee: $20
Total paid: $597
An extendable dining set: table with four chairs
Retail price: $1,399.00 (table) + $199-299 x 4 (chairs)
Store delivery fee: $79
Total: $2477-$2913
Craiglist price: $250
Truck Rental: $20
Total paid: $270
There was a lot more in the way of appliances and furniture purchased in good, or almost new condition, but I was only allowed to share these two as the best of the bunch.
The shopping strategy was as follows:
1. Make a list of the absolutely necessary needs of each room: seating, sleeping arrangements, storage
2. Brainstorm how to make the most of each piece. If you can, opt for either a futon/daybed style sofa for the second bedroom/office, or choose a sofa that includes a fold out bed, so you can minimize the amount of space filled. Use a bench in place of (some) chairs, so it can be stored under the table.
3. Browse retail stores in your area so you can actually inspect the furniture in person. Things that look great online aren’t always going to be as soft, comfortable or supportive as you imagine. Target pieces that aren’t too new: you’ll have better luck finding the used counterpart on Craigslist if they’re about to replace that collection in stores than if it’s brand new.
4. Take your wish list to Craigslist, and search by location and store name. This will narrow down your search considerably and very quickly.
5. Spend 30 minutes a day checking for the best deals. People post every day, and postings change constantly.
6. Understand your market: Depending on how metropolitan the area you’re perusing, you may have the luxury of picking the best quality for the lowest price. Conversely, you may have to jump on a posted item immediately to have a chance to even look at it.
Most importantly: Have patience. If you’re on a tight budget and buying new isn’t an option, this process could take some time. It helps to have a friend to bounce ideas off of during the selection period, too, because when you get burned out it’s tempting to just buy that table, or any table, and be done with the whole mess at the cost of your budget or your sanity when you have to replace the rickety, broken or ugly thing.
January 6, 2010
To be fair to the objects in question, they themselves actually do serve a purpose. They’re not tchochkes, per se, not dust-collectors like those small, poorly formed animal statues with questionable faces and even more questionable beady eyes. Folding stools and wee little plastic chairs, little packets of bamboo sticks and such, they each and all serve distinct and perfectly justifiable purposes. For other people. But I can’t actually name one instance in which I wished I’d picked up one oddment or another from 99 Ranch, that ubiquitous Asian market, so why am I always become possessed of this nearly atavistic need to purchase a dozen small plastic bowls, or spoons?
My first reaction is to blame the prices: “$8 for a folding stool? It’s a steal! You can always find a use for a stool – people need to sit! Never ye mind which people. Or where.” But that’s not it because it’s even worse with Tupperware. I yearn for the snapping lids, the squareish, roundish, stackable plastic containers with an almost palpable need – I’m not safe alone in a Target and their aisles of plastic containers. And those things are not cheap, so this whole problem of mine can’t be dismissed as simple bargain-basement fever.
I am convinced that this is a close cousin to the hoarder’s syndrome: a pathological grasping after items that serve fine purposes in anyone’s household but your own because you really don’t need the darn thing. It’s not that farfetched, I’ve definitely got the hoarding blood. Even as a five year old, I was more preoccupied with collecting practical items like finger-sized glasses that no one could ever drink out of than I was with using them to play with dolls. Incidentally, the dolls were always hidden in the bottom drawer as punishment for creeping me the heck out. Like clowns: good idea, poor execution.
My parents laughed at my refusal to get rid of any container, paper or plastic, or any wrapping paper because I might reuse it someday. “Just like Grandma,” they said.
Guys, my favorite pastime at age 17 was to drive to the local bargain shop and bring home table settings or sets of glasses! Besides being a waste of money, didn’t they have an analog version of Intervention or Hoarders back then? Didn’t they know this could become full blown madness?? It wasn’t until, years later, a friend’s mother had formed precarious towers of bargains that turned into pillars which solidified into walls that blocked them out of rooms, that it seemed like a good idea to cut back on the “steals.”
For lack of (much) outside reinforcement, I’m left to police myself. And wonder why on earth I know better, but still can’t stop walking up and down the aisles petting the household goods.
I’m weak.
January 5, 2010
Readers’ successes:
SS4BC – I was shopping at REI for some shoes. I had a $50 giftcard that needed to be used (this was a rebate giftcard from buying merchandise from them the year before).
I found a beautiful pair of Merrells that I wanted. With my $50 GC, I would pay around $36 out of pocket for them. Not too bad.
I went up the the cashier and smiled. Then I said “Hi, I would like to buy these shoes, but I don’t want to pay full price.”
To which he replied (I kid you not): “How about a 20% discount?”
Me (astonished that this actually worked): “Sure! That sounds great!”
He rings them up – $86 with a 20% discount, we’re down to $63. I hand him my $50 giftcard. I pay $13 for my $86 pair of shoes. And could not have been happier.
All because I ASKED.
RainyDaySaver – Today alone, I got a free cupcake because it was my birthday and had a jeweler take links out of my too-big watch for free. And a follow up post here.
Sense to Dollars – When I complained about my dental visit a little while ago on this blog, I also put my sentiments into a letter written on the Lumino site feedback form. I very nicely explained my disatisfaction with my visit, and how horribly inept I found the dentist’s technique to be.
Read the rest here: Complaining pays off in more ways than one
Success! There were issues with my seats (reading light out, sound was out) to and from HNL last month. I emailed United informing them of the malfunctions, and left it at that. I suppose this doesn’t really count as asking, so much as speaking up. They replied with an apology and a $150 courtesy gift certificate good for a one-way or round-trip fare, expires in a year.
Success! I’ve been helping a friend move into a new place. When we picked up furniture in the city, we had to park in a neighboring structure to go into the store. It wasn’t until we were committed to the $6 parking fee that we found out that the folks in the storage area would be willing to carry out and help load our packages in the car only if we pulled up front. They wouldn’t help if they were brought out onto the sales floor. I asked the parking attendant to let us pull out and pick up the stuff, and then come back and park, explaining that we had no idea they’d only help us if we were pulled up out front. The attendant decided to be kind, giving us the first hour free so that we could leave and come back after loading up the car.
Success! My missing rebate finally arrived.
It’s fun keeping track of these wins, big and small. If anyone wants to join in the fun, or submit their own for inclusion, please email me!
January 4, 2010
A belated recap
‘Twere the hours before dinner,
and strewn along the cushions,
all the people were lounging,
including this lout:
These gorgeous cuts of pork and fish were our main entrees in what I thought was a slightly ambitious menu.
It turns out that I completely underestimated the other cooks in the family because their post-Christmas dinner was worlds away better than mine.
Had I known they were going to serve tri-tip, baked green bean casserole, jalapeno cornbread, red mashed potatoes with a shrimp sauced noodle starter and two kinds of soup, no matter how much of it was pre-made or from the box, I might have insisted on something more elaborate than my all-from-scratch meal followed by my first homemade pie ever.
Actually, my peeve was that despite my careful coordination of the cooking and plating, the dinner guests milled about so long that the food all got cold. And I hate cold food.
The pork needs a little more work the next time we make it; lower heat and longer cook time should do the trick, but the apple with pancetta topping was an absolute hit. At least two people went back for seconds and thirds of the topping to go with the quinoa or the Crescent rolls we served.
I hope everyone had at least one good holiday meal. We might not be big on traditional Christmas around here, but we do believe in good company, good food, and sometimes good wine.
January 3, 2010
(Don’t worry yourself!)
It’s that time again for some year’s end/year’s dawn clearing out.
In an effort to keep my nomadic lifestyle from derailing my money lifestyle, I had to take a day to clean up and keep up after the past two weeks of running about.
Paying Bills
— Yodlee insists on mucking about with improvements that don’t help functionality like adding the option to mark a bill “Skipped.” Real responsible, Yodlee, encouraging skipped payments.
— Remember that it doesn’t really matter when the money goes out. Interest rates are negligible, late fees are not. I used to pay bills for a 7-day period, but I’m changing to a 14-day period since my focus sitting in front of the computer isn’t on mundane stuff like paying bills.
Health
— Once a month, I’ll do a meds check to make sure that I’ve always got enough on hand.
Financial Records
— Two more Citi cards were canceled due to inactivity. They weren’t my top tier rewards cards so it doesn’t matter to me. I just removed them from the online interface. The credit cards will be scanned for my credit report records check (I’ve had a lot of cards, and it’s easy to forget which ones I had. Should probably Excel spreadsheet this too.)
— Doublechecked to make sure an erroneous subscription to Credit Protector was for the canceled card. That saves me a follow-up phone call.
— I had three sets of promotional credit card offers: The Chase Sapphire reqs have been fulfilled and I’ve gotten my reward ($100); Citi FWD reqs were just fulfilled recently so I’ll be claiming those Thank You points at the end of the next statement (11k points); and the AMEX reqs were also recently fulfilled. All three cards have been removed from my wallet to prevent further confusion.
Examine new offers
— Citi FWD: Cell Phone Protection; pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Citi Forward card & receive:
• Automatic cell phone protection from damage or theft
• Coverage on phones and PDA
• Up to $250 per eligible claim (with a $50 co-pay)
This might be worth switching over my autobilling. Maybe.
Housekeeping
— 3 loads of laundry, lest the temptation to chuck it all and buy all new overwhelms and send me screaming to the mall. Not very likely, but you can’t take chances.
— Vacuuming
I think that’ll do for starters.
January 1, 2010
I’m weak. I swore that I’d stay within budget this year, and wouldn’t buy any supplemental gifts. Usually I’m great on that score — I don’t allow myself to feel guilty about “underbuying” if I’ve been surprised with a gift.
But this year’s a bit different than the usual. This is our first Christmas without Mr. S, and his son’s heart is sore. I had to do something, anything, to help. How about …. a cosmic entity of Doom? For those unfamiliar with the Cthulhu mythos, I’d say this little guy is a handcrafted knit godlet of Doom, Cthulhu’s cuter, younger cousin. Thanks to Mrs. Micah!
And then we went to the “Premium” Outlets I tend to avoid because outlets really aren’t that much of a deal. Then I saw a vest like this one at Gymboree:
Baby clothes are irresistably cute. It was marked down substantially, though (60%), to all of $8.25 after tax.
I almost spent $30 on these shoes so my nephew and I could match, but settled for taking pictures:
And because one cannot show up with gifts for the wife and the child, but nothing for the husband, Harry & David got my business for their aromatic chocolate covered espresso beans.
I think I’ll be happy that I only went ten dollars over budget instead of being upset that I went over at all — the gifts weren’t overly pricey and they are pretty perfect for the giftees. If I do say so myself.
🙂
How did everyone do this year? Over, under, on budget?
December 31, 2009
From December 2008 to December 2009, after the layoff and continuing unemployment, I’ve recorded a 47% total increase. The progress was distributed pretty well across the board: retirement accounts (aka untouchable money), emergency cash to alleviate recessionary anxiety. The relatively low increase in the short term cash isn’t a surprise; that money is saved in advance for spending throughout the year – I still haven’t decided if I’m going to change how that money is represented in the net worthing. Ultimately, I like seeing that I’ve kept a fairly even keel in terms of pursuing all my goals.
I’d forgotten that I established my cash expense account earlier in 2008. That reminds me that this process of building a solid financial foundation has been slow and steady, and not the work of a few weeks or months. It’s hard to say when the most progress was made, I guess that depends on how you measure progress? Straight numbers? Debt reduction? Asset building? These are all parts of the same puzzle.
These snapshots tend to reflect only what I saved, and not the income and spending. The first half of 2009 I was on a mission to reduce monthly costs down to the $2200 range. We had obstacles along the way like the truck payment until we sold it, getting the family car out of hock and then losing it in an accident. We also had happy expenses like marrying off a friend, planning baby showers, taking care of people, and bought some stock.
Oh yes, then I separated from my job! (Didn’t lose it, I know exactly where it went.) Went on a mess of trips: NYC, San Diego, Miami, Hawaii. Good grief, I’d lost track of everywhere I went in the latter half of 2009.
What I’m saying here is that I spent a whole lot. And you can’t expect me to keep track of all that! I kid, I kid. I’m just too tired to pull together a real spending report, but I’m going to say that it was in the range of $30-40,000. I think what I’m going to do for 2010 is tailor Excel spreadsheets to track spending my way. I just haven’t been terribly happy with all the templates out there.
In blogging, and no small thanks to Twitter, I’ve become much more at home here in my corner of the PF blogosphere this year, and appreciate the community and friendships – deeper than I would have ever have imagined to blossom from a purely online relationship. The Internet’s been an integral part of my life since childhood(ish) but I couldn’t have predicted the candor and wisdom to be found here.
I’m grateful to you, my readers and friends, and wish you all a very Happy and safe New Year’s Eve (New Year to my international friends)!
