The Daily Rave

[catherine]

Catherine, that was indeed ridiculous. Is there a reason why you didn’t grab it from the curb and bring it back in your house?

I love being financially independent, and not feeling like I have to squeeze every penny out of every deal. A couple of weeks ago we bought a new car and I just called up our friend across the state line from whom we have purchased several cars. I told him “Ed, I want a blue Ford Bronco Sport and I don’t want a lot of junk on it. “ No negotiation – oh wait we did negotiate a little bit about our trade-in, but I knew it wasn’t worth much. DH thought it was worth more, but he always thinks his stuff is worth more money than it is.

I didn’t negotiate on price and while that might be stupid, it is what it is. Most people gird their loins to go into the car buying ordeal to negotiate and “ get a deal.”

My attention span for buying cars and electronics is only a minute or two. Conversely, I can spend hours,days, and years, deciding on china/pottery patterns and looking at hundreds of options for dinnerware.

We were just worn out after the whole experience. We figured if we were able to recoup it, we would haul it back to our house, it would sit somewhere taking up space until my daughter, who lived 8 hours away, took her time to get there and retrieve it, if she ever did.

As for your car-buying experiences, we are very similar. We tend to spend little time, once we know what we want, on the actual shopping for cars. I bought my Prius after going to a Memorial Day parade to see DH play with his bagpipe band--I was driving home, passed a Toyota dealership, realized that my daughter was going to be taking over the Beetle we shared while she was in college, and made a hard, impulsive left turn into the parking lot. I saw the car, read the features, the salesman approached me as I was writing out a deposit, told him I'd pick it up when we got back from our trip to Scotland the next week, and that was it. That salesman never had an easier sell.

Same thing with the pontoon boat, although DH drove that sale. I was in no mood to buy a boat the month after we moved up here. But he said, let's go look at boats for the fun of it. So we went to the dealership, and the salesman showed us a new boat that had all the features we liked, and before we knew it, DH, with his superb negotiating skills, got the boat for 20% off the asking price. Turns out (we didn't know at the time) they were being bought out by the dealership next door, and so this was their last chance to unload inventory and put the cash in their pocket. Worked for us. As resistant as I was, I now love the boat. It has provided us and the family with many, many hours of fun times and togetherness.

[happystuff]

frugal, congrats on the sale and best of luck with the steps ahead!

[Tybee]

Frugal, you are a hero!

[frugal-one]

Yikes, hardly… but thank you both.

My rave is unexpectedly positive! Our bed is gone along with everything else and we have days yet until closing on the house. Researched and bought Index brand air bed/mattress for around $85. Put on a heavy mattress cover and am totally astonished in how comfortable it is! Both DH and I have slept well! I am sure it helps that we are exhausted each night. We are sleeping in the living room with plastic tables (nightstands) and 2 semi-comfortable office chairs with hassocks. We kept the stools for the kitchen counter so we do have a place to eat and minimal dishes so we do not have to go out to eat. That will change in a day since we are out of food. Soup and sandwiches are on the menu then. We are camping out in our own house. I am grateful everything has fallen into place as it has! It has turned out so far better than I could have imagined!

[pinkytoe]

When we moved to CO, we got rid of just about everything. Slept on a queen-sized air mattress for several months. It was comfy but when one gets up or rolls over, it bounces a bit so had to get used to that.

[frugal-one]

Cars and u-haul are packed. Air quality and heat made packing a bit uncomfortable but it is DONE! Closing on house is 10:30 tomorrow morning. We have a short driving day tomorrow so we can, hopefully, get rested!

The walk through was this morning. We stayed on the neighbor’s porch waiting for the buyers to leave but they realized who we were and wanted to talk. They are a young couple with a 2 year old. They are VERY excited! The gal has family in the area and wanted to be here. Her sister checked out the house and they bought it sight unseen! The gal commented it was nicer than her sister explained and was thrilled to have a yard. Her husband trilled about having a 3 car garage. They are from CA. She asked about gardening and wrote down all the plants we have in the yard. It gladdens my heart to have a young couple be enthused about “our home”. It just solidifies the knowledge that we are doing the right thing!

[frugal-one]

The other rave for today is that another neighborhood invited us for dinner tonight so we don’t have to cook or go out to eat! You better believe it is appreciated!

[iris lilies]

That all sounds lovely, I’m glad it worked out so well.

[catherine]

I'm so happy for you, frugal! It is really exciting to hear about life moving on and a new generation being so excited to enjoy your precious home! Congratulations!

[rosarugosa]

Cars and u-haul are packed. Air quality and heat made packing a bit uncomfortable but it is DONE! Closing on house is 10:30 tomorrow morning. We have a short driving day tomorrow so we can, hopefully, get rested!

The walk through was this morning. We stayed on the neighbor’s porch waiting for the buyers to leave but they realized who we were and wanted to talk. They are a young couple with a 2 year old. They are VERY excited! The gal has family in the area and wanted to be here. Her sister checked out the house and they bought it sight unseen! The gal commented it was nicer than her sister explained and was thrilled to have a yard. Her husband trilled about having a 3 car garage. They are from CA. She asked about gardening and wrote down all the plants we have in the yard. It gladdens my heart to have a young couple be enthused about “our home”. It just solidifies the knowledge that we are doing the right thing!

That's really nice; that interaction would have meant a lot to me as well.