Post Your Wins

[msomnipotent]

I saved quite a bit of money getting to and from the airport. I found a coupon code for hotel parking for $40 for a whole week plus free airport shuttle. O'Hare is nuts with parking. They charge anywhere from $17 to $60 per day to park, and the cheapest Groupon had for a ride was $150 for 3 people each way. I even saved $60 on a tow truck to jump us when we came back to a dead battery. I made sure to charge our jumpstarter and hide it in the car so he wouldn't take it out, because I fully expected him to leave his dome light on again.

I got a $117 refund from Budget because our first rental stunk so bad that we all got sick. I'm still working on getting more because I don't think that $117 is adequate compensation for the trouble we went through. Unfortunately, they added $118 to our credit card today and no one can explain why, so you might see me on the local news as I rampage through the streets while tearing my hair out.

[myrdale]

I just maxed out my 2017 IRA contributions! I started the IRA about 3 years ago and have managed to double how much I contribute each year ($1500, $3500, $5500). Now it's finally starting to look like something.

I would have done this sooner but I had to replace siding which ran $17.5k.

I'd had started focusing on saving towards the new truck when I ran a few compound interest calculators and realized that $5500 is potentially $95k in 30 years. That could buy 3 trucks!! (not that I will need them when I am retired but you get the point).

Anyhow the new truck fund is on hold for a little while longer yet. Hopefully I will be able to max 2018 this year.

[Gailete]

Wednesdays are my day for paying the bills and today, getting taxes prepped and out the door, etc. To pay a couple of bills I had to go into town to transfer money from our savings account to checking (Why can I transfer money from checking to savings, but not the other way around?) and then sat down and was finishing working on bills and when I started to pay one due in a few days, I realized I hadn't gotten the Discover card paid by 5PM. I ended up 4 minutes late paying it. Got done with things I was doing and called Discover to throw myself at their mercy. Spoke with a nice guy in Arizona, he canceled the late fee and the increase in interest rate all because I was 4 minutes late to pay! He then changed me to a different card where the cut off time to pay is midnight which works much better for me, and pretty much everything else stays the same.

So I saved $35 late charge and untold amounts of interest if I hadn't called. Being late is a very rare deal for me.

I also paid off in full our smallest credit card bill that was for Best Buy with an interest rate of 26.49%! Hubby had to use the Geek Squad at one point and I guess got carried away at the store. I would see new gadgets in the office and when I saw the initial bill I was a bit ticked off. Why is it men can give such convincing arguments for why they need something that they don't really need? Since it was all in use at that point, no way to take it back. I have resented this payment every time I paid it! Now it is gone and out of money HE earned!

I made up a chart last month so I could track which cards had the highest interest rate so I could be paying them most efficiently. The last two years with him barely working has been rough on us financially and on the credit cards.

[Thrif-t]

Well this is minimal but still a win I guess.

Got a $6 prepaid visa card for sending in a rebate for some items we bought at autozone.

Maybe I can get lunch

[Gailete]

I think if I can finally go to sleep tonight, I will be seeing numbers and tax papers dancing through my head all night. I have been dealing with bills and taxes all day. Once my IRS and state were truly done, I tried to do my local and ran into problems that I might have to call them about, so hopped on over to the property tax rebate for seniors and/or disabled. When I first ran the numbers, I thought I would get $100 back. Not bad. As I sat down to write out the final copy, I realized I had added $2K to the small pension I get from my ex. Which decreased our income into the next level of rebate and when I did the final calcuations taking into account the % of use for our house for business, I realized we would be getting $300 back! Now that is a win!

[disneysteve]

I have had the hardest time finding navy blue crew length dress socks. They just don't seem to be a thing anymore. I've looked in every department store, shoe store, and online without success.

The other day, DW and I were just out driving around with no particular destination in mind and we ran across a sock outlet store we had never been to. We stopped in and sure enough they had what I was looking for. Not only that, but the price was amazing: $4.95 for 6 pairs of socks! I'm sure they aren't the greatest quality but I wore a pair to work the next day and they seemed just fine. We'll see how they hold up after a few washings but at $.83/pair, even if they wear out sooner than others, it will still be a win.

[disneysteve]

I was just reviewing old emails in my Saved folder. There was one from a program we have participated in since our daughter was younger that allows you to deposit money to be used toward a youth trip to Israel. There are matching funds that you receive if you take a qualifying trip so it can be a great way to defray the cost. We funded the program each year we were eligible to, but she never chose to go on a trip.

She turns 23 this year which is when you age out of the program, so I just sent an email to them to close the account. We won't get the matching funds but we will get back the $750 we have deposited (plus interest).

I don't anticipate DD doing an Israel trip any time in the foreseeable future so I will just use that money for other things. If she ever decides to go, we can always help her out.

[Gailete]

I have had the hardest time finding navy blue crew length dress socks. They just don't seem to be a thing anymore. I've looked in every department store, shoe store, and online without success.

The other day, DW and I were just out driving around with no particular destination in mind and we ran across a sock outlet store we had never been to. We stopped in and sure enough they had what I was looking for. Not only that, but the price was amazing: $4.95 for 6 pairs of socks! I'm sure they aren't the greatest quality but I wore a pair to work the next day and they seemed just fine. We'll see how they hold up after a few washings but at $.83/pair, even if they wear out sooner than others, it will still be a win.

I have always found it is the little things like not finding your favorite socks anymore that bug me the most about shopping. I used to have a lot of acrylic socks that I wore and they were comfy on my feet. |Then suddenly all socks had a large component of cotton in them. The cotton hurt my feet nor did the cotton allow the socks to stretch enough for my big feet. Eventually my 'good' socks wore out and so for years I didn't have any socks that worked well until I got some support socks but they LOOK like support socks. One of my Vine items that I got to try and review, were knee-hi support socks that look like ordinary socks, stay up to my knees without falling down 20-30 times a day, not even a half to one inch slide down, even if I wore them to bed. They are the best fitting comfy socks I have and I got 3 pairs of them for free!

Now is I could only find calf high tube socks for hubby and son both with size 13 extra narrow feet. I used to only be able to find them at Kmart, but our local one closed down a few months back.

[disneysteve]

I have always found it is the little things like not finding your favorite socks anymore that bug me the most about shopping.

Yep. And I hate how companies constantly come out with "new and improved" versions of their products. We fell victim to this just the other day. There are "sandwich thins" bread we buy from Arnold's. We started using them as part of our effort to eat better, reduce calories, reduce carbs, etc. They were 100 calories each and we've been using them to make breakfast sandwiches and for other things.

We went to buy them the other day and they now have a "new" recipe. They are thicker than before, come in a 6 pack instead of an 8 pack, and have 150 calories instead of 100. Plus they now contain some seeds which are hard crunchy things which I don't mind but DW hates as they bother her teeth. So now we have to start searching to find something else to switch to because we won't be buying those anymore since they "improved" them.

ETA: Sorry, this rant doesn't belong in the Wins thread.

[bjl584]

My Comcast bill just went up $30 a month because the promotional rate ran out.

It took me talking to 3 different representatives and my entire lunch break, but I got them to reinstitute the promo rate for another 2 years. And, they gave me HBO for free for 3 months.

[james.hendrickson]

My Comcast bill just went up $30 a month because the promotional rate ran out.

It took me talking to 3 different representatives and my entire lunch break, but I got them to reinstitute the promo rate for another 2 years. And, they gave me HBO for free for 3 months.

I love wins like this. Think of the savings! Two years at $30 bucks a month is about $720 in future expenses you DON'T have to pay. Not bad for an hours work.

[bjl584]

I love wins like this. Think of the savings! Two years at $30 bucks a month is about $720 in future expenses you DON'T have to pay. Not bad for an hours work.

They drew a line in the sand and wouldn't budge until I told them Direct TV was offering basically the same package for less. Then, the tone of the conversation changed and within minutes they offered to drop my rates.

I'll know for next time to just get a quote from a competitor and say it at the start of the call. It would have saved me a lot of time today.

[Gailete]

The other night I took a shower and washed my hair with some shampoo and conditioner made for damaged hair and then some spray on stuff after towel drying. Ever since starting on methotrexate for the RA my hair and fingernails are in the worst condition. But just one use of this stuff my hair already feels better. and the set was a product for me to review and then I realized I was head to toe Amazon Vine goods. I had gotten some of those short ankle hi socks to try and review, and a new pair of pajamas and my bathrobe was also from Amazon Vine. I can barely tolerate shopping for things to wear, so it is great if they just come in the mail to me for free as well.

One small thing in the mail this week too. Some teething bibs with an attached teething ring for my new grandbaby that is on the way! I'm so excited as the baby is due right before my 63 birthday. I have waited so very long for this child and I plan on spoiling it rotten from a distance and am so thankful for things like being able to take pictures and video without the need for expensive film. My son and DIL made an officially announcement tonight on FB. This is a child that we never thought would happen and so most likely my one and only. I consider it a huge win for our family!

[QuarterMillionMan]

I sold 116 shares of VXX today at $44.47. I bought the 116 shares of VXX on 4/20/18 at $42.50. You can do the math. I love this volatility. I should have sold today at $45.75 but I waited a tad bit too long.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Yesterday I won some money at my local casino in San Diego (I live in Los Angeles). Came home with $150 more than I took there.