Post Your Wins

[james.hendrickson]

Xpost with decluttering thread.

My family I and I went to a used bookstore and sold some books - we scored something like $69.75 in extra money and decluttered the house a bit.

We're planning on saving up for a bigger house to accommodate our expanding family so the cash is a nice addition to our savings.

[disneysteve]

We went to a food and wine festival today and bought a bottle of Scotch. After we walked away from the sale table, my wife realized that part of the VIP package we had bought was getting a $5 discount on any bottles over $20. We went back to the sale table and showed our VIP coupon and they gave us a $5 refund.

And when we checked into the hotel this morning, we got a little information and coupon booklet. One coupon was for 2 free cookies at the snack shop. We stopped there after dinner, handed over our coupon, and got our free cookies. We ate them at the bar with the drink we got with the $50 food and beverage credit we got with our reservation, and we have enough left over on that to cover breakfast in the morning.

[msomnipotent]

The pots and pans I bought my daughter last week went down another $50 at Costco. I put in a request through their website and got the adjustment.

While not technically a win, we finally paid for the coins. A weight has been lifted. But now I am having an issue with him selling the ones we don't need. He said before that half were duplicates of what we already have or ones he doesn't want, so the plan was to sell them to replace our savings. Now he is saying there aren't that many dupes and maybe we should give them to our daughter. Not going to happen. I'm about ready to take them all to the coin shop while he is at work, but I know the person that sold them wants them to stay in the family.

[Thrif-t]

Ok I gotta a sorta win. I had to spend money to make money but I still think I did pretty good.

Bought some stuff at Kohls at their lowest price of the season..ok stay with me, it really is the lowest price, I know I've tracked it. It was all bedding stuff because my one college daughter will be moving in a an apartment next year(got us some too, sheets).

Went thru my Upromise portal to get 5% back in the kids 529, ordered the stuff and did free pick up at Kohls. Got $5 Kohls cash for doing the store pick up. Got $20 Kohls cash for the order which was $110.

Then I decided to buy her some small appliances they had with rebates...coffee pot, crock pot and toaster oven..they were all $20 each with $10 each back in Kohls gift card...so I spent $60 but will get $30 Kohls gift card.

Then I got $20 in You Too Rewards for shopping there. We have some weddings this summer and I'm gonna buy me a new dress, I think the $80 I'll get back will buy me something nice

[mo0n]

I signed the paperwork today, my house is SOLD. It was only on the market for two days, but these past thirty days have been kinda slow. But it's d-u-n DONE.

[msomnipotent]

Ok I gotta a sorta win. I had to spend money to make money but I still think I did pretty good.

Bought some stuff at Kohls at their lowest price of the season..ok stay with me, it really is the lowest price, I know I've tracked it. It was all bedding stuff because my one college daughter will be moving in a an apartment next year(got us some too, sheets).

Went thru my Upromise portal to get 5% back in the kids 529, ordered the stuff and did free pick up at Kohls. Got $5 Kohls cash for doing the store pick up. Got $20 Kohls cash for the order which was $110.

Then I decided to buy her some small appliances they had with rebates...coffee pot, crock pot and toaster oven..they were all $20 each with $10 each back in Kohls gift card...so I spent $60 but will get $30 Kohls gift card.

Then I got $20 in You Too Rewards for shopping there. We have some weddings this summer and I'm gonna buy me a new dress, I think the $80 I'll get back will buy me something nice

I also bought a bunch during the Kohls sale. I just got the last shipment today. I spent about $350 but I got a lot. My daughter grew and needs all new clothes, and between my severe decluttering and the 20lb cat with claws, I have 3 days worth of clothes with no holes in them. For some reason, they did not deduct the $40 "not Kohls cash but the other cash" coupon I had, and now it expired. I will have to call them and see if I can get an adjustment, but not counting on it.


Speaking of appliances, I have taken a new lover, and his name is Bob the electric industrial can opener. I have been looking at restaurant supply companies and what not for a few weeks now because my can openers keep breaking. I spend $40 to $60 on each, and they all break in a year or less, which comes out to maybe 10 uses. Electric can openers are a necessity to me as I have arthritis can can't use a manual. After much research, I settled on the the Edlund 266, which is about $600 new and $300 used on Ebay without the parts that actually open the can. I found a used one with a new blade for $170 including shipping. It is GLORIOUS!!!! It opens #10 cans in one second without me holding it. It opens cans of dog food in less than 1 second. Even my daughter is mightily impressed. My husband is mildly amused.

[Gailete]

Speaking of appliances, I have taken a new lover, and his name is Bob the electric industrial can opener. I have been looking at restaurant supply companies and what not for a few weeks now because my can openers keep breaking. I spend $40 to $60 on each, and they all break in a year or less, which comes out to maybe 10 uses. Electric can openers are a necessity to me as I have arthritis can can't use a manual. After much research, I settled on the the Edlund 266, which is about $600 new and $300 used on Ebay without the parts that actually open the can. I found a used one with a new blade for $170 including shipping. It is GLORIOUS!!!! It opens #10 cans in one second without me holding it. It opens cans of dog food in less than 1 second. Even my daughter is mightily impressed. My husband is mildly amused.

I think even before I got the diagnosis, I had been having trouble opening cans with a manual opener and I switched to an electric one. It is subtle how some of these things sneak up on you! One of the things I got to review the other day is a fork with a built up handle. I don't need it yet, but it is down the road so I got it while I could, the same with the gadget to help you button clothes. It is a thrill to be able to do things without pain because someone invented a useful devices.

[Gailete]

My son that helps me get groceries, etc. discovered a new thrift store that had sewing patterns that he said the owner said they were $1/each. On top of everything else we were doing yesterday, we checked it out. I ended up with 8 uncut sewing patterns, 3 hardcover quilting books, and 8 vintage quilting magazines. Total $3. I think when the guy toold my son $1, he meant for all of them! Three thrift store stops plus groceries and we got some great stuff at the thrift stores.

[disneysteve]

Sold another book on Amazon overnight.

[Gailete]

After shopping on Saturday, not only had I bought new patterns, I came home to a box of inventory from the manufacturer. Since some of it was for items I had sold out of in April, I listed the couple of things that I had run out of, 'just in case'. Before I went to be last night I had already sold 2 of them and woke up this morning to a third sale and I now only have one of those left, but I also got an email saying that they were on sale starting today, so I reordered and am hoping they send me the 10 of the same thing that I ordered! This was a first for me to have flipped 3 items within 36 hours of listing them!

[disneysteve]

I found out today that I'm getting a raise! This came as a big surprise because I'm in a 3-year contract that has my income spelled out for that term. Apparently, the powers that be realized that our salaries are all over the place among the providers. People who were hired recently are earning more than people who have been here for many years. There's no rhyme or reason to it.

They haven't finalized the details or actual numbers yet but the plan is to make a pay scale based on tenure, so one amount for 0-2 years, another for 3-5 years, and another for 5+ years. What I was told was that in the process, everyone will get a bump up from the current amount. Some will get a larger bump, others a smaller bump, but everyone's pay will rise to bring them all onto the new scale.

The trade-off, because there's always a trade-off, is that we currently have an incentive bonus that we receive quarterly. They are now going to eliminate the bonus and instead institute an at-risk amount of compensation (5%). Instead of getting extra if you do well, you'll face the possibility of losing some money if you do poorly. But even if you miss out on the entire 5%, which would mean you're doing a really crappy job anyway, you'll still be earning more than you do right now. So it still sounds like a win no matter how it plays out. And my performance is at the top of the chart so I have no worries at all about losing any of the at-risk payment.

They are working to finalize the deal and then have to get us all new contracts to review and sign. They're hoping to have it all in place to start the new plan on July 1.

[rennigade]

Wife called geico and saved us approx $40/year with auto insurance. Shes a federal employee and has been for 5 years. For whatever reason I didnt know that feds get a slight discount. So if you have geico and you're a federal employee...call them and ask for the discount.

Also recently purchased a bunch of weight equipment for $170. Guy was practically giving the stuff away. Sold off the 5 sets of dumbbells I didnt want for $330 and kept the rest of the equipment. Free equipment + $160 profit.

[Gailete]

Came downstairs after my nap to a stack of mail and UPS deliveries. I had gotten a bunch of things to review for Amazon, plus a magazine and then a regular first class mail envelope. Big surprise when I opened it. A year or so back I had entered a class action suit for Harbor Freight Tools. Well the suit won and my share was a gift card for $160! I have no clue why it is so much other than possibly not enough people had signed up. They have a store right across from my arthritis doctor, so may have to check out what else they have. May be a way of getting the guys in my life Christmas presents.

This isn't the first time that I have entered these suits if I was eligible. Sometimes I get $10 or $20 back. Usually by the time you get a letter telling you the results of the lawsuit you have totally forgotten about it. But not something to pass up as you never know what you might get from it.

[FLA]

I think I had a win, albeit an expensive one. My Accent is 6 years old and once I stopped working (I drove for work), the mileage has stayed low, I only have 36,500k on it. So far I've only had to put brake pads or shoes or whatever it is you do to prevent having to pay for a costly brake job done the road. Oh and new tires.

Yesterday I took it in for inspection, it passed, just needed new wiper blades. I've been going to the same Monro Muffler for 25 yrs and have dealt with the same manager. He has always struck me as an honest, stand up kind of guy. He told me my oil pain was leaking and needed a new gasket and that it should be covered by the 10 year transmission warranty. I called Hyundai, no way would they cover it under warranty but they would replace it for $150 and an hour's labor, so close to $350. Monro did it for $110.

He also suggested doing the 37k maintenance in the warranty book now since we have severe winters and not driving your car can be just as bad as driving it. He flushed and replaced 4 fluids, did an oil change and rotated my tires. They did one other thing too, something with the brakes. None of the fluids have to be touched again for 5 yrs.

In the end, with discounts he gave me, I paid $615. I think I made out pretty well since the 37k list of stuff to be done was pretty extensive. I want to keep this car til it dies so hopefully maintenance like this will keep it going.

He's the first guy to tell me that if I don't hit the mileage marker to get an oil change in 3 months, I can wait til 6 mos. He didn't have to tell me that. For once, I walked away from something I know nothing about and didn't feel hosed.

[disneysteve]

This isn't the first time that I have entered these suits if I was eligible.

We've gotten settlements from multiple class action suits over the years. They've mostly been a few dollars or sometimes a coupon or discount for something. A couple of times it was a more significant amount.

The one time we got a large settlement was back in the 90s when there was a major suit against multiple insurance companies for misrepresenting whole life policies as investments (sound familiar). We had wised up and cancelled our policy well before that happened but we were still part of the class action and essentially got all of our premiums returned to us. The one really sad part of that is that absolutely nothing has changed as a result of that lawsuit. Insurance agents still push these policies as hard as ever as being great investments.