Money Monday: Warranties, Returns, and Replacements

Many of the things we purchase have warranties of some kind. I have never been one to take advantages of warranties for smaller purchases. When my husband and I make large purchases, such as at.v., washer/dryer, refrigerator, ect., we often purchase the extended warranty. We may never have to use it, but it gives us a piece of mind that we have it in case our product did not function property. 

But, for smaller items, historically, I have never taken advantage of the warranties offered by the manufacture.

A few weeks ago, I was drinking water from my Turvis Tumbler, and a friend noticed that it was extremely discolored and cloudy. He mentioned that Turvis had a lifetime warranty and all I had to do was send it in and they would replace it for free. I went to their website, filled out a form, grabbed a box from work, and sent my cup in. Two weeks later, I received a brand new cup in the mail. 

I did the same thing with the cup I use at the office, a Bubba. The insulated piece unattached from the outside holder. I went to the site filled out a form, sent it in, and again, less than two weeks later, I received a new cup. 

Those two returns ended up savings me money. Rather than purchase new cups, I spent about $12.00 in postage to receive $40.00 in new products. 

I bring all this up, because as I said, prior to these returns I never used the warranties for the products I purchased. 

Back in August, I purchased a new pair of running shoes. I live in the Brooke's Adrenalines. They are my go to running shoe, but they are not cheap. At $120.00 a pair, I try to get as much mileage out of them as I can. I had my new pair of Brooke's for about 3 weeks, and put about 60 miles on them, when the fabric along the edges began to tear. I lived with it for a few day's and finally, encouraged by my experiences with the two cups, I sent Brooke's an email and explained the problem. In return, they asked me to send in photos of the damaged shoes. Within 24 hours, I had a reply apologizing for the problem, and that I would be receiving a replacement pair of shoes within 3-5 business day's. Less than a week later, my new shoes were waiting for me on my door step. 

I was pleasantly surprised. With the exception of some torn fabric, the shoes are in great condition, and I am still running in them. And, I have a pair of brand new shoes in my closet when these wear out. For Brooke's, I am sure this was nothing but a blip on the radar, and cost them very little. But for me, a person who loves to run but will never win a race, nor sponsorships in this lifetime, it meant a great deal. I won't forget their great customer service was, and it solidified me as a customer for a very long time. 

In recent weeks, I've learned that there is no harm in speaking up. There is no harm in using a warranty for a product that you purchased. I am so much more cognizant of warranties and guarantees now as a consumer, and I am willing to go to a company to ask them to repair or replace my purchase. 

I am a firm believer that we vote with our dollars and that companies will listen to us when we speak up. 

Tell Me: Do you use warranties? Any companies worth bragging about for their warranty policy? 

Money Monday: Spending on Holiday Decor

The holiday's are almost here. In just 5 short day's millions of kids will go trick or treating, and then, the holiday rush will unofficially begin. Shopping, parties, cooking, and wrapping of gifts will work its way into our lives. 

We all know that Americans spend billions and billions of dollars from November-December on gifts and decor for Christmas. But, what about the holiday's that precede Christmas and New Years?

About 2 weeks ago, I was out running, and came across a house a few miles away that was already decorated for Halloween. These people spared no expense for their yard. 

This is really creepy. 

 While I was running, I began to wonder, just how much do American's spend on Halloween? 

According to the National Retail Foundation, the average American spends around $75.00 on Halloween. That includes costume, candy, decor, and party supplies. In 2013, as a country, we Americans spent $6.9 billion dollars on this holiday alone. That is a 55% increase since 2005. 

That lead me to wonder, why such a drastic increase for this single holiday?

I have no scientific research to back this up, but my guess would be the rise of Pinterest. I know for me, and my circle of friends, we don't make or decorate without heading to Pinterest first for ideas. 

On a personal level, Halloween has always been one of the cheaper holidays. Growing up, my parents didn't purchase us packaged costumes. If we wanted to dress up, we needed to plan our costume from what he had in our closets and around the house, or we could go to a thrift store and come up with something that way. Most years, my brother and I were able to piece together costumes for less than $10.00. 

As an adult, my husband and I don't spend a ton of money on halloween. For us, our biggest expense is buying candy to pass out. Last year, I think we spent around $15.00 for a few bags of candy. Our neighbors tend to gather around outside and the adults hang out on the sidewalk or in each other's yard passing out candy and talking. 

As far as holiday decor, I rarely decorate for holiday's. We have never spent a holiday at our home. We always travel to be with family, and so I have never put the time or effort into it. Plus, I tend to be a little Type A, and a minimalist, and I don't like to see things moved around or out of place. 

Tell Me: Do you decorate for Halloween or throw a party? How much do you spend? What is your Halloween tradition?

Friday Confessions

We made it to another Friday!

This week has been a busy, but productive one over here.

Anyone have any fun weekend plans?

Its Friday, so that means its time for Friday Confessions!

Here we go.

1.I asked a guy if he washed his hands after coming out of the restroom. I had a meeting and I was going to meet a vendor to do some work. He walked out of the restroom right when I walked into the lobby of the building. I walked up, shook his hand, and said "I sure hope you washed." He got red faced and didn't respond. Ugh.

2. We have been binge watching Friday Night Lights. This t.v. show is AMAZING! We watched 3 episodes each night this week, and then we both woke up at 3:30AM and watched it before work. Addicting!

3.We stared down a neighbor from our porch. Our neighbors boyfriend parks right in front of our house, right next to our driveway. It makes it really hard to back out and he parks in a way that we nearly hit his car all the time. We have asked him to stop parking so close to our driveway and give us more room. He has not. So this week, he pull up and we stood on the porch and watched him park.

All right gang, fess up!

Before and After: The Patio

When we first purchased our home about 2.5 years ago, we knew it needed some work. Nothing major, just some TLC.

About a year ago, my husband and I were sitting on the back patio enjoying the weather, and we were torn because there was football on t.v. We wanted to watch football, while still being outside. I think I said something along the lines of "We should put a t.v. out here." It was just a flippant comment.

But, my husband heard it, and the wheels in his head started turning. He began to think and dream about what a patio cover would be like. 

We looked at some, priced them, and they were way out of our budget, and I never wanted to pull the trigger. But, if my husband is anything, he is persistent. The subject was brought up at least 3 times a month, if not more. 

Finally, after my husband bid it out again, he found a vendor to build the cover at a really aggressive price, and I caved in. It looks great, and we are so happy with it!

The Before:

The deck

 The After:

We added strip lights inside 

The final piece, the furniture! I have been eyeing and lusting over this Martha Stewart set at the Home Depot for over a year! 

This has been the biggest, most expensive project we have undertaken at our home. I think this may be the final project for the year. This year has been the year of home improvement projects, and I think at this point, we are ready to stop with the house projects and enjoy what we've got and all that we have done.

Money Monday: Why we don't use credit cards

5 years ago, my husband and I sat down on our couch, took out a pair of scissors and cut up all of our credit cards.

Then, we took a look at our accounts, totaled all of our extra cash, and left 3K aside as an emergency fund. With just a few thousand to use, we decided to pay off as much of our credit card debt as we could that day.  Once each credit card was paid in full, we called the bank and cancelled our card. One by one, the credit card debts were paid, cancelled, and we vowed that we would never be in credit card debt again.

One part of the process that surprised us was how hard to was to actually close each account. The banks tried to offer us perks (higher credit limits, an upgraded card, concierge services, ect.) and once we declined, we were put through to a supervisor. Then, the supervisor tried to sweet talk us with the perks again. When that didn’t work, they began the scare tactics, and tried to bully us into keeping our cards. It took persistence, determination, and focus for us to remain on track.

But, we did it. We stuck to our guns and kept pushing towards our goal.

I remember after we cancelled our last card being scared. I never realized how tied I was to that piece of plastic. That card was our emergency fund. It was the safety net. Again, we pushed through those feelings and stuck with our plan.

Why did we give up credit cards?

First, we found that when we used credit cards, we spent more money.  This may not be the case for everyone, but when we bought on plastic, it was so much easier to buy more items.

Today, we utilize the envelope system and use cash for food, gas, dry cleaning, pet supplies, home goods (cleaning, HBA, make up ect), and entertainment. Once the money is gone, its gone and we don’t get to spend any more that month. Using cash is what lead me to becoming a couponer because when I bought a cart of groceries with my credit card, I didn’t think about price as much. But, when I sit in the store parking lot and count the cash in my envelope, I have no choice but to stay on budget. Sometimes we have to sacrifice and not buy things we want this week, but I can normally find a coupon for it, so we usually are able to get that item in the next few weeks with a discount.

Second, we read the fine print. The contracts with the credit card companies favor the banks, not the consumer. CC companies advertise a fixed rate, but in our agreement, they were able to increase the interest rate just by giving a two week notice.  

Third, we didn’t trust the credit card companies.  Credit card companies have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to study the consumer. They have sociologist, scientist, psychologist that study us and our behaviors. They study how we act and think in order to get us to spend more money. They try to sell us on a life that quite frankly we could not afford on our own, but with their credit card we could achieve.

Finally, we wanted to be self-reliant and free. We wanted to call the shots in our own financial life, and didn’t want to be tied to an institution that tracked our habits and used that information in ways that were not helpful, but harmful.

Are we missing out?

Maybe.

Sure, we don’t get frequent flyer miles, or discounts at the store, but in most cases, I can find a coupon code online and get those savings anyway.

But, what we don’t get in rewards, we more than make up for in piece of mind. We never worry about what the mail when it comes in because we know there is no bill out there with our name on it that we forgot about.

In the end, living without credit cards is not for everyone, but for us, it works. The beauty of personal finance is that its personal. If you do something that works for you, that does not for me, that’s great! I don’t think one decision is better than the other, they are just different. As long as you have a plan and working that plan, then good for you!

Tell me: Do you use credit cards? If so, how many do you have?  If not, when did you get rid of yours? Why did you get rid of them?

Friday Confessions: Homecoming Edition

Happy Friday Y'all!

Its State Fair time here in Texas, and that can only mean one thing, Homecoming! While I don't have any desire to go to my high school, college, or graduate school homecoming, it does take me down memory lane.  Its Friday night lights, high school dances, and of course looking around to find out who has the biggest mum.

While this was not my mum, I did have some pretty righteous mum's during my high school years! 

So in honor of Homecoming, I thought I would give you some blast from the past Friday confessions from my high school years.

1.I backed my car over the mailbox at the house. I was backing out of the driveway and somehow I ended up in the grass with the mailbox under my car. I drove off.

2. I got sent home from school most Friday's. At my high school we had a dress code for shorts and skirts, they had to be a dollar bill width above the knee. On Friday's I would wear a skirt and hike it up before my geometry class. We had quizzes each Friday and my geometry teacher was my soccer coach.

3. I closed my eyes during my drivers test. We were driving over a bridge and I got scared. So I closed my eyes and the instructor freaked, but somehow still gave me my license.

4. I offered to buy my soccer coach cigarettes and porn. When I turned 18 I wanted to do something with my newfound adulthood. I asked him that during practice one day. He was not amused.

5. I dated a guy who was a drummer but didn't tell anyone it was in the high school band. I thought it made me sound cool to date a drummer, I just didn't tell anyone where he drummed. They found out eventually and made fun of me.

6. I broke up with said guy 2 hours before prom and refused to go with him. I told him I was sick, and when he came over, I broke up with him. But, did manage to go water skiing with him the next day.

Alright friends, fess up!!!

Tales from my Iphone

Gas for $2.87. I have not seen gas prices that low in years! Time to fill up the tank! 

Had a court date on Monday. We were issued a criminal citation for having tree limbs in the front  yard. We had the tree trimmed and the company but the limbs on the curb. Their truck came by less than 2 hours later to pick them up. In the 2 hours they finished a city inspector drove by and gave us a citation. I had to go before a judge and explain it. She dismissed it right away. What an enormous waste of time. 

I have been obsessed with this song. I listed to it on repeat while I ran 6 miles. 

Our dog stands like this for about 30 minutes every single morning 

Woot woot! Got lots of packages!!! 

Last week's couponing haul. About $50.00 worth of product for $11.50!