Over-saved

Only 25 Yrs Til Retirement!

If I was retired and could choose to do whatever I wanted, I would...

...complete two 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles per week
...volunteer in a camp kitchen
...play the piano for residents at a nursing home
...hike along a waterway once a week
...spends hours locked in a room doing data entry (sick, huh?)
...volunteer at Elem schools (especially coloring and cutting)
...go fishing once a week
...teach KidQuest every week
...read one novel per week
...organize closets, garages, basements for friends
...cook and host dinner parties
...act in theater productions
How about you?

Guess the Song...

You need to listen all the way to the end to see how amazing this is! Hang in there! I wish I had an ounce of this kind of creative thinking.

Snail Mail Struggles to Survive...

Did you know that you can make your very own customized postage stamps, and actually use them to mail letters? How cool!

My New Best Friend

In addition to my new vehicle, I got another incredible new toy for Christmas...a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. Bear with me...this may be lengthy but it's worth it!!!!

The mixer was another item that I had been eyeing this year. But I just couldn't justify spending over $200 on an appliance. But after coaxings from dear friends who said it is a "must-have," I decided to at least "look into it."

Now of course, I thought I'd go for the least expensive model. But the Fullens convinced me that the heavier duty motor was a must. I'd regret anything less. But this meant I'd be spending over $300 which was just out of the question. So I started searching the internet for Christmas sales but had very little hope. However, Kohls online was the answer.

The heavy duty model, regularly $370, was on sale for $240!! Plus FREE shipping which is usually $50 for this item! So I quickly purchased it so I wouldn't miss out on the great sale. It then dawned on me that I had credit card reward points that I could redeem for Kohl's gift cards!!! I was able to order $175 in gift cards but I had already charged the mixer to my Visa. So I crossed my fingers in hopes I could return the mixer to the store and repurchase it at the sale price with my gift cards when they arrived. Within a week the mixer and the gift cards arrived in the mail.

This is where my new best friend comes in...the very nice guy at Kohl's Customer Service. It went something like this.

• "May I return this mixer, credit my Visa, and repurchase it at the sale price I found online?" SURE! (thus the title "new best friend")
• "Then may I put these $175 gift cards towards it?" SURE!
• "And can I use a scratch-off discount card?" (a promotion they were running) SURE! ...an additional 15% off of $240!
• "And do I also get the '$10 for every $50 you spend' promotion?" SURE!
• "Based on the purchase price ($240)?" YEP!

Soooo........the ending balance was $39.19 put on my Kohl's charge PLUS a $4o cash coupon to spend the week after Christmas!!! So basically Kohls paid ME $0.81 to take a $370 mixer off their hands! Yahoo!

If you got lost, it went like this (rounding up)...

$370

(minus $130 on sale)
$252 (with tax)
(minus $175 gift cards)

$77

(minus $36 for 15% discount)

$39.19

(minus $40 for cash coupon)

Equals $0.81 and a $370 mixer!!!

Merry Christmas to me!!!

I'm in Love!

For the past year, my friends and family have heard me talking about possibly purchasing a new vehicle. In fact, on a six hour trip home from NY this summer, Jayne (my sister) and I were checking out every vehicle we passed. I remember at one point liking the looks of something called the "Outlander" and wondering what it was but never thinking about it again.

Well, on Christmas Day, it dawned on me that with MD sales tax increasing next week, I should be a wise steward (did I just spiritually justify spending?) and purchase a car...quick!! Of course, my two "brothers" who wanted the joy of test driving with me are in TX and CO...sorry guys! I had to choose without you!

And boy, did I ever choose well! I'm now the owner of a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander...a former company car with only 9,000 miles...and I am absolutely IN LOVE! The Outlander is rivaling the RAV4 and CRV without the sticker shock. And this '07 model is getting incredible reviews. The Outlander was totally revamped this year and now outdrives its counterparts. Even the CarMax sales guys I worked with fell in love with it (uh...I'm guessing they wouldn't put it that way.)

And speaking of sales guys...they were incredible! CarMax is definitely "The Way Car Buying Should Be"...it was a phenomenal experience. They were so helpful, non-pressuring, knowledgable, informative, helpful and personable. CarMax is right up there with Chick-fil-A's Customer Service! Every single person I worked with was incredibly helpful and pleasant.

So here is my new Christmas toy!! I'd list all the bells and whistles but making adults drool is kinda rude. So I'll just brag that I stayed under budget AND still got more than I expected. It was the first car I test drove...it was love at first sight!!!

It's About Time

Peer pressure...inevitable.
Having the willpower to stand against it...uhhh, priceless.

I have succumbed. After several months (years?) of pressure from well-meaning, techie friends, I have finally joined the blogging community.

As a beginner, I'm naive concerning official blogging protocol. So I am going to create my own. I hereby vow the following...

...I will learn from great bloggers like Jen V, Jason and Rachel. I officially assign you to be my trainers. Mentor me, OGBs!!! (Oh Great Bloggers)
...I will not steal info from friends' blogs. Unless it is brilliant and I can figure out how to pre-date my post so it looks like you stole it from me.
...I will blog more often than Jen S, Suzie and Kathleen.
...I will post (I learned my first official blog vocab!) only subjects that fall within the two categories of my blog title: "My 2 Cents" on issues at hand (and that's about all they are worth), and "Nonsense" (because those posts get the most comments!!! hmmm...why is that? I just might have to blog about that).