MM Good and Bad

[Pom]

I called Delta last night and explained that I'd already checked my mom in for her flight but she'd been rushed to the hospital for an emergency. No insurance on the ticket.  The lady on the phone said no problem and she'd cancel the ticket and refund it to my CC.  WHAT?  I thought that never happened.  Of course, I haven't seen the credit, but I was stunned.

Plumbing and heating company just called about FIL's house.  We were having it all checked over for winter.  He needs a new furnace and a new water heater.  The guy didn't want to tell me but, I said "How much, like $10-$12k?"  He agreed that it will be in that ballpark.  Ugh.  I am like one of those cartoon characters who passes flat out on the floor.  I cried and went back to bed.

So what's on your MM naughty and nice list?

[audette]

Hrm... Good MM - I'm on a business trip, so meals, hotel, rental car, even gas are all expensed. I can expense full cost, not just a per diem. It's the last day of September, and only 11 days this month have not been expense account/work travel days for me. My next paycheck (ie: today) should indicate my payraise, and the backpay to the raise's effective date a few months ago.

Bad MM - I'm catching up on lost shopping opportunities on this trip. And I just found out DH (and probably me) will have to attend another darn mil ball, to the tune of $125/ticket, plus (likely) a night at an expensive hotel in downtown Seoul, and I may need to scramble to find a new ballgown before I head back to Korea. Whee. Maybe I'll sew one for this ball...

[audette]

Pom - do you think your FIL just forgot to do the needed maintenance for too long on the furnace? Or is the furnace just really old?

That news bites.

[toesie]

Sept 30, 2014 11:53:09 GMT -5 Pom said:

I called Delta last night and explained that I'd already checked my mom in for her flight but she'd been rushed to the hospital for an emergency. No insurance on the ticket.  The lady on the phone said no problem and she'd cancel the ticket and refund it to my CC.  WHAT?  I thought that never happened.  Of course, I haven't seen the credit, but I was stunned.

Plumbing and heating company just called about FIL's house.  We were having it all checked over for winter.  He needs a new furnace and a new water heater.  The guy didn't want to tell me but, I said "How much, like $10-$12k?"  He agreed that it will be in that ballpark.  Ugh.  I am like one of those cartoon characters who passes flat out on the floor.  I cried and went back to bed.

So what's on your MM naughty and nice list?

Yayy about the ticket.

But get more quotes for the furnace/water heater. That sounds like a lot. Water heater should be ~1K both labor and material. Couple of years ago we replaced a high eficiency furnace in dead winter (feb in MI), so the price included "emergency" fee, but it was only 5K for a 1500ish sqft house.

[drloretta]

Good: I contacted the company that sold us the cat's special cat food. I explained that he had passed and I wanted to send back what I could. The guy told me he would give us a full refund (only $90, but still), and not to send it back. Just find a place to donate it. The vet hospital was extremely grateful, and thrilled to hear we'd gotten a full refund. And the vet was able to cancel the cat's custom chemotherapy order (another $250 saved).

The bad: I think all told we spent close to $2K in a 1-week period figuring out what was wrong with the cat, only to have him put down.

[Pom]

Sept 30, 2014 12:03:32 GMT -5 audette said:

Hrm... Good MM - I'm on a business trip, so meals, hotel, rental car, even gas are all expensed. I can expense full cost, not just a per diem. It's the last day of September, and only 11 days this month have not been expense account/work travel days for me. My next paycheck (ie: today) should indicate my payraise, and the backpay to the raise's effective date a few months ago.

Bad MM - I'm catching up on lost shopping opportunities on this trip. And I just found out DH (and probably me) will have to attend another darn mil ball, to the tune of $125/ticket, plus (likely) a night at an expensive hotel in downtown Seoul, and I may need to scramble to find a new ballgown before I head back to Korea. Whee. Maybe I'll sew one for this ball...

Congrats on your raise!  I hope you have a nice fat paycheck.  Traveling on a company's dime is easier to take

I am a little jealous of all your formal occasions.  I know it's probably not always fun, but something not so common these days.  Be sure and share a picture!

Honestly, as far as FIL, he is cheap, so that's not new.  I found a "red tag" from the propane company that indicated that his water heater wasn't vented properly from January 2014.  I am sure his illness has complicated getting anything done.  

[Deleted]

Good - my free 4 night hotel stay and overnight parking.

Bad - my car getting towed.

[Pom]

Sept 30, 2014 12:11:25 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Good: I contacted the company that sold us the cat's special cat food. I explained that he had passed and I wanted to send back what I could. The guy told me he would give us a full refund (only $90, but still), and not to send it back. Just find a place to donate it. The vet hospital was extremely grateful, and thrilled to hear we'd gotten a full refund. And the vet was able to cancel the cat's custom chemotherapy order (another $250 saved).

The bad: I think all told we spent close to $2K in a 1-week period figuring out what was wrong with the cat, only to have him put down.

I am sorry about your kitty

[drloretta]

Sept 30, 2014 12:12:40 GMT -5 Pom said:

Sept 30, 2014 12:11:25 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Good: I contacted the company that sold us the cat's special cat food. I explained that he had passed and I wanted to send back what I could. The guy told me he would give us a full refund (only $90, but still), and not to send it back. Just find a place to donate it. The vet hospital was extremely grateful, and thrilled to hear we'd gotten a full refund. And the vet was able to cancel the cat's custom chemotherapy order (another $250 saved).

The bad: I think all told we spent close to $2K in a 1-week period figuring out what was wrong with the cat, only to have him put down.

I am sorry about your kitty

Thanks. It's DH's cat, so he's more broken up than I am. But I still miss him.

[keweenawlove]

Good: I sold a non-functioning laptop for parts and made $90. Glad I tried eBay. I had initially just planned on dropping it off at Best Buy

Bad: DH is in charge of a Bachelor party on Thursday night and numbers are lower than he was expecting. He booked a $500 peddle pub that I'm guessing he'll be on the hook for a large chunk of. Ugh...

[oreos]

Good: I found a parking lot close-ish to work downtown today that was only $11 for the day
Bad: I typed the license plate number for my other car into the parking machine accidentally, so I ended up having to pay a second time for the car I was actually using, costing me $22 instead of my frugal $11

[raangoli]

Good: I cashed in rewards points for a gift card to get myself something nice.

Bad: The medical bills are starting to roll in for my procedure two weeks ago. It's not awful, and my FSA contributions will cover it, but with coinsurance, I never know how much anything will cost lately. And we also had to pay a small chunk of change to make up an escrow shortage bc our property taxes went up. September can suck it.

[Pom]

Sept 30, 2014 12:08:24 GMT -5 toesie said:

Sept 30, 2014 11:53:09 GMT -5 Pom said:

I called Delta last night and explained that I'd already checked my mom in for her flight but she'd been rushed to the hospital for an emergency. No insurance on the ticket.  The lady on the phone said no problem and she'd cancel the ticket and refund it to my CC.  WHAT?  I thought that never happened.  Of course, I haven't seen the credit, but I was stunned.

Plumbing and heating company just called about FIL's house.  We were having it all checked over for winter.  He needs a new furnace and a new water heater.  The guy didn't want to tell me but, I said "How much, like $10-$12k?"  He agreed that it will be in that ballpark.  Ugh.  I am like one of those cartoon characters who passes flat out on the floor.  I cried and went back to bed.

So what's on your MM naughty and nice list?

Yayy about the ticket.

But get more quotes for the furnace/water heater. That sounds like a lot. Water heater should be ~1K both labor and material. Couple of years ago we replaced a high eficiency furnace in dead winter (feb in MI), so the price included "emergency" fee, but it was only 5K for a 1500ish sqft house.

I hope it is more in line with what you posted.  We will definitely get a second quote.  Thanks!

[dexteroni]

Sept 30, 2014 11:53:09 GMT -5 Pom said:

Plumbing and heating company just called about FIL's house.  We were having it all checked over for winter.  He needs a new furnace and a new water heater.  The guy didn't want to tell me but, I said "How much, like $10-$12k?"  He agreed that it will be in that ballpark.

Wait, why is it so much? Is his house particularly large? Our furnace and water heater cost less half of that. The people giving you an estimate didn't want to tell you the price? And then you guessed a price and they were like "yep, that's it?" I hope that's not what happened but it sounds like it. Get at least a few more estimates.

[sweetptater]

Sept 30, 2014 12:11:25 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Good: I contacted the company that sold us the cat's special cat food. I explained that he had passed and I wanted to send back what I could. The guy told me he would give us a full refund (only $90, but still), and not to send it back. Just find a place to donate it. The vet hospital was extremely grateful, and thrilled to hear we'd gotten a full refund. And the vet was able to cancel the cat's custom chemotherapy order (another $250 saved).

The bad: I think all told we spent close to $2K in a 1-week period figuring out what was wrong with the cat, only to have him put down.

We did this exact same thing earlier this year. It sucks. Sorry for your loss. 

[Deleted]

Good - the x-ray for my elbow ended up being only $18! I can live with that.

Bad - My car insurance went up $200/year due to my accident. Is it worth shopping around or am I screwed because of one accident?

[CloudBee]

Good:
DH could use another suit, so I took it upon myself to order him another one. It arrived, and he doesn't like it. I used my own fun money. I just shipped that sucker back, and am now $400 richer. He said he would rather shop in-person. Fine by me. He hates to shop, so I was just trying to do him a favor. (The suit looked great on him and fit perfectly. Whatever.)

Bad:
I'm using an old friend as a sitter this month for a one day gig, and she quoted me $30 an hour. YES, THAT'S WHAT I SAID. Granted she's a well paid nanny in the NYC metro, and I need her to drive my kid about 10 minutes away to take him to his fall photo shoot, and back home again. (Shoot is only 15 minutes, and he's a ham that loves the photographer.) But I spoke to another friend who has used her as a sitter, and she only charged her $15! I feel scalped. We really need her help to sit, because I trust her to drive DS, and there's really no one else who can do this for us. I asked her if the $30/hr rate was a premium because we need her to drive DS "offsite" for about an hour. She responds with "how does $20/hr sound?", ignoring my question. Fine. That's fine. We need her. But what the eff. $30? Sometimes I feel taken advantage of. We make decent money, and it's apparent that we do spend money on nice things. But we also manage our money really well, and I'm always on the lookout for a good deal. Heck, I compare price per ounce, use Amazon's virtual coupons, and buy some of DS's clothes on Ebay. I don't like knowing that she may have been trying to pull one over on me because she thought I would be willing to pay her that much, no questions asked.

[thatgirl2478]

Sept 30, 2014 12:34:01 GMT -5 Pom said:

Sept 30, 2014 12:08:24 GMT -5 toesie said:

Yayy about the ticket.

But get more quotes for the furnace/water heater. That sounds like a lot. Water heater should be ~1K both labor and material. Couple of years ago we replaced a high eficiency furnace in dead winter (feb in MI), so the price included "emergency" fee, but it was only 5K for a 1500ish sqft house.

I hope it is more in line with what you posted.  We will definitely get a second quote.  Thanks!

Do!  We replaced a furnace in Jan 2012 and it cost $5k for our house (smallish, 1200 on main level, 600 finished in the basement).  That included the a/c unit that we couldn't replace until it warmed up. 

[dragonfly08]

Sept 30, 2014 11:53:09 GMT -5 Pom said:

Plumbing and heating company just called about FIL's house.  We were having it all checked over for winter.  He needs a new furnace and a new water heater.  The guy didn't want to tell me but, I said "How much, like $10-$12k?"  He agreed that it will be in that ballpark.  Ugh.  I am like one of those cartoon characters who passes flat out on the floor.  I cried and went back to bed.

Definitely get another quote or two.  We replaced our water heater for around $1K, including labor.  My parents had their furnace replaced earlier this year, approx. 2200 sq ft house, around $3-4k for everything.

Yay on the plane ticket, though!

MM good here is that DH just got back from 10 days in Africa, and with overtime and everything it's a nice bit of extra pay going into our account, even if we do probably have to wait 4-6 weeks to see it.  MM bad is that one of the tenants called last night and their A/C is on the fritz, so we're going to have to deal with that in the near future (fortunately it's not an emergency now that the weather has turned...I didn't even think anybody would still be using A/C, but this tenant is pretty high maintenance so it could be the dead of winter and she wouldn't be using it for months but would still want to know it was working RIGHT NOW).

[UnderProtest]

Good- My husband's bonus should come in tomorrow.

Bad- It will be paid in the US so it doesn't help us here.

[melmo1122]

Good and Bad - I needed new front and back brakes. Quote from the shop was $658! My dad is a retired mechanic. He bought the brakes from his friend's auto parts store and drove 4 hrs to my house and replaced them yesterday. I only had to pay $204 for the parts. And he washed and waxed my car too! I bought him a big can of peanuts and will send him a restaurant gift card once he goes back home.

[melmo1122]

drloretta  i'm sorry about your kitty

[Deleted]

Good: got my second paycheck at my new job. And yay it's $500 more per check than we budgeted.

Bad: the reason it's $500 more is because they STILL haven't set up my savings plan which means I've missed out on 2x$500 in matching now. It's been a month! Boo. I'm hoping they apply it retroactively.

[WinterWine]

Good: My wardrobe was looking pretty worn and I was able to take advantage of some sales to update key staples, as well as finding some great Hudson skinny jeans for 60% off at the rack. Looking much more polished now.

Bad: though I got some deals, it still drive our credit card bill way up. That combined with $2k of travel expenses for H that he is awaiting reimbursement on, gave me a minor heart attack this morning!

[audette]

Sept 30, 2014 12:11:46 GMT -5 Pom said:

Sept 30, 2014 12:03:32 GMT -5 audette said:

Hrm... Good MM - I'm on a business trip, so meals, hotel, rental car, even gas are all expensed. I can expense full cost, not just a per diem. It's the last day of September, and only 11 days this month have not been expense account/work travel days for me. My next paycheck (ie: today) should indicate my payraise, and the backpay to the raise's effective date a few months ago.

Bad MM - I'm catching up on lost shopping opportunities on this trip. And I just found out DH (and probably me) will have to attend another darn mil ball, to the tune of $125/ticket, plus (likely) a night at an expensive hotel in downtown Seoul, and I may need to scramble to find a new ballgown before I head back to Korea. Whee. Maybe I'll sew one for this ball...

Congrats on your raise!  I hope you have a nice fat paycheck.  Traveling on a company's dime is easier to take

I am a little jealous of all your formal occasions.  I know it's probably not always fun, but something not so common these days.  Be sure and share a picture!

Honestly, as far as FIL, he is cheap, so that's not new.  I found a "red tag" from the propane company that indicated that his water heater wasn't vented properly from January 2014.  I am sure his illness has complicated getting anything done.  

The first one or two balls were pretty cool.  Now, they're just expensive and a pain in the butt.  DH might go it alone on this one.  It's on a Thursday night, so me going would mean taking at least one day off of work, which I'd rather not do because I want to take a day off the following week.  And, if DH goes on his own, it'll cost all of about $170-$190 (ticket, parking, non-alcoholic drinks during the reception hour/meal, buying whatever fussy bit he'll need to modify on his uniform this time around).  If I go, that automatically bumps it over $500 for us to go (hotel, dress, second ticket, additional parking costs for overnight vs. evening).  Possibly over $600, depending on what I do for a dress.  (the only formal dress I have right now that might fit is the one I wore for a ball a few months ago)

All of that for what is, basically, mandatory fun for DH's job...

[oswin]

Good: DH's bonus came in!

Bad: We're spending most of said bonus on sewer line repairs. We've apparently got a pecan tree whose roots were getting too friendly with the pipes, so we're having a new line (with more modern pipes) put in that goes around the tree. Pom - always get at least 2 quotes for major work (more than a couple hundred) - one plumber said $3800 and the other said $1900 (and the other plumber never got back to us with a quote).

ETA - we went with the cheaper plumber (they also seemed more competent), but so far they've accidentally cut through our phone line and water supply. And possibly our sprinkler system (mysterious PVC pipe). As long as it gets done on time (supposed to be sometime tomorrow) and they don't charge us more, I don't really care. But I will be so mad if we're without water tomorrow afternoon.

[monsterz]

Good: H got his raise and upped his 401k contribution. He also has decided he needs a personal savings account instead of spending all his discretionary funds.

Bad: I think we are going to have to enroll DS in private kindergarten as the full day program at our local school is closed. Or we need to pay for a nanny for a half day. Either one is costly.

[scout8]

Sept 30, 2014 11:53:09 GMT -5 Pom said:

I called Delta last night and explained that I'd already checked my mom in for her flight but she'd been rushed to the hospital for an emergency. No insurance on the ticket.  The lady on the phone said no problem and she'd cancel the ticket and refund it to my CC.  WHAT?  I thought that never happened.  Of course, I haven't seen the credit, but I was stunned.

Plumbing and heating company just called about FIL's house.  We were having it all checked over for winter.  He needs a new furnace and a new water heater.  The guy didn't want to tell me but, I said "How much, like $10-$12k?"  He agreed that it will be in that ballpark.  Ugh.  I am like one of those cartoon characters who passes flat out on the floor.  I cried and went back to bed.

So what's on your MM naughty and nice list?

That is way too high. Definitely get a second estimate. Are you sure that they both need to be replaced? Or, do they just need service and repairs? I am not sure I would trust this company that gave you a crazy high estimate. I would get a second opinion to see if you really need to replace these items. Then if you do, get a couple of estimates on the cost.

[Pom]

CloudBee

$30 an hour is insane.  And quoted from a friend no less.  Wow.


toesie  scout8  dexteroni

We spoke to the plumbing company again last night and he said more like $4k for the furnace and $1k for the hot water heater.  More depending on the duct work and electrical issues to be addressed  We asked for a full quote, references, permit info, etc... We told him we'd be bidding out the job to more than one company.   The furnace that is there is so old that those kinds of furnaces are not allowed to be repaired or installed (an in floor unit).

That said, FIL has literally done no upkeep at all in 30 years on some of this stuff.  Even if FIL doesn't stay in this house long term, we'd have to do some of these updates to get rid of it.  This is not totally out of the blue for us, but painful anyway. Thanks for all the input and looking out for us.  

[scout8]

Pom, that sounds much more in line with what I would have expected.