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Rambling about prices

January 23rd, 2025 at 11:08 pm

I let my BJs membership lapse this past fall because it's hard to justify paying the $60 membership as a single person. Then I got something from them in the mail offering me an annual membership for $25, which is what I paid the last 2 years. So I went for it. Just a day or two later, I got a postcard from them offering an even sweeter deal: a $20 membership and $20 back after spendng $60.

It was too late for the better deal, but I decided to nicely ask them if they would still honor it. She gave me the $5 back for the difference in the membership cost but said she couldn't (easily) arrange it so I could get the $20 back after spending $60, but I was stil happy to get something. It never hurts to ask! Note to self: Hold out a bit longer next year before accepting the first discounted membership deal!

I bit the bullet and spent $375 on a second backup key for my Toyota and it is now safely stored with my important documents. Knowing my proclivity for misplacing stuff, the odds of me getting through the next 10 years without losing my one and only key are not good! I have, however, decided to go back to an old habit I had been happy to do without: carrying a purse around with me. It's less likely I'll leave something somewhere, like cell phone, keys or Toyota key (which is kept separate in a Farriday pouch), if I can just throw everything in my purse.

My first car payment will be early February, and that's when I plan to "turbocharge" the car loan repayments with a single additional $5,000 payment in 2025 and then continue paying about $400 a month for the year. So next month will be yet another very tight month, money-wise.  The 2nd $5,000 payment will be made early in 2026, and by doing this, I'll have the car paid off in 2 years, not 5, saving myself a lot of interest.

I very much enjoy driving the car. I like the Sirius XM alot, but don't want to pay $10 a month for it. I am getting used to dealing with blind spots with my side mirrors, though truth be told I haven't driven much on the highway where this would be most important.  But what I'm saying is that I don't think it'll be necessary that I spend $1,000 on the after-market blind spot assist installation.

I plan to at least start my taxes tomorrow. I do them myself. I am still missing tax forms from 2 entities, but I'll see if I can work up the point where I need those numbers. And I should get them any day now.

I did also recently renew my McAfee computer virus protection. If I had been lazy and just clicked on the renew button that kept popping up on my computer, I would have paid $70 for a year's coverage for my computer and smart phone. But by opening a new window and going to the McAfee site, I paid just $42 for it. I hate when companies penalize existing cutomers.

I treated myself (rarely do this) to a yummy sandwich at the general store today coming home from running an errand. I remember one thing I always told myself I would do "when I retired" was buy myself a fresh bouquet of flowers whenever I was at Trader Joe's. I haven't done that yet, partly because when I was there last week it was below freezing and I was afraid that could prematurely zap any flowers I bought in the walk from store to car. As soon as temps rise, though, I will be buying myself flowers!

8 Responses to “Rambling about prices”

  1. Turtle Lover Says:
    1737726190

    regarding the Sirius XM - if you wait longer they will offer you a better price. I have it in my new car - I wasn't going to pay for it as I usually listen to Spotify ... they offered it to me for $60 ($59.95?) a year .... so that's $5 a month. We plan to use my car for long trips sometimes ... so I thought ok I'll do it this year .. then we'll see how much we actually listen to it - so I don't know what will happen next year.

  2. patientsaver Says:
    1737727822

    Turtle Lover, thank you for telling me that. The salesperson at the dealership also said, wait a while and they'll make a better offer. 95% of the time I just use the car to drive locally, but I do hope to do a few road trips in 2025 to visit friends, so I think I would really like to have it. I've already bookmarked a dozen channels but the one I've been listening to is the acoustic guitar, which is very relaxing and very chill.

    I think I might spring for it at $5 a month. I try not to go for subscriptions in general because I know how easy it is to forget about them and they do add up.

    I was trying to remember what subscriptions I have right now and oh gosh, I have a lot!
    Right now my other subscriptions include Cronometer ($40/year), ConsumerLab ($35/year), AARP ($20), AAA, Netflix (8.50/mth), my local weekly newspaper ($40/yr), my gym membership ($32/mth) and McAfee anti-virus protection ($43/yr).

  3. patientsaver Says:
    1737729442

    Oh yeah, one more: Boldin ($120/year)

  4. Tabs Says:
    1737781100

    Wait, what kind of yummy sandwich? That's not descriptive enough for my lack of imagination!

  5. mumof2 Says:
    1737796193

    there are some apps that will find all your subscriptions for you so you know and cancel the ones you no longer want or need...might save you some money as well.

  6. patientsaver Says:
    1737814691

    Tabs: Ha! Probably mundane by most people's standards, but I don't eat out much: I had a breaded chicken cutlet with swiss cheese, lettuce and honey/mustard with a side of slaw.

    Mum, I decided after posting this to make a list of all my subscriptions. Right now, I anticipate having all but two for the rest of my life. The ones I could probably dispense with are AAA and AARP.

  7. rob62521 Says:
    1737826315

    That sounds like quite the yummy sandwich!

    I agree, I hate when companies penalize existing customers by not giving them a break. Guess they figure we are going to stay no matter what. I discovered a long time ago loyalty means nothing anymore, especially at banks. I go where I can get the best deal as far as money markets, savings, etc.

    That was smart of you to ask about the deal at BJ's and $5 is a big deal. That's $5 more than what you had.

    I have always carried a purse and it seemed like it kept getting bigger and bigger. I agree, it's nice to have everything in one thing so I don't lose things, but I decided to cut down on stuff and bought a small bag that I wear cross body when I'm out. I miss having a lot of the stuff sometimes, but it keeps my wallet, keys, inhaler, and phone all in one place. Good plan on storing your extra key someplace safe. A habit i picked up from my aunt was to always keep my purse by my bed at night. She used to travel a lot and said if there were ever a fire, her purse was right there and she could grab it and go since it had her wallet, id, keys, etc. I still do the same thing and have for years so I know where it is and know where the keys, wallet, id, and my rescue inhaler is.

  8. Amber Says:
    1738321394

    I’m always misplacing my keys, so I added an Apple tag.

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