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MM Wins and Losses
So this has been an eventful two days!
MM Win: We finally got a tenant for our 4-bedroom unit. My poor H had been doing multiple showings a day for the last couple weeks. That will be an extra $1,140/month in the budget. The expenses for the unit are already included in my budget, because most of those exist whether a tenant lives there or not!
MM Loss: It started as an MM Win. I took two hours of vacation time off work today to participate in a 1-hour forum that paid $75. Except I got a bad blow out on the way there. Sidewall ripped up and everything. So no money from the forum, because I didn't make it. And still had to use vacation time because it took me just as long to get my car towed and then get back to work.
And it wasn't just the one tire. Although the treads are still in decent shape, the tires themselves are old and all of them have at least some dry rot. Which is why the one tire blew out so easily. So it was recommended I get ALL the tires replaced. Plus I paid for a lifetime alignment ($169) and tire "insurance" for three years ($18/each). Probably got suckered on those two, not sure either one was a good idea. But it gave me piece of mind. The tires themselves were $112/each, but they are "run flats", so I felt like that was a pretty good deal.
After $50 off for applying for and putting the charge on a Firestone credit card with no interest for 6 months...yup, talked me into that also with the $50 discount, lol...the damage to my wallet was $800. Meh! I know, new tires are one of those "expected expenses" with a car, but it is still a big chunk of change when the time comes.
Guess I'll be taking $200 of that new rent money for the next 4 months to pay off the Firestone card in plenty of time before interest hits!
Re: MM Wins and Losses
Thanks for the feedback! You all are making me feel better about going with the lifetime alignment. Plus NOLA is notorious for potholes. I once saw a "top ten" for worst cities for potholes. Boston was #1 and NOLA was #2. Both port cities, not very sturdy ground.
@jtmh2012, I'm always a little side-eye about the tire insurance. I used it once with a different car and between the pro-ration, plus I was still charged all the little shop fees, it barely paid for itself. On the good side, when I got my final bill, because I bought "run flats", I was given a 25% discount on the tire insurance. So it only came out to be an extra $60 instead of $80.
I was glad the run flats were so affordable. The trunk of my MINI is less than half the size of a typical passenger vehicle, so there isn't room for a spare. Even for my small tires, they were over $200/tire when I looked into it a couple years ago. The lady at Firestone told me they've really dropped in price over the last year or so.
@labro, congrats on the raise! Even a smaller raise adds up to a nice amount over the course of a month or a year. And can add up exponentially if used to boost a retirement account or pay down mortgage principal.
@AprilZ81, Glad to hear everything is going well! That's awesome everyone is coming to the "gender reveal" dr. appointment. Exciting!