Hi all. Thank you for following. 
We got both Auto and Renters insurance switched to Geico. Only saving about $11/mo, but the Renters insurance is much more inclusive (though they do outsource it with another agency). Comes with Fraud/Identity Theft protection.
Today, we are going to Lowe's to pic up some picture hangers (bought a canvas painting at IKEA with a gift card!), screws for our accent lighting in our bedroom, tarps for our bicycles that are stored on our patio, for sale signs for the car, and a tool or two for various things. Gotta start collecting tools if I want to move up from my current position at work. 
Also need them for working on the bicycles.
Also, today, we may be going to look at an '80's Schwinn Le Tour bicycle for $45. It is of higher build quality than my '72 Schwinn Varsity, so it will serve as a parts bike for mine. If we are going to be riding our bicycles instead of driving a vehicle, then we might as well upgrade them a little bit where it is needed.
And also, we might be getting a new stereo installed in our car today or tomorrow. Our old one went bad, so we bought a factory stereo for $50. Installation will be $25. I would do it myself, but I have not successfully done it before, and do not want to screw up any electrical in the car, because we are prepping it for sale.
Yesterday, at work, I found a great looking couch sitting out at the "junk pile" where tenants put what they consider to be junk. More accurately, it is where I put stuff that tenants leave in hallways and trash rooms instead of doing what they are supposed to because they are too lazy and feel entitled... Haha.
This couch looks like a mid-century sofa. It has a nice floral print and has a hide-a-bed, and is on rollers. It's pretty awesome. We love mid-century styles, and our current sofa is scratched up and bulky and way too contemporary for us. You can actually find the same set at RC Wiley. Not our flavour at all!
I stored this sofa in one of our maintenance rooms that only three of us have access to, so that no one would jack it. Ha! The sofa has no scratches or anything on it. Only thing is that the arm rests are somewhat hard, so our little one may bang her face on it a time or two. Haha. Well, that is going to happen no matter what.
We're excited about the sofa. Just need to figure out how to get our current one down five stories to put in the junk pile. It does not fit in the elevator, and there is a divider in most of the stairwells blocking entry from Parking Level 1 to Parking Level 2 (where the junk pile is). I'll have to figure out which one does not have that divider, and hopefully enlist my wife's uncle to help.
Oh! Almost forgot. A few weeks ago, someone threw away a somewhat older DSLR camera. It was set nicely in its nearly indestructible case, with two battery packs, two memory cards, and cleaning tools. There is no lens in there, but we have done some research, and they still make lenses for it. This particular camera (just the body is in there) is the Canon EOS D60. It was made in 2002, so it is missing some more modern features. However, it is still a very functional camera. With 169 different Canon EF-series lenses ranging from $150 to $2,000, there are plenty of choices. We found one for $170 that would do us quite well. This camera retailed for $2,200 back in 2002. The body by itself still sells on eBay and Amazon for $200. So, we are going to keep it. It turns on and takes pictures fine - just need a lens and battery charger.
Woohoo for working in Apartment Maintenance!
On a more downward note, we still have running balances on our credit cards. Currently paying only a little above the minimum payments, but that will all change soon enough.
We have been thinking about what we would do with the money left from paying off the car after selling it. We should have around $3,000 - enough to pay off Sallie Mae and our credit cards. However, that would leave us with no money to purchase a vehicle if we find that we can indeed not go without a vehicle. So, maybe we will wait a month or two to pay them off. Or we may pay off the cards or Sallie Mae, and keep paying the other. What do you think?
By the way, the current estimation of how much we will be saving per month after selling the car and having dropped the smartphone plans, is over $400! We will be allocating $50 of that to groceries (EBT benefits are decreasing) and $30 to clothing at first (need rain gear and bicycle clothing such as rain jackets), bringing the net savings to $326 per month! Also, we will be getting Washington State Basic Health plans for my wife and I, at $60 each, bringing the new net savings to $206 per month.
It should be a little more than that, because all of our budgets are rounded up and income is rounded down (by about $100/mo), and we have not factored-in our current difference between income:expenses. Just factoring in what we will be saving from dropping the car and phones.
Sounds pretty great, right?!
Updates on Auto Ins, Living, etc.
March 16th, 2012 at 07:15 pm
March 16th, 2012 at 07:34 pm 1331926492
And anyway, if they weren't so lazy and entitled, you wouldn't have a new couch, now would you?
There's also probably a pretty good chance that it'll be through the tenants, or friends of the tenants that you'll end up being able to sell you car.
March 16th, 2012 at 07:49 pm 1331927354
And don't worry - there's no bad attitude. Too busy with other stuff to really hold a grudge. Was just stating a fact about some of them is all. Ask anyone in this industry.
March 16th, 2012 at 08:00 pm 1331928054
If you find more things that are of good value...you could resell for profit on craigslist or ebay. Keep that in mind as side income. Of course, only if accepted by your employer.
March 16th, 2012 at 09:40 pm 1331934002
March 16th, 2012 at 10:12 pm 1331935978
@baselle -
Stafford - SUB /
SALLIE MAE TRUST - LSC/FL Repayment 04/05/2007 $1,341.02 6.8%
Stafford - UNSUB /
SALLIE MAE TRUST - LSC/FL Repayment 10/26/2007 $308.47 6.8%
Copied/Pasted.
March 17th, 2012 at 03:35 am 1331955319
March 17th, 2012 at 04:47 am 1331959675
We live literally yards from an urgent care facility. We live on the third floor. Our credit union is on Parking Level 2 (street-level). Urgent care is right across from our credit union. Now, granted, we will not always be at home when there is an emergency, in which case we call 911. Response times here are pretty good. My supervisor has had to call the fire department and an ambulance before twice since I have worked here, and they have been here in minutes. This may even be better than, say, zooming off to the hospital in your personal vehicle, for several reasons:
1. You are not in a calm state, so driving is possibly not a good idea,
2. Because of aforementioned reason, you may be breaking several traffic laws, and may be putting yourself and your family at risk for further injury,
3. Ambulances provide emergency care while en route to the hospital.
Also, I am CPR/FA/AED certified, on adults, children, and infants. I have already had to provide emergency care to our choking daughter. >.<
We should get along just fine without a vehicle. Many people do.
March 18th, 2012 at 03:07 am 1332040072
March 18th, 2012 at 03:56 am 1332042967
March 19th, 2012 at 12:04 am 1332115467