Friday, May 26, 2006

My Flooring Project: Completed at Last!

Some of the readers might be familiar with my flooring project. For those who are not familiar with it, last March was when I decided to replace some of my flooring that my baby decided to destroy. Did some research. I chose Home Depot, as stated in this post. Bathroom flooring plan changed due to this rot.

And yes, everything changed. Who would have thunk since March things kept changing due to "unforeseen circumstances" (my currently most hated word)? Rot was found in the bathroom subfloor, and my other floors were too "bouncy", thus ceramic tiles would not be feasible, unless I pay more to replace subfloor. And do I want to replace the subfloor? Nah.

So I went with pergo.


Waiting, and waiting for new floor to be replaced, especially since March. Socks has gotten tired of it as I am, in this picture below. See the pergo materials. Luckily Socks is being patient.


Then the day came. May 25, 2006. We waited and waited until 3 pm and finally the install guys came.

4 pm. Wow those guys were fast.




Well nevermind. It was 9 pm when the guys finally left! Enjoy the results below!







I discovered that the pergo materials are practically twice or thrice the price of ceramic tiling materials, but labor is practically 1/3 the cost of ceramic tiles. So basically, they both cost the same. I just saved some hundreds because I decided to do the bathroom floor myself with help of my coworker.

After three months the end result is: priceless.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

network helps u save money

You know what's awesome? Having a friend who works at a store. Of course, that means discount :-D

From this entertainment book that I bought a while ago, it gives me $5 off for mininum of $20 purchase at Wild Oats (health/organic food store). And my friend works at Wild Oats. Out of blue, he loaned me his 20% employee discount yesterday at the same time I used my $5 rebate coupon. I also used my citicard for 5% rebate for every food,gas and drug purchase. I was in pure heaven. :)

A Frugal Break

Been a while since I posted about something frugal! I needed a break from my life so badly (work and personal wise) so I decided to drop everything and drive down to Wichita with my buddy for its river festival. Wichita is around 3 hours drive from KC, and it is a new environment with new people, so definitely a nice trip from my life in KC. We only spent cash on 1 tank of gas, food, and $5 button. What we got: food, entertainment, and relaxing times!

I decided to join the 2 mile run/walk race there and it was a very nice execrise (badly needed). Among with over 10 miles of walking in that weekend, I came back home being very sore.

And I get to see Nick Lachey and REO Speedwagon sing for only $5 :-D frugal indeed.

I probably spent around $80 or less for the weekend, including petsitting for my dog Socks over the weekend, very good deal.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Primerica this Thursday

PRIMERICA FINANCIAL SERVICES

We Want To Help You And Your Family
Have A Better Financial Future!!!

You are invited to attend a

FREE MONEY MANAGEMENT SEMINAR

Primerica Financial Services educates consumers about money management. We believe that it's getting tougher every day to decide where to put your money to make it work more effectively for you. This seminar is designed to help you find the right answers.

May 18, 7:00 p.m. at Olathe Club for the Deaf

Our Seminar Will Cover:

Asset Management: A savings plan that makes sense.
Debt Management: Lower your monthly cash outlay.
Protection Management: Cut your insurance costs.

Limited Seating.
Please register in advance by email:
mshowalter@sbcglobal.net

If unable to attend we offer a FREE appointment for a financial needs analysis! Please e-mail Stephen Hause at byhisgrace777@sbcglobal.net and inform him that you saw this here

Securities Offered By:
PFS Investments Inc.
Home Office: 3120 Breckinridge Blvd.
Duluth, Georgia
30199

Local Office: 8585 College Blvd, 913-526-0435

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Onboard, Primerica!

This morning I got an email from Primerica. I got my solution number! "Congratulations and welcome aboard with Primerica!"

::squeaks::

I have two reasons for joining a financial company.

1) to educate people on personal finances
2) to explore a future career move

Opportunity knocked, and I opened the door :)

Another mistake: get the police

Previous post I talked about my mistake not to be repeated. Irony has it that I did not call the police for both accidents. And the fact I did not call for this most recent accident is hurting me. The other driver lied to his insurance company and said I HIT him instead. Oh what a load of ....

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

A mistake not to be repeated

Last October my car was hit by a car backing out of its parking spot in our condominium/apartment community. The lady did not look back. And she seemed to be in a hurry, with a load of kids in the back seats, maybe going to drop them off at their schools. And she asked me to call her with the estimate and she would pay in cash.

If that happens to you - don't accept cash. Something is fishy.

So I asked for her insurance information and she did not get mine.

Here was the mistake I did - I called my own insurance carrier and they paid for all of the damages (minus $500 deductible that I paid out of my pocket) while contacting the lady's insurance carrier. So I ended up waiting weeks to get my $500 deductible back (and the cost of a rental car).

I should leave my insurance carrier out of this picture. I should call the opposing party's carrier, so I would not have to pay anything out of my pocket and then wait to get the money back.

And guess what? I got hit again last night, same area, different driver. Same method - he backed up and hit me.

And I learnt my mistake. I called his insurance carrier. Not mine.

Wished I learnt this in driver ed class - or did I but forgot the information? Oh well. A lesson be learnt.

Friday, May 05, 2006

PG gives free samples

Im getting crazy here. I got an email from PG, saying they got samples on their website.

http://www.pg.com/en_US/products/fsci/offers_promotions.jhtml#pb

I just signed up for Swiffer Duster, Venus razor, Heads n Shoulder, and many more. Saves my trip to the store!

Many posts ago, I mentioned that it is not wise to go straight to the store and buy items without research. If you have an item in mind - check that website out and look for coupons. There are tons of coupons, and even a free sample. It's all free.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Flip the House

Last night I had a nice dinner with the owner of sComm (creator of "UbiDuo") in Independence, MO. We got to talk about personal finances, as I found out it was his interest also. He mentioned buying run-down homes, renovating, and selling for profit. He has gotten big profit from this. I have heard of some people doing this. But, I do not like renovating, how could I do this? He said he hires a crew of workers to do it for him. Hmmm.

He mentioned "Flip the House", a show where a group of people do the same thing. Looks very interesting. If you want to get rich, invest in real estate :) Looks like it requires dedication and time. And alot of work. Sounds perfect for a person who loves to renovate a house.

::checks the list - needs to marry a guy who loves to renovate the house::

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Bathroom Floor Project


Long story short, Home Depot refused to do my bathroom floor due to the rot found under the vinyl flooring.

My coworker (SAINT!) came over and helped to remove the entire floor(s) down to the subfloor. You can see the mildew-stained corner on the lower left. Eww.



Sprayed mildew/mold killer on the bad area and installed a new particle board.



Vinyl tile time...



And..



Tada!

Price: Approx. $100