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Home > The Shock! A NSD Followed by a Mini-Rant

The Shock! A NSD Followed by a Mini-Rant

July 13th, 2017 at 05:51 am

Unbelievably, I spent nothing today. I cleaned the house a bit, weeded the front paths, interviewed a dog sitter, used lots of fridge contents, and did a textbook review.

A number of financial things occurred that are worth thinking through. I spent 90 minutes or so with my prospective dog sitter for our UK trip. She's a former London student, 24, recently graduated, and I trust her. Despite my offer to pay her $25/day for house/dog sitting, she wanted nothing. I can't do that; it's silly and she needs the cash. But she absolutely refused the $400 it should cost, and we came to terms at $250, so that's a nice savings. I know she likes Starbucks and qdoba, so maybe I'll also get her a gift card. The house cleaning reminded me yet again of how much we need a bathroom remodel. Feel free to tell me to stop fretting about this and do the darn thing. Even sparkling clean, it's a horror of 1960 pink beige tile, and there's nothing remotely retro cool about it. Spending the cash makes me queasy, but I have payback plans. And we have the cash.

The textbook review took less time than I thought. The slightly disappointing news is that they pay again with a Tango gift card. I finally used up the other Tango gift card at Target.com with the dehumidifer and iron, and Target.com is really the best place to spend it. So I'll be doing some more Target grocery shopping online come fall. I miss the Redcard 5% savings, but I guess it has to be done.

Now for the rant: I called both Chase and Citi to put a travel alert on our credit cards for our UK trip. Although I'm not a fan of the top management of either of these companies, Chase's credit card services are nothing short of wonderful. You always get a person, not a computer or roboscreener. They're always pleasant, and it's always a nice interchange.

Citi? UGH. I hate them. First, a roboscreener with horrible voice recognition. When I said we were going to the UK, it heard Ukraine. I attempted three or four corrections to no avail, finally shouting at it, and asking for a person. Yes, it was as stupid as it sounds. All I need is an international scam artist with my Citi card in the Ukraine. My DD was hysterically laughing through this transaction, and it got no better when I finally got a human. Despite my insistence that I only wanted to file a travel alert, she tried to sell me half a dozen products. I know they have to do this, so I tried to be as pleasant as possible to her, but grrr--I HATE Citi. It's always that way. I'll dump them when we get back from the UK(raine). End of rant. Onward.

6 Responses to “The Shock! A NSD Followed by a Mini-Rant”

  1. Carol Says:
    1499949026

    About the bathroom, it's better to remodel and you get to enjoy it , than to fix it when( if) you sell your house, and you kick yourself over how nice it came out and why didn't you do it earlier.
    On the other hand, if it works....

  2. CB in the City Says:
    1499951308

    If you can afford it, do the bath remodel. It'll be like jumping into a pool -- first the shock, but then the fun.

  3. snafu Says:
    1499966856

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjcYo_YA8Zo We did a really old bthrm that had plastic tiles, using the kit from Rustoleum...I don't think the brand matters. We also painted the vanity and replaced the tap set [that was the most expensive item]
    Suggest checking out You Tube as it really is DIY

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    1499970982

    Do the bathroom! A good renovation is a lasting pleasure; you won't regret spending the money because you'll get to enjoy the results every day.

  5. rob62521 Says:
    1500044157

    Sounds like you can afford the bathroom remodel so go for it. Better than being disgusted when you clean it.

    One thing I really like about Discover is when I call for whatever, I can push zero and get a person. I like that.

  6. My English Castle Says:
    1500049399

    I e-mailed the bathroom folks this morning--we're going for it. My DH and I agreed about it last night and figured out how to pay our savings back. Snafu--thanks for the link. I don't think that is what we want, but I'm sending it to a friend who just bought a house with a lovely (not) deep maroon toilet and tile.

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