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Old 01-19-2016, 07:31 AM   #141
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Did some retail shopping after the market plummeted Friday, ended up buying a townhome. That's one way to re-allocate my assets I lost more in the market since Jan than this house costs... that's hard for me to wrap my head around. If nothing else it will keep me busy for the next few months.
Congratulations on your new townhome! What is it like? Where is it relative to where you live now, nearby or in another community? When will closing be? When will you move? Mortgage or cash? Bigger or smaller than your present home? I am SO excited for you.
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Old 01-19-2016, 08:29 AM   #142
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Congratulations on your new townhome! What is it like? Where is it relative to where you live now, nearby or in another community? When will closing be? When will you move? Mortgage or cash? Bigger or smaller than your present home? I am SO excited for you.
Thanks for asking, I'm excited. Closing Feb 28th. Will move in as soon as we replace the tub for a large shower. Its 10 minutes from where we live; closer to Coscto/Trader Joes/Farmers markets/Downtown/walking trails, etc. I'm putting 25% down, and my boyfriend is getting 2.75% financing (basically free money) on the rest. At 1266 sq ft, its 1/2 the size of the house I had in Chicago but 200 sq ft bigger than the place we are renting and its 2 bed, 2 1/2 bath. It should save us ~$500+/month in cash flow and I figure 18 months to break and we plan to stay for 5.

I'll just be glad to get back to hardwood floors and a large kitchen with nice maple 42 inch cabinets. I miss having a pantry. The kitchen, master and living room are all 14x14 or bigger so decent size and the only 3 rooms we really will use. Tons of storage for a tiny house as they have an attached storage shed, walk up attic and storage under the stairs. The funny thing is my honey is probably most excited that the new place has new fancy washer/dryer. He does the laundry and I was always too cheap to buy the fancy units but these came with the sale so win/win.

The weirdest thing I learned about NC is that houses here are priced solely by liveable SQ FT. Appraisers are basically ignoring upgrades completely as "designer choices" and they ignore storage. So you can find sweet deals on fully upgraded houses. Like next door the 3 bedrooms are $60k more for what amounts to a finished basement they put a bed/bath in. I personally wouldn't pay for a basement bedroom unless it was a walkout, but again "designer choice". My family was like but if we want to come stay for a week. umm for $60k I can put you up at a very nice hotel for over a year straight and I don't have to clean that.
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Old 01-19-2016, 09:55 AM   #143
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Another replacement credit card from Fidelity. This has now become a yearly event. This time they called and gave two weeks warning, but then shut the card down this morning, with one bogus charge for $900. With the possibility of some foreign travel ahead, I think it's time to look into a new card.

Good thing most of my autopays are on a different card.
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Old 01-19-2016, 10:53 AM   #144
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Thanks for asking, I'm excited. Closing Feb 28th. Will move in as soon as we replace the tub for a large shower. Its 10 minutes from where we live; closer to Coscto/Trader Joes/Farmers markets/Downtown/walking trails, etc. I'm putting 25% down, and my boyfriend is getting 2.75% financing (basically free money) on the rest. At 1266 sq ft, its 1/2 the size of the house I had in Chicago but 200 sq ft bigger than the place we are renting and its 2 bed, 2 1/2 bath. It should save us ~$500+/month in cash flow and I figure 18 months to break and we plan to stay for 5.

I'll just be glad to get back to hardwood floors and a large kitchen with nice maple 42 inch cabinets. I miss having a pantry. The kitchen, master and living room are all 14x14 or bigger so decent size and the only 3 rooms we really will use. Tons of storage for a tiny house as they have an attached storage shed, walk up attic and storage under the stairs. The funny thing is my honey is probably most excited that the new place has new fancy washer/dryer. He does the laundry and I was always too cheap to buy the fancy units but these came with the sale so win/win.

The weirdest thing I learned about NC is that houses here are priced solely by liveable SQ FT. Appraisers are basically ignoring upgrades completely as "designer choices" and they ignore storage. So you can find sweet deals on fully upgraded houses. Like next door the 3 bedrooms are $60k more for what amounts to a finished basement they put a bed/bath in. I personally wouldn't pay for a basement bedroom unless it was a walkout, but again "designer choice". My family was like but if we want to come stay for a week. umm for $60k I can put you up at a very nice hotel for over a year straight and I don't have to clean that.
Woo-hoo! Thanks for answering my many questions. I am SO excited for you and really happy to read that your closing will happen so quickly. Keep us updated. I am SUCH a real estate junkie and love to read about other peoples' real estate adventures and moves.
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Old 01-19-2016, 11:25 AM   #145
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Woo-hoo! Thanks for answering my many questions. I am SO excited for you and really happy to read that your closing will happen so quickly. Keep us updated. I am SUCH a real estate junkie and love to read about other peoples' real estate adventures and moves.
btw, they claimed you can close in 7 days here... I found that insane but the agents said it was totally doable. Real estate is crazy here with houses lasting only 2-5 days on market. I would have pushed closing out, but was told I'd lose the house if I did.
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Old 01-19-2016, 11:34 AM   #146
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btw, they claimed you can close in 7 days here... I found that insane but the agents said it was totally doable. Real estate is crazy here with houses lasting only 2-5 days on market. I would have pushed closing out, but was told I'd lose the house if I did.
Wow! The real estate market has been really "hot" here lately, too, though maybe not as hot as in your location. Still, I had my present house under contract before it ever even hit the realtors' MLS, or I might never have got it (last summer). Closing in 7 days sounds tough, with the title search and inspections and repairs and so on.
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Old 01-19-2016, 03:11 PM   #147
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I went too Costco this afternoon. Now I remember why I never go to Costco in the afternoon. I also briefly considered getting gas while there, but the wait was at least 45 minutes. The difference in gas prices here is greater than I've seen anywhere else. Costco charges $0.40 per gal less for regular and $0.50 less for premium vs the next less expensive gasoline in this area.
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Old 01-19-2016, 03:12 PM   #148
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. The difference in gas prices here is greater than I've seen anywhere else.
"Here" being...?
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Old 01-19-2016, 03:25 PM   #149
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Made a library run and grocery run in preparation for the snow that is probably going to hit Friday. Dang it's cold! High was 24° but the wind made it worse. I had to put on gloves to load the groceries in the car.

We are, of course, smack dab in the middle of the forecasted snow map. But I'll have eight quarts of beef stew for comfort food.
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Old 01-19-2016, 03:31 PM   #150
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Sunny South Florida
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Old 01-19-2016, 03:46 PM   #151
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Costco charges $0.40 per gal less for regular and $0.50 less for premium vs the next less expensive gasoline in this area.
That's a huge price variation.

I looked at GasBuddy locally and the Costco price for regular is about $0.10 to $0.15 less than surrounding stations, but many stations in the area are within a penny or two of their price.
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Old 01-19-2016, 03:58 PM   #152
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I went too Costco this afternoon. Now I remember why I never go to Costco in the afternoon. I also briefly considered getting gas while there, but the wait was at least 45 minutes. The difference in gas prices here is greater than I've seen anywhere else. Costco charges $0.40 per gal less for regular and $0.50 less for premium vs the next less expensive gasoline in this area.
I go to costco every week. Do my grocery shopping there. I refuse to go on weekends at all. And strongly prefer to be there when it opens to get in and out before the crowds. Our costco usually rolls up the gates about 15 mins before the nominal open time... Definitely helps to avoid the crowd by being there that early.
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Old 01-19-2016, 04:04 PM   #153
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Reheating some chili--recipe called for 2.5 lbs stew meat and 3/4 Cup of chili powder, plus other random spices and chilis (no beans). I thought it was ridiculously spicy hot (I don't think I've ever used anywhere that much chili powder to only 2.5 lbs meat) while it was crockpotting yesterday but it is unbelievably good today and not hot at all. So glad I didn't second-guess or tinker with the recipe. Like Walt's beef stew, it is a great meal for a cold day, although it warmed up to 18 degrees here and we have no snow i the forecast.
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Old 01-19-2016, 04:11 PM   #154
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I go to costco every week. Do my grocery shopping there. I refuse to go on weekends at all. And strongly prefer to be there when it opens to get in and out before the crowds. Our costco usually rolls up the gates about 15 mins before the nominal open time... Definitely helps to avoid the crowd by being there that early.
Not around here (SWFL). Costco is crowded the moment it opens. I've found the best time to go is after dark. We've got so many older drivers around here, and many of them don't drive after dark. I try to do as much shopping after dark as possible, which works fine at this time of year. By late April the daylight lasts too long, but much of the crowds have gone by then.

As far as the gas differential, our Costco is about 10 - 15 cents cheaper than nearby stations. If I drive 20 miles north to BJs in Fort Myers, gas is around 30 - 40 cents cheaper than it is in my area. Not sure why, unless the stations near me are gouging the rich Naples snow birds.
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Old 01-19-2016, 08:26 PM   #155
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I went to a benefit for our library ." A conversation with Steven King & John Grisham ". It was excellent . They both told stories and they were funny & real. They raffled off first run copies of their books . I tried to win "Misery " but alas it was not to be .
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Old 01-20-2016, 08:32 AM   #156
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I go to costco every week. Do my grocery shopping there. I refuse to go on weekends at all. And strongly prefer to be there when it opens to get in and out before the crowds. Our costco usually rolls up the gates about 15 mins before the nominal open time... Definitely helps to avoid the crowd by being there that early.

Went to the Costco near me yesterday. Gas line was pretty short, but the store was packed, at noon on Tuesday, but that's "normal"...
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Old 01-20-2016, 10:16 AM   #157
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Got a couple inches of snow last night so this morning I went out and shoveled off the driveway. It's big like 250 ft long and 16 ft wide plus the wider parking in front of both garages. That took a couple of hours. Then I see the neighbor lady across the street out shoveling their driveway. That was strange since her hubby usually always does it. So I go over and help her. Turns out her hubby was in the hospital for a week and they just got home, so glad I could help.

Then I remember the neighbor next door to them are having health issues so I went over and shoveled their driveway. They were gone at the time because there were fresh tire tracks. I hope they are pleasantly surprised when they get home. So by 10:00 AM I am done and back in the house. Probably won't do much more today.
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Old 01-20-2016, 08:10 PM   #158
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I had an appointment with a lawyer to have a will done in my new state. Also having all the geezer paperwork done at the same time. Putting DD in charge if I become incapacitated.

I stopped at the auto shop and swapped out my Jeep for the old plow truck. I had to pick up a 12 foot long chain rail for the extra tall garage door opener and could not get it home without the truck. Also picked up a scaffold at Tractor Supply. Made stops at Home Depot and the hardware store while I was at it. I left between 9:00 and 10:00 this morning and got back home about 7:30 this evening. That is pretty typical on any trip down to the city.

I'll have to go back down to the auto shop in the morning to swap the truck back. They think I have an issue with one of the front hubs, but want to look into it a little closer before ordering parts.

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Old 01-20-2016, 08:46 PM   #159
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Went to the Costco near me yesterday. Gas line was pretty short, but the store was packed, at noon on Tuesday, but that's "normal"...
Lunchtime is the WORST at my closest 2 costco's. People go there for lunch at the food court. Others go to graze their way through the samples inside the store.

When I go first thing in the morning it is just starting to get crowded when I leave.. Lots of people after my parking spot.
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Old 01-20-2016, 10:47 PM   #160
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First day of the semester for me, so I taught classes this morning. Being with my students is like coming home. Damn, I love my job!

Afterwards: Got oil changed in the minivan, swung by my favorite thrift shop and found three fantastic, expensive-brand work blouses for a grand total of $30, then rounded up the rugrats and headed to the showgrounds to... pick up Girl Scout Cookies! Sale starts this Saturday morning. Rugrats are finally big enough to load the van themselves and they rocked it.

Also tried whole wheat pasta for the first time tonight. I said nothing before dinner, and nobody made any comments, and I thought it was perfectly fine, so I think we're going to transition to whole wheat from now on. We eat pasta a couple of times a month, so it's not going to make a huge difference, but I figure every little scooch towards a healthier life helps.
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