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This 'n' that

January 30th, 2014 at 08:15 pm

I'm staying home today; the girls are kinda sick, and the snow was pretty heavy when it would have been time to take the stroller to daycare. And I DON'T want to pay for any more cab rides if I don't have to. We're taking it easy. Actually I feel a bit run down myself, but it could be psychosomatic, or just a result of jogging on the treadmill last night.

I called my home insurance company to talk about the negative impact of my credit report on my premium. It turns out $22 of the increase was due to the credit thing and the other $14 just a general price increase.

I explained why my credit report looked so different from 2010, the last time they pulled it, but they were firm that it was just an algorithm they didn't have any control over. So I went to an agent to see what else I could do to lower the price.

We increased my deductible from $500 to $1000 and lowered liability from $300K to $100K. That brought the price down from $263 to $234 for the year, so only $8 higher than last year. I can live with that. And actually I'm surprised my deductible was so low, but I guess it made sense when I first took out the policy and had virtually no liquid funds.

Looking at ways to spend up my credit cards, I realized one medical bill still hasn't come from NT's October ER visit. I know the amount from his insurance account online. Part of me wants to call them and ask to pay the bill even though it apparently isn't due yet. Another part of me thinks it'd be crazy to pay a bill before it even came. Still thinking through that one.

I had a real spending temptation: Elizabeth Warren, my favorite personal finance author and one of my favorite politicians, is coming to speak in Minneapolis (DFL fundraiser). The cheapest ticket was $125! I might have actually thought about borrowing ahead in my spending money to pay for it, but I've already been through that twice recently. Bought tickets to a comedy show for March and just finished paying that off earlier this month. Then my web hosting fees for my ordinarysavers.com website came due and I'm working on paying those down. So I just couldn't see going in the hole for another $125 right now. Especially when I'm keenly aware how much of our surplus money is going to be spent on my bday party.

Since we'll have the money saved up for our bathroom renovation by mid-February, I've started preparing mentally. Signed up for Houzz.com, a Pinterest-type site where designers post photos of renovated interiors. Started taping reruns of a show called "Renovation Realities," which shows real people going through DIY renos. We'll probably go to a home & garden show in late February or early March. At some point we'll need to agree on a vision, figure out what parts we think we can do ourselves, price out the things we want, and maybe schedule some time off work (or some babysitting if we'll be working on weekends) to actually go through with it.

I guess that's it for now!

4 Responses to “This 'n' that”

  1. ThriftoRama Says:
    1391114632

    I had to chuckle about Renovation Realities. Before I ditched cable, it was one of my guilty pleasures. Of course, they do add drama to well, make it dramatic. Hence, the short timelines. My favs though are Property Brothers and the original Love it or List It.

    Anyway, I'm happy you are going ahead with the b-day party. I just got the groceries for DH and my sister's party, which is Saturday night. It is so worth it.

  2. Looking Forward Says:
    1391128196

    I would probably pay the bill now - you're going to have to pay it at some point.
    I like watching home improvement shows for the ideas too.
    Hope your girls feel better soon.

  3. snafu Says:
    1391144660

    We're so fed up with winter DH is tracking possible cruises with a goal of convincing me to 'run away from home.'

    I think you should buy tickets for Eliz Warren as your BD gift to yourself. If it's a political fund raiser, I'm guessing there will be a tax deduction for a major part of the cost which will ameliorate some expense. Long term it's smart to be known by prominent politicos. I don't know why but I have a lousy crystal ball.

    Good on you for calling the insurance agent and adjusting condo coverage. Do you compare these with figures on line from the big re-insurers?

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    1391196808

    That is very sweet of you, and a very tempting thought. But this $1K birthday party will be present enough to myself! I'm trying to tell myself, I only turn 40 once, but Elizabeth Warren will probably be a public figure for years to come. Hopefully there will be other opportunities to see her speak or meet her, at a time when I'm more financially equipped to do so.

    I didn't do a comparison shop of other providers since they were able to bring my rate down to an amount I thought reasonable. It sounds like my credit history may not be optimal for getting good rates right now. If my rates go up again next year, I will shop around.

    BTW, even though my credit history is apparently a liability, AS was going through papers for filing last night and found an Experian credit score from this month for me. Apparently I'm in the 820s score-wise. So I can't be doing too badly!

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