New car on Wednesday that is now insured

Yesterday, I got word towards the end of my workday that my new car will arrive next Wednesday. My hope that it would be ready next week came true!

The last time I had to deal with my insurance company, I was on hold for nearly two hours. This time, I decided to call at 7 pm. I got a representative immediately.

The downside? There was so much feedback on her end. I could hear a male colleague and a female colleague more clearly than my representative. It was frustrating and difficult, but I managed to get through this call that lasted nearly fifty minutes.

At least it's done. Some cool things happened:

• Because I use an app to monitor my driving habits, I got at 25% discount on my insurance rate for the year. I saved roughly $1,100.
• My insurance rate has dropped $13 a month with the new car.

I thanked the woman for helping me out. I let her know that it wasn't her fault that the background was super noisy, but her manager may be able to do something.

I hope to get a survey. She'll get a high rating, but hearing all that noise in the background and envisioning the call centre's sound setup needs help.

It's the Labour Day long weekend coming up. I'm glad that I can spend some time with my car before it gets traded in.

It's payday!

I get paid by my employer every two weeks. Technically, I get paid every other Thursday.

I do love my bank. It deposits my pay electronically by 22:10 on Wednesday night. I spend a bit of time paying various bills based on my bill payment schedule. It's an Excel spreadsheet. I have had a number of variations over the years, but the current one has guided me out of my darkest debt stage.

It makes me so happy paying bills and seeing results. I also like that I can put money away towards my retirement and emergency fund. It was challenging doing it a year ago.

Things are looking up and good with my finances. It takes a lot of effort and planning to get out of debt. I'm so pleased that budgeting has paid off (pun intended)!

Car maintenance that cost me nothing

On Monday, I finally bit the bullet and took my car in for servicing. I have put off getting my car's winter tires off due to the pandemic. When my oil change light lit up on the dashboard, I knew that I had to bring my car in. Thank goodness we are in stage 3 of businesses reopening.

I normally drop off my car and get a shuttle ride home. With the pandemic happening, shuttle service is unavailable. Instead, I had to sit there with a mask on and wait for my car.

The work done on my car took two hours. I will say that sitting under air conditioning with a comfortable cotton mask on was great. I used three hours of paid time off from work that I was supposed to take in early July, but was on vacation. I loved sitting there, relaxing, and vegging.

How much did I pay for the car maintenance. Nothing. Crazy, huh?

My car service was under warranty. Getting my all-season tires on was free, thanks to the tire rotation part of the servicing being done. I had paid for two seasons of tire storage at the place, so I didn't need to pay for more.

To top things off, I had a great service advisor. He was kind. It was nice chatting with him about everything from running out of printer paper, to pointing me in the right direction to get my free messenger bag. Yes, I got a free bag that's pretty nice.

It was a good day.

Working from home for the rest of 2020

Last week, my employer announced that we are all working from home for the rest of 2020. On the whole, I am pleased with this decision.

A few weeks ago, my manager asked us whether we'd be interested in going back to the office. I felt that it was premature to pose such a question. When the office building and company roll out safety measures for employees, they would help me to decide whether I'm comfortable returning. Right now, I'm not because there haven't been any safety measures communicated to us. 

I do miss seeing colleagues that I like. However, I am happy to not commute to the office. It's 50 km for me in a single direction. I do like not fighting congestion, and saving time and money. I also like working quietly from home, with fewer distractions.

This week is my last before I go on vacation. I need a break badly.

Self-isolation and debt improvement

I am fortunate to be able to work from home and get paid. The shift from working a couple of days a week to every week at home isn't a huge deal for me.

However, what I have noticed is that I am saving money. As a result, it is helping me pay off my debt. I am in better financial shape at this point than I had predicted.

My commute is roughly 50 km in one direction. I used to fill my car's tank with gas each week. I do it once a month now. With gas prices being low these days, I have been saving roughly $160.

These days, I make most of my meals at home. I go out two times a week to get groceries and takeout. I don't eat out as much. I don't go to Starbucks as frequently as I used to. Again, I save more money.

I haven't travelled in over a month. I don't have airfare, hotel, or car rental bills to pay off.

A while back, I pointed out that I was doing well paying off my debt. Well, I am nearly done paying off another credit card. I will be down to two active credit cards. I will be keeping both of them, but one will sit there as a backup. The reason for keeping it is that I've been a customer for well over a decade with this credit card company. It looks good on my credit report if I continue having it. It's not my favourite credit card, so that's another reason why I am not tempted to use it.

Things are looking up financially for me. It has been a lot of hard work to get to this stage. Sticking with a budget helps. Being isolated at home is another method that has helped, which I didn't expect as a benefit.

Fitbit Alta charger died and thinking about my next Fitbit product

I have been using a Fitbit Alta for over a couple of years. The battery is starting to not hold a charge as long as it used to.

The charger has a clip that secures the Alta while it charges. The clip broke.

Part of me is thinking about getting either the Versa Lite or Versa 2. Part of me wants to continue using the Alta until it truly does not function anymore.

I can't afford to get a new watch right now. Perhaps in a few months, I will be able to save enough for it then. Leasing a car wasn't on my radar in August. I thought that I would be doing it in January!

In the meantime, I have found a charger for my Alta for $8. I'm good with this cheaper solution.

Travel, caffeine pills, and savings

My guy has left for India for business. Although I always miss him when we are apart, it doesn't feel as bad this time. It's likely because we spent a decent amount of time a couple of weeks ago that we are good for the time being.

He has recently stopped drinking coffee. The problem is that he isn't a morning person and needs something to wake him up.

"Let's go to to the drugstore to get me some caffeine pills for my trip," he said to me.
"Sure," I said. "I have a rewards card if we go to Walgreens," I said.
"Sounds good. Let's go there," he said.

I am the one who is the researcher. I found the local Walgreens in Dallas on my maps phone app and he drove us over there.

Sure enough, caffeine pills were on sale with the rewards card. It was several hours after I had landed and did not have a chance to pull out the physical plastic reward card from my wallet in my computer bag. Instead, I had loaded it on my Google Pay app. It scanned nicely at the store and my guy got a decent discount.

"I'm so happy. I bought one bottle and got one free with your rewards card," he said gleefully.
"I love when you're happy about saving money. You are my Cheap Bastard," I noted.
"Yes, CB is happy to have you with me in many ways," he said.

He's sweet. We both love saving money. It's helpful and feels good.

Chatting and teasing my guy

I enjoy my chats with my guy.

"I have to go. I forgot my earbuds and am moving to weights," he explained while at the gym.
"No problem. Are you going to buy a protein shake or do you make yours now?" I asked him.
"I make my own. It's in my car. It costs nearly $10 to buy one here," he pointed out.
"Yes, we can't have Cheap Bastard spending a ton of money," I said.
"You got it," he confirmed.
"Well, enjoy the rest of your workout. Say hi to your car for me. She will tell you that she wants me to drive her," I said.
"You think so?" he asked me.
"I know so," I said confidently.
"No!" he exclaimed.
"I love teasing you," I said sweetly.
"I know," he admitted.

It's fun when we chat.

Jetlag and travel cause my guy to save some money

My guy has made it safely to his second and final city for business. He is there this week and then comes home, which we are both looking forward to.

He texted me on Sunday afternoon. It was nice chatting with him over Skype for over an hour.

"I got to the hotel at 3 am this morning," he explained. "I slept so much that I got up at 4 pm. I then ate."
"So, you had breakfast, lunch, and dinner just now," I remarked.
"Yes. I saved many dollars having a single meal today," he pointed out.

We both laughed. He is my Cheap Bastard, after all.

Banking change - an update

I am taking a break from watching the Olympics. It's the gold medal game between Canada and the U.S. Let's just say that it's tense!

A few months ago, I got annoyed with the bank that I have been dealing with for over two decades and made the switch to another bank. I thought that I'd provide an update.

Back in late October, I switched to a bank that I already had a chequing account with. I had never used it. I tend to use that bank for savings and my retirement plan. There was a promotion where if your payroll deposit automatically went into your chequing account for three months, this bank would give you $100. Already dissatisfied with my then-current bank, it was easy to make the switch.

Three months later, in January, I did indeed get my $100. Nice! I also like that I don't pay any monthly fees.

The only downside is that paying my bills can take anywhere between a day to a week to clear with my newish bank. So, I end up transferring some money to my old bank and make bill payments there. It's not all that bad.

I used to pay $11 a month with my old bank for unlimited transatction. I have since decided to go with the $4 a month plan. I don't need unlimited transactions. Instead, I am now limited to 12 transactions a month. I am sure that I won't reach this limit.

Just with this minor adjustment, I am saving $84 a year. That's not too shabby. I have also moved most of my automatic bill payments over to my current chequing account.

I have a few more changes to make, as I still have investments with my old bank. So far, it's been a good experience to look at my finances and figure out how to minimize my banking fees.

My guy is so proud of me. He approves. After all, he is my Cheap Bastard.

Saving time and money shopping with my guy

Last Friday, my guy and I met up at our favourite liquidation store. I am glad that I took my guy's suggestion to book a hotel in his town. Driving from the hotel to the liquidation centre took me twenty minutes. Had I decided to drive from my home, it would have taken me over two hours.

I have never been to this place when it first opens at 10:00 am. There is a ridiculous lineup!

My guy got there five minutes later. I found him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" I said happily
"Hey, sweetie!" he exclaimed. "I see that you have a number of goodies already."
"I do," I said, showing what I had so far.
"Is our favourite cleaning solution there?" he asked me.
"Yes, there are a couple of tubs," I replied, as he went over there.

It's funny that he knows that I look at everything. I had a good time there, buying decent food items, and three pairs of pants going for $10 a pair.

I like that we love shopping together, especially when it comes to saving money and getting great deals.

Saving money thanks to my stable eye prescription

It has been two years since I last got my eye exam. Although I have felt that my nearsightedness hasn't changed, I still needed a new prescription.

Ah, the joys of getting older! Two years ago, my optometrist indicated that my nearsightedness was improving, which meant that I would start seeing changes when I read. Sure enough, it has slightly. I read better with my contact lenses out or my glasses off. Otherwise, wearing my contacts with my reading glasses (it's an extremely low prescription) works just fine.

On Wednesday, I had my eye exam. Typically, it costs me $90, with my health insurance helping to cover that cost. Since I had my eye stroke, my eye exam was considered a followup appointment. As a result, the Ontario health care system picked up the tab instead. Sweet!

My prescription hasn't changed. I get to keep my existing pairs of glasses. Yep, I got two pairs two years ago. There was a deal that essentially got me two pairs for the price of one. I love the cost savings!

Today, I ordered a six-month supply of contact lenses that combine correcting my nearsightedness and reading. I am looking forward to them. I tried them in the past and they were helpful, but that was roughly a year ago. My insurance picks up the tab.

It's nice saving some money. I am thankful.

Knocking on my door to save the day by undressing

I'm back! It was a nice, well-deserved break with my guy over Thanksgiving.

I drove over to his neck of the woods on Saturday. I booked a hotel for us, which felt like a decent staycation. I am also close to renewing my elite membership with this particular hotel chain, so it all works out.

After I had checked in to my room and had settled in, I let my guy know of my hotel room number. He came over in a flash. He knocked on my door. I opened it and let him in.

We hugged and kissed as soon as the door had closed. He grabbed my buttocks and groped them, which I loved.

He took my hand and led me over to the bed. We both sat down at the edge. I caressed his head, which had a bit of stubble. It was soft and nice.

He started to take off his clothes.

"You don't waste time, do you?" I asked him, watching him take off his shirt.
"We don't have much time," he said.
"Are you going to save the world?" I asked him, as he reminded me of a superhero.

He laughed, as he took off his pants and briefs. He then kissed me and gently led me to the bed to stretch out. He then helped me remove my black lacy panties under my short skirt.

It was pretty good welcome. Yes, there's a pun in there.

Getting my car serviced and receiving a cool surprise

I work from home on Wednesdays. Thank goodness!

On Tuesday, I got a reminder phone call to take my car in for servicing. I called during my lunch break and got an appointment on Wednesday.

I took my car in yesterday at 10:30 am. Everything went smoothly. I spoke to my regular service advisor, got a shuttle, and arrived home to continue working from home.

Around 1.5 hours later, my car was done. The shuttle came promptly to fetch me. I got my car without any issues. It was in record time!

The best part of the experience was getting a gas card. I get 3 cents off a litre for the next 888 litres of gas that I use for the next year. Every bit of savings counts.

I wasn't expecting this gesture. I'll take it.

Car insurance - it boggles my mind

A week or two ago, I got a renewal statement for my car insurance. Normally, I glance over it and call it good. However, I decided to do a comparison between my current policy and the new one.

One of my deductibles ended up being reduced to $50. I also ended up paying an extra $35 a month on the new plan. If you multiply that increase by twelve, you would understand why I ended up calling my insurance company.

I asked about the reduced deductible. I was told that since I was a good customer with a decent driving record, my deductible was reduced. I went on to say that if I was indeed a good customer, why am I paying an extra $420 for the upcoming year? I can understand that rates go up every year, but this increase just boggled my mind.

My policy was changed such that I am now paying paying an extra $11 more a month by installing an app that tracks my driving habits. I tried it for the first week and hated that it drained my cell phone's battery life.

Naturally, I had to ask what happens to the data collected. Apparently, it stays with the company and is perfectly secure. Still, the fact that my battery drains by the end of the workday is ridiculous. In the past, I could be just fine charging my cell phone overnight. My battery would last the entire day. I am a medium user.

Anyway, I just uninstalled the app. I feel much better.

P is for playoff hockey #AtoZchallenge

Years ago, I was a huge hockey fan. It was to the point where I would watch hockey every day, subscribe to NHL GameCentre Live, and go to several live games each hockey season, including playoff rounds.

When I got divorced, I still liked hockey, but lost much of that desire to watch hockey game after game.

I switched cell phone providers last October. I took on a corporate plan that was much more attractive than my old plan. This plan also includes NHL GameCentre Live for free, including playoff games.

I have rekindled my love for watching playoff hockey these days. I also like the idea of saving a ton of money by doing a compromise. I won't go and see live games as often as I used to. Instead, I can watch games from the comfort of my home.

It's all good.

My guy will be the first to admit that he isn't a sports person. He has asked me in the past to explain how baseball works. I like that he confides in me. I don't find that odd at all. I still don't understand how cricket works. He does.

So, I am perfectly content being a homebody and watching hockey games for free. My guy likes that I have adopted some of his frugal ways. He likes calling me his Cheap Bastard wannabe, which is sweet.

Watching Fifty Shades Darker again and saving money on plastic bags

On Saturday, I went to see Fifty Shades Darker for the second time at a movie theatre. I can't recall when was the last time that I have seen a movie multiple times at a theatre. It is rare. I love this one.

Seeing a movie that you love over again makes you pick up details that you hadn't before. I can't wait to get my hands on my own copy. This time at the theatre, there were about five people who stayed to watch the credits and get a glimpse of Fifty Shades Freed.

My guy has returned from his travels and is dead tired. We talked briefly. He asked me what I did after the movies. I told him that I went grocery shopping.

"The woman cashing me out asked whether I wanted a plastic bag for five cents. I declined. If I needed two trips to get my groceries to the car to save money on plastic bags, I would. I have plenty of reusable bags in my car's trunk," I explained.
"You are becoming a true Cheap Bastard like me. I am so proud of you," he gushed.

He's tired, but he's not so tired to recognize CB tendencies.

Self-propelled lawnmower and loving hand-holding time

My guy visited the liquidation centre that we were at a week ago. He was excited to share with me what he had bought.

"I got a self-propelled lawnmower for $200. It is regularly $500," he said, with pride.
"You must be thrilled with your savings," I noted.
"Yes, CB is happy," he replied.
"I like that you got a self-propelled mower. First, you don't have to exert yourself as much, so you do less work. Second, you can follow the lawnmower so you don't get lost leaving your property," I noted.

He laughed. He is a good sport.

He told me the other day that he wished that he had more time to hold my hand and love me when we went shopping last week. It's nice when he's mushy and sweet.

I'm excited to see him on Saturday!

Grumbling, shopping, caressing, and driving

On Friday, I decided to take a vacation day. Without knowing it, I did a good job avoiding some issues at work.

I gave my home phone number a while back to my manager when he needed to talk to me and I was working from home. I have noticed that when he panics, he tends to use it to call me. I'm not that crazy about it.

The other weekend, he asked for my cell phone. I refused politely and said that he had my number. He said that it was my home phone number. I told him that it is tied to my cell number, which is true.

The thing is that my home number is my away-from-work number. I don't want to hear about work, especially when I am on vacation.

Well, on Friday, my day off, he let me a message to tell me that the new contractor that I had been training for two days decided to resign. He cited personal reasons -- his mother is sick. That's fine. However, is it worth it to leave me a voice message when he has already mentioned it a couple of times in work e-mails?

Anyway, it was good that I didn't give him my cell phone number. When he did leave that message, I was in my guy's hometown. He had called me and didn't see me at our favourite liquidation place. I advised that the route that I normally take had a road closure close to the liquidation centre. So, my detour was an extra five minutes away.

It tends to be a madhouse at this place. You get the best bargains at 10 am sharp. To make my guy get up early and snap out of sleepyhead mode, you have to tell him that there is a sale going on.

We met in the store. I couldn't find a bag to put my two items in. My guy had snagged a bag and told me to place my items in his bag. I did. We then split up to look for bargains. He came back about fifteen minutes later with a cart. Yep, he's a pretty savvy shopper.

He looked stylish. I admired his clean-shaven head when he removed his cap for a brief moment.

We chatted and talked about our purchases. He asked me what I thought about his new shirt that he had snagged. It was almost a light pink with blue stripes. I liked it. It's a nice departure from his typical grey, blue, and brown colours.

I bought three pairs of designer pants for a combined total of $20. Yep, I was so happy with my purchases that I haven't done much shopping this weekend.

After we had checked out, my guy walked me over to my car to help me load my goodies into my car. I told him that he looked good and asked if I could caress his head. He took his cap off. I helped myself. I love when he has shaved his head. It's sexy and highlights how perfectly uniform the shape of his head is.

I had to make tracks to Windsor, which is across from Detroit, for a concert that evening. My guy and I were happy that we could spend time together saving money and shopping. It is always great to shop with him.

Z is for zany

I have made it to this challenge's finish line! I don't know how to end it off, other than writing about something zany. Well, I think it's weird.

My guy has arrived in Dublin. He isn't too crazy about the place. He finds it old and the roads are too narrow for his car.

We are similar in that we worry about such details, but we we rely on each other for support and comfort. Otherwise, he is doing well.

We did a role reversal today. That alone is wacky.

In the past, I accidentally gave him the nickname of Cheap Bastard (CB), which he has embraced. He loves buying items at discounted rates and gets a high out of it.

These days, I call myself the CB protege. We had this conversation on Skype as I was driving home from work and my guy was getting ready to turn in for the night.

"It's starting to rain. I wanted to wash my car yesterday, but held off because it was to rain today and I want a free car wash," I admitted to my guy.
"I am so proud of you," my guy said to me. "You go to liquidation outlets, you buy a sweater for 50% off its sale price, and now you are saving on car washes," my guy said.
"See, I am a CB protege," I replied.
"Yes, you are. A certified one, too," he stated.
"The rain is really pouring down now. If I drive a bit faster, my car will be shiny," I joked.
"Maybe you can use dishwasher soap and put a dab on the hood," my guy said.
"Hey, that would work. But, the guy behind me would get annoyed clearing all the suds off his car," I noted.

We both laughed, especially about the part where I want to dye the soap suds pink.

Is it Friday yet? It should be at this rate!