What's goin' on?

[Thumper]

People must be getting tax returns or sumpin' this year ... my eBay merchandise has been flying off the shelf so fast I can't keep up with the packaging/shipping! Got's ta' hammer a coupl'a estate sales this weekend to re-stock!

Cool!

[Penguin]

Lol, may be Jim. Got an email from my credit union telling me that my return just landed a few minutes ago. I either planned well or poorly depending on your viewpoint, mine was just about a month's take home. I'm comfortable with money sitting in the bank but will use a bit to buy the wife a nice birthday present in a few weeks.

But a man never knows when a tire will blow out, a washing machine will give up the ghost, or something else will pop up to cost an arm and part of a leg.

Will

[Thumper]

Yep, I've always contributed to Lynn's IRA account, but things have been so tight the past few years, it hasn't been done for a long while. That's what the eBay thing is all about ... I managed to pigeonhole enough to max the contribution this year and it helped us get a bit of a tax return. Problem is ... the house is falling apart and I'm letting an awful lot of stuff slide that I would have never done before. Example ... the garbage disposal gave up the ghost a while back, but I've found out, once you get used to not having one, you don't even miss it. It's all about priorities these days. Like you said ... replacing a blown tire would fall into the top priority bracket.

[Penguin]

Garbage disposal dying. Perfect example. It's always something.

Like the heater blower and resistor in my truck. Started the old "death position by position" stuff on me back in the winter. Waited until I was down to the last notch to get it fixed. Called the mechanic and he wanted $430 plus tax! I laughed and told him I'd take care of it the first warm day. Sadly I left all of my tools at my dad's place when I moved up here. So after a trip to Sear I had a damned nice 1/4" drive set for $90. Stopped on the way back and picked up the parts for another $130. Started the clock in my office and walked out to the parking lot, got everything unpackaged and fixed it up. Walked back in, washed up, and sat down at my desk 27 minutes after walking out.

Saved over $200 for 27 minutes time. For just a moment I felt like some high priced lawyer.

Will