Family...can't live WITH 'em...

[Spiky Bugger]

...can't bury them alive behind the garage, huh?

Family holiday gathering. On request, one thing I provided was a crock pot of meatballs in marinara sauce. (Mostly store-bought, but pretty good, and chicken-based and gluten free.)

There were, I think, about 40 meatballs. They were popular. But we were the first to leave, so we left the stuff there as the teenaged boys had not yet eaten themselves into food comas.

Today, we were told to stop by my sister's and get the crock pot. I asked if the meatballs had been finished off. "There were only about six left, so I fed them to the garbage disposal," she said.

Who throws away (gluten-free) meatballs? Who does that? Would it have killed her to dump them into a baggie?

But that's my sister. When she wants something, she wants it NOW. When she is done, she is done NOW. (I don't want to know how this relates to her sex life.). The very THOUGHT of comparison shopping is enough to raise her blood pressure. We both decided to refi our houses. Started at the same time. Called the same guy. My refi carries, I think, a half percent lower interest rate, because I didn't stop at the first offer. But without so much as a clue as to what anyone else might charge, she just figured it was a reasonable offer and went for it.

People look at us and think we have a lot in common. Hair color...similar styles...skin color...eye color, not much more.


Anyway, now I wonder what I'm gonna have for dinner. Probably not meatballs, huh?

 

[southernlady]

Probably not meatballs.

Some people don't want the hassle of comparison shopping. I am great at comparison shopping.

 

[DSRIGGS]

It depends upon what I am buying if I comparison shop or not. I have found that I am turning to a cheap ass old bastard at times. Sometimes I worry about a buck on something minor and then other times I will spend and extra $100 on something without even thinking.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

It depends upon what I am buying if I comparison shop or not. I have found that I am turning to a cheap ass old bastard at times. Sometimes I worry about a buck on something minor and then other times I will spend and extra $100 on something without even thinking.

MiniSue's boyfriend is baffled by our use of coupons in restaurants. But he is also baffled that we usually pick up the tab. Finally, I asked him how the hell he thinks we have the $$$ to pay for dinner all the time...if not for those silly coupons.

Although they use too much salt on everything, Outback has a decent loyalty program. Mr. Sue and I EACH have our own card. Every fourth meal, we get $20 off. Often, we take MiniSue and boyfriend and get two checks and charge to separate credit cards. That way, he and I EACH get credit for the tab we paid. Ya gotta plan retirement! LOL

 

[DSRIGGS]

I used to love Outback but the stores in IL I have frequented lately have really slid in terms of quality. Carrabba's who is owned by the same parent has much better food and specifically steak than Outback, IMO. Unfortunately the closest one to me is Chicago- land.

BTW speaking of being thrifty. I am typically a 20% tipper but will go higher or lower if warranted. Do you tip on pre tax or post tax amount? I tip pre tax for obvious reasons but I have had people tell me that is not correct...Of course I don't care what they think but I find it interesting.

I embarrassed to admit this but we just bought a new 55 in 4K Smart TV from White Trash Mart because it was only $428. I wanted a 75 inch but the 55 is much bigger than my old 42 and this was a cheap Christmas present for the Mrs and Mr.

 

[DianaCox]

I can't stand throwing out food, until it has it's own life cycle evolving in it (I mean, I PAY FOR and voluntarily swallow pills with bugs - why not grow my own?). My comparison shopping and occasional use of coupons annoys Charles - but I don't care.

When we moved, I sold the nearly 30 year old bedroom furniture we still had - I bought it myself a long time ago, and Charles had always hated it (very simple, natural light oak), and it was finally starting to fall apart. I found a bedroom set online that met our agreed-upon particular wishes, and started shopping the same set at two different online retailers, one of which had better reviews. For the 5 pieces, I got a bundle price, including delivery and set up, of $4558, from the better company, which was about $300 less than the other one. Sounded pretty good (was a significant discount over the list price on the websites). The salesman who gave me the quote has contacted me at least twice since then - I asked him to give me his BEST price, and he said not until I ordered - but we don't need the set right away, because (1) we bought two beds (one an EASTERN King) and some old dressers from the seller; and (2) my Comfortaire Cal King mattress that is in storage won't be here until mid-January.

And I wanted to SEE and TOUCH (and have Charles look at) the furniture first, so I found a local stick & brick retailer. The store happened to be directly on the way back from the escrow office, so we stopped by today. I was honest and told them I was looking at buying from an online retailer who had given me what seemed like a decent price, but I welcomed their offer. I mean they didn't have to do any selling - I already knew what I wanted. But - they have to pay for rent, etc.

And, we put down 50% with them - their price, on the same set (well, actually not quite - the salesman pointed out the the 9 drawer "chesser" I had picked was $150 more than the 6 drawer dresser that had essentially the same volume of drawer space, and was lower and longer - so we substituted that) - and the price out the door, including complete delivery and set up (and immediate replacement if anything was broken, because the warehouse is in Phoenix) was about $1000 less.

I think Charles was impressed that I pulled that off.

If you're interested, here is what we picked:
- the Cal-King sleigh bed with leather headboard and drawers
- 2 two-drawer end tables
- 6 drawer dresser
- Tall dresser

It is a custom selection built from this group, but no mirror: https://www.bedroomfurniturediscoun...t-4pc-sleigh-storage-bedroom-set-in-java.html

Charles thought the drawer bottoms were kind of meh - 1/4" plywood - and warned me I won't be able to stuff them like I usually do. But I didn't think for this price it would be heirloom furniture. The headboard in person was better looking than the pix. The set is good enough and nice looking. And we agreed on the style.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I used to love Outback but the stores in IL I have frequented lately have really slid in terms of quality. Carrabba's who is owned by the same parent has much better food and specifically steak than Outback, IMO. Unfortunately the closest one to me is Chicago- land.

BTW speaking of being thrifty. I am typically a 20% tipper but will go higher or lower if warranted. Do you tip on pre tax or post tax amount? I tip pre tax for obvious reasons but I have had people tell me that is not correct...Of course I don't care what they think but I find it interesting.

I embarrassed to admit this but we just bought a new 55 in 4K Smart TV from White Trash Mart because it was only $428. I wanted a 75 inch but the 55 is much bigger than my old 42 and this was a cheap Christmas present for the Mrs and Mr.

My starting place is 20% on the pre-tax total.

Btw, used to be that the govt assumed 8% and taxed on that assumption. But now, so many credit/debit cards are involved, that there is a paper trail on the actual numbers.