what are you doing right now?

[minnesotapaintlady]

Oct 31, 2024 19:03:07 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

November is going to be biting financially.  First up is homeowners insurance at $3750, next up is car insurance at $3650.  I'll call again tomorrow afternoon and try to nail down a new electricity plan but there's no question it will be higher.  At least we are being renewed for both home and auto-not everyone is. 

Ouch. I won't complain about my insurance anymore.  I just changed carriers today and dropped homeowners from $2540 (which was bound to increase in January when it renewed) to $2219 and auto from $2268 to $1180, so cut about $1400.  Pretty happy with the money savings, but kind of regretting I had to change the homeowners to do so because I did have a very good policy with State Farm. The initial quote they gave me for home was way lower and they didn't let me adjust coverage until after I'd secured the auto part, so I was stuck.

I may go back to State Farm next year if they get the auto down, but I don't think I'd be able to get the same .5% homeowners deductible anymore.

[soupandstew]

I've only had the one family tonight and I'll turn off the lights at 9, about 40 minutes from now.  

[daisylu]

Oct 31, 2024 19:36:57 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

Oct 31, 2024 19:28:33 GMT -5 daisylu said:

I belive they are close to a hurricane zone and carry flood insurance due to bad drainage in the area. Near Houston I believe, but i may be wrong. The car insurance does seem excessive to me. 

We aren't mandated to carry flood coverage but recognize that prior predictions on flood zones are out the window at this time.  People sitting on the top of a mountain in North Carolina didn't have flood coverage, and cooper88 in New Mexico didn't either because floods were not a recognized hazard but they did happen.  Yesterday, parts of Spain were hit with devastating floods.  One house in my neighborhood that had minor flooding during Harvey in 2017 was rebuilt and the government funding they received required them to elevate the structure about 6-7 feet.  

I remember that you weren't required to carry flood insurance but did it for peace of mind. I should have noted it in that post.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'm getting old. Trick or treating pooped me out.

Stopped at my HS boyfriend's house and talked with his dad for a bit. Expressed my sympathies about his wife dying last year.

Kids got a decent hall. Not much good stuff this year or at least good stuff I'd take as my share.😆

[soupandstew]

No problem at all daisylu.  

[jerseygirl]

Oct 31, 2024 19:03:07 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

November is going to be biting financially.  First up is homeowners insurance at $3750, next up is car insurance at $3650.  I'll call again tomorrow afternoon and try to nail down a new electricity plan but there's no question it will be higher.  At least we are being renewed for both home and auto-not everyone is. 

Oof! Both very high almost 2x what we pay
Costs of living are becoming almost geometric!

[soupandstew]

Everyone talks about the price of homes, but in some cases it's the insurance costs that prevent home ownership.  I can't honestly blame the insurance companies for realizing they can't make a profit at the current volume of claims in some areas like Texas, Florida, and other areas hit by natural disasters like wildfires.  But, on the other hand, I don't know how people will be able to pay for repairs on their own dime.  I see a lot of that here in my neighborhood, homes with blue tarp roofs since our March derecho and July hurricane Beryl.  A new roof is easily $15K and not many here can afford that.  

Renters have it even worse because landlords are not fixing up their storm-damaged places and there is no place for the tenants to go.  

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 10:18:16 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

If it's natural gas, like for a stove, water heater or furnace, then there is no tank. Do you have natural gas from the city?

Yes! I just went down to the basement and the furnace is directly below it. So do they just check it when they come and service the furnace? I was going to see about getting that done soon since it's getting cold. Also, do I need to have a chimney person come and inspect it, or does it run through the ducts like the furnace does? I've never had a fireplace before so I'm so lost!

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 10:33:03 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Oct 31, 2024 10:18:16 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

If it's natural gas, like for a stove, water heater or furnace, then there is no tank. Do you have natural gas from the city?

If it’s propane then there will be a tank that needs to be filled occasionally


Natural gas comes from pipe and gas company bills for use
Do you know if previous owners had a gas bill?

They did. I had to set up an account with the gas company again.

[chiver78]

Oct 31, 2024 21:08:13 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

Everyone talks about the price of homes, but in some cases it's the insurance costs that prevent home ownership.  I can't honestly blame the insurance companies for realizing they can't make a profit at the current volume of claims in some areas like Texas, Florida, and other areas hit by natural disasters like wildfires.  But, on the other hand, I don't know how people will be able to pay for repairs on their own dime.  I see a lot of that here in my neighborhood, homes with blue tarp roofs since our March derecho and July hurricane Beryl.  A new roof is easily $15K and not many here can afford that.  

Renters have it even worse because landlords are not fixing up their storm-damaged places and there is no place for the tenants to go.  

this. the purchase price of my current place is more than $100k more than the last one, but bc of flood ins, my mortgage payment is actually lower here. 🤷‍♀️

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 11:04:14 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Since I'm sitting around waiting for a big submission to show up I decided to research Disney cruises again.  I found a travel agency here that does just Disney so I decided to take a chance and ask for a quote. 

I have no idea what I am doing I haven't taken a vacation like this on my own before. When I went to Borneo it was all handled by the college.  Last time DH traveled by plane he was a kid and it was the 80s so he's been absolutely no help at all since so much has changed.

Otherwise we're stereotypical Midwesterners if it's 10 hours or less we drive. 

I fly all the time as others do if you have questions about airlines.

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 16:53:57 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

I'm hanging out downstairs for the evening. LD is already snoring on my bed after daycare, Punk is down here with me. but the lights are all off upstairs and the front curtains drawn. I don't want any part of encouraging trick-or-treaters on my unlit, narrow, winding, sidewalk-free street.

They probably couldn't find it if they tried. Malarkey and I passed it even though you had the entire house lit up.

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 18:54:24 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I put a sign up on my door, welcoming trick or treaters and I put a pumpkin outside my door.

Now I wait. 🎃

I went to my uncle's house. I was telling everyone that I should have put a sign on my front door telling the kids that I'm a scrooge. He had tons of TOTers! I've never seen so many! I finally got cold and came home.

[toomuchreality]

Oct 31, 2024 21:29:22 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Oct 31, 2024 18:54:24 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

I put a sign up on my door, welcoming trick or treaters and I put a pumpkin outside my door.

Now I wait. 🎃

I went to my uncle's house. I was telling everyone that I should have put a sign on my front door telling the kids that I'm a scrooge. He had tons of TOTers! I've never seen so many! I finally got cold and came home.

8:45 and still nothing.

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 19:03:07 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

November is going to be biting financially.  First up is homeowners insurance at $3750, next up is car insurance at $3650.  I'll call again tomorrow afternoon and try to nail down a new electricity plan but there's no question it will be higher.  At least we are being renewed for both home and auto-not everyone is. 

This is me the month of August. I dread it every year. It's so expensive!

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 19:06:48 GMT -5 busymom said:

Oct 31, 2024 19:03:07 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

November is going to be biting financially.  First up is homeowners insurance at $3750, next up is car insurance at $3650.  I'll call again tomorrow afternoon and try to nail down a new electricity plan but there's no question it will be higher.  At least we are being renewed for both home and auto-not everyone is. 

    Wow, that's high!  Your price of homeowners alone would cover our house & 2 cars for a year.      I'm forgetting where you live, but I'm guessing you're in a hurricane zone.  Can you price the competition for a better deal?

She's in Houston. Insurance is outrageous there. It's as bad as FL which is ridiculous. Well, it was. Ron D screwed over the state of FL, so nobody can get insurance there anymore.

[andi9899]

Oct 31, 2024 20:22:17 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Oct 31, 2024 19:03:07 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

November is going to be biting financially.  First up is homeowners insurance at $3750, next up is car insurance at $3650.  I'll call again tomorrow afternoon and try to nail down a new electricity plan but there's no question it will be higher.  At least we are being renewed for both home and auto-not everyone is. 

Ouch. I won't complain about my insurance anymore.  I just changed carriers today and dropped homeowners from $2540 (which was bound to increase in January when it renewed) to $2219 and auto from $2268 to $1180, so cut about $1400.  Pretty happy with the money savings, but kind of regretting I had to change the homeowners to do so because I did have a very good policy with State Farm. The initial quote they gave me for home was way lower and they didn't let me adjust coverage until after I'd secured the auto part, so I was stuck.

I may go back to State Farm next year if they get the auto down, but I don't think I'd be able to get the same .5% homeowners deductible anymore.

I stayed with AAA because they were the only company giving me a flat deductible. It's $2,500, but everyone else wanted percentages which were high and went up every year. I've only ever had one HO insurance claim in my entire life, so I figured it was a safe bet. My HO insurance is $2K which is cheap around here. My car insurance is $1,600/year which IMO is high, but nobody could beat it and I quoted it everywhere!

[minnesotapaintlady]

Oct 31, 2024 21:56:14 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Oct 31, 2024 20:22:17 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Ouch. I won't complain about my insurance anymore.  I just changed carriers today and dropped homeowners from $2540 (which was bound to increase in January when it renewed) to $2219 and auto from $2268 to $1180, so cut about $1400.  Pretty happy with the money savings, but kind of regretting I had to change the homeowners to do so because I did have a very good policy with State Farm. The initial quote they gave me for home was way lower and they didn't let me adjust coverage until after I'd secured the auto part, so I was stuck.

I may go back to State Farm next year if they get the auto down, but I don't think I'd be able to get the same .5% homeowners deductible anymore.

I stayed with AAA because they were the only company giving me a flat deductible. It's $2,500, but everyone else wanted percentages which were high and went up every year. I've only ever had one HO insurance claim in my entire life, so I figured it was a safe bet. My HO insurance is $2K which is cheap around here. My car insurance is $1,600/year which IMO is high, but nobody could beat it and I quoted it everywhere!

This one is weird.  It's $500 deductible for everything EXCEPT wind/hail.  That is 1%, which is going to be like $4500. 

I think I may have screwed the pooch letting my .5% one go.

[raeoflyte]

My hazard insurance is over $7000 this year with a 1% deductible. I'm going to raise the deductible because it's just asinine to pay that much for insurance imo but I think the lowest they could get it down was around $4500 a year. Our taxes and insurance are more than our total mortgage payment at our first 3 homes.

[toomuchreality]

I just gave candy to a couple (adults), walking in the hallway.
The dad seemed quite pleased.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Oct 31, 2024 21:16:25 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Oct 31, 2024 10:18:16 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

If it's natural gas, like for a stove, water heater or furnace, then there is no tank. Do you have natural gas from the city?

Yes! I just went down to the basement and the furnace is directly below it. So do they just check it when they come and service the furnace? I was going to see about getting that done soon since it's getting cold. Also, do I need to have a chimney person come and inspect it, or does it run through the ducts like the furnace does? I've never had a fireplace before so I'm so lost!

HVAC companies around here don't do anything with gas fireplaces. I've heard some plumbers will service them as they work a lot like a gas water heater, but knock on wood mine has been fine for 25 years. I don't have a chimney, it's direct vent out the wall behind it. Fireplaces don't go through the ducts, it's just heat from the fire being blown out the top with a fan.

[busymom]

We only got 35 kids at the door. We were expecting the colder temps, but weren't expecting the snow to stick, so the weather probably scared off some kids. We always have to be prepared to have around 100 kids, so I've got plenty of popcorn balls & candy left.  DS & DH don't mind, but I'd rather not have so much temptation around the house.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Oct 31, 2024 22:07:06 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

My hazard insurance is over $7000 this year with a 1% deductible. I'm going to raise the deductible because it's just asinine to pay that much for insurance imo but I think the lowest they could get it down was around $4500 a year. Our taxes and insurance are more than our total mortgage payment at our first 3 homes.

omg...that is awful.

[minnesotapaintlady]

I got my replacement phone today and it's perfect.  Very happy with it.  Now, for the long drawn out process of getting it all set up exactly to my liking.