- Sep 12, 2007
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We have some neighbors that are, apparently, "Keeping up with the Joneses", as it's put.....us being the Joneses.
We did pretty well at the end of the year on some stock transactions and cashed out just after Jan. 1st. Had some needs and wants, so we kept the profits and reinvested the principle.
Bought, over a couple of weeks, a new washer and dryer to replace a 12 year old pair that were just flat wearing out.....pump on washer wouldn't quite empty itself completely, and the dryer just took longer and longer to dry stuff.
So we went energy efficient and bought a front-loader washer and dryer and got one heck of a deal from BrandMart on the pair.....like $100 off the washer and $65 off the dryer.
New couch.....found a very nice one in the clearance section at Haverty's for almost half price...perfect in every way. Replaced a sofa that was about 10 years old and is now outside in our outdoor shelter thing.
"New" tractor/mower. Was at an estate auction...had a Husqvarna 24hp, 48" cut tractor mower with only 54 hours on it. Looks like brand new. (Estate was husband died, wife over 70 and was giving/selling house and moving in with one set of kids. So getting rid of most all her/their stuff that wasn't needed.)
Mower works perfectly, cuts great, and got it for a song....well, not quite a song, but its new retail cost is around $1800 and we paid, even after buyer's premium, well under $700.
Cut to last weekend.......truck pulls up in front of house across street. From Rent-A-Center. They unload a couch that is almost a spitting image of ours.
Next, they unload a washer and dryer......front-loaders just like ours.
I mention to my SO that it looks like they're trying to keep up with us.....too funny! He says...naaaa, couldn't be. Otherwise, where's the mower?
Yesterday, a truck pulls up towing a mower on a trailer, unloads it and drives off. Unfortunately for them, they got a Troybuilt.....a mower made by MTD....very cheap built unit.
Damn! Why do people feel it's necessary to match what others do/buy/own? Of course, I neglected to mention I bought a 2002 Blazer, new......has been the poster child for reliability. Never a moment's problem. Last year......you guessed it. Across the street, a carbon copy Blazer shows up, only in black instead of silver. (Guess they couldn't afford new and bought 4 years used.)
We did pretty well at the end of the year on some stock transactions and cashed out just after Jan. 1st. Had some needs and wants, so we kept the profits and reinvested the principle.
Bought, over a couple of weeks, a new washer and dryer to replace a 12 year old pair that were just flat wearing out.....pump on washer wouldn't quite empty itself completely, and the dryer just took longer and longer to dry stuff.
So we went energy efficient and bought a front-loader washer and dryer and got one heck of a deal from BrandMart on the pair.....like $100 off the washer and $65 off the dryer.
New couch.....found a very nice one in the clearance section at Haverty's for almost half price...perfect in every way. Replaced a sofa that was about 10 years old and is now outside in our outdoor shelter thing.
"New" tractor/mower. Was at an estate auction...had a Husqvarna 24hp, 48" cut tractor mower with only 54 hours on it. Looks like brand new. (Estate was husband died, wife over 70 and was giving/selling house and moving in with one set of kids. So getting rid of most all her/their stuff that wasn't needed.)
Mower works perfectly, cuts great, and got it for a song....well, not quite a song, but its new retail cost is around $1800 and we paid, even after buyer's premium, well under $700.
Cut to last weekend.......truck pulls up in front of house across street. From Rent-A-Center. They unload a couch that is almost a spitting image of ours.
Next, they unload a washer and dryer......front-loaders just like ours.
I mention to my SO that it looks like they're trying to keep up with us.....too funny! He says...naaaa, couldn't be. Otherwise, where's the mower?
Yesterday, a truck pulls up towing a mower on a trailer, unloads it and drives off. Unfortunately for them, they got a Troybuilt.....a mower made by MTD....very cheap built unit.
Damn! Why do people feel it's necessary to match what others do/buy/own? Of course, I neglected to mention I bought a 2002 Blazer, new......has been the poster child for reliability. Never a moment's problem. Last year......you guessed it. Across the street, a carbon copy Blazer shows up, only in black instead of silver. (Guess they couldn't afford new and bought 4 years used.)