It was in the high 90's in my section of New England this weekend. As much as I love summer and the heat, it was wayyyyy to early for this type of weather, and it's official, we are in a heat wave with the temperatures not expected to drop until Wednesday.
I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the cool of the living room with the shades drawn, a large glass of ice tea and watched old DVD's. My Air Con unit (3,000 or 5,000 BTUs) is one I broke down and bought last year at Target. It's designed for a small bedroom, even my small house is almost too much house for it to cool completely. It does make a dent into the heat, sucks out the humidity and keeps the dogs and myself comfortable. I much prefer fans and a breeze, but no air was moving yesterday-None, on went the AC.
When I bought the AC last year, I was starting to doubt my purchase judgement skills, remember I was in the middle of filing bankruptcy and doubting every purchase I had ever made (I was seriously stressed). A spell of hot and humid weather and after 5 very sleepless nights, I broke down one afternoon in the Target. This AC got very mixed reviews (of course I read them AFTER the purchase), and could have made it to the "stupid purchase classification". It was on sale, I was hot, tired and cranky. The unit was "on special sale". I dragged out my debit card and bought the unit. I was lucky, the little $79 A/C works just well enough to keep the house (and more importantly, the dogs) comfortable. It does not fall into the "stupid purchase" category.
Why did I write this? It's about planning and research. Pre-bankruptcy, post bankruptcy, debt reduction, increasing savings, what ever. If you are planning on making a major purchase or almost any purchase, you have to do your research. IF I had been smarter, I would have taken the time to research small window A/C units. I MAY have opted for a different brand than the one I got based on the reviews. I know the Target return policy, the unit was on sale, and for the reasons above, I jumped on it and bought the unit. I was lucky, this until turned out to be OK and does the job I need it to do.
Moral of the story, you have to do your home work, whether it's buying a car or buying an Air Con unit. Hope you are staying cool where ever you are.
2 comments:
Great point about researching purchases. Prior to BK, I just bought whatever was on sale at the store. Now I reasearch everything, first try to determine if I can get it cheaper at craigslist, a yard sale, goodwill, or a friend. Only after I have exhausted all avenues do I buy the best value at the store. I am amazed at how many things I have gotten for free or at yard sale prices just by telling friends I want something, and having them volunteer that they have an extra of that exact item waiting for goodwill, etc. and giving it to me for free.
Freecycle is my new best friend, both for giving and receiving of items. I got a very spiffy Thule rack for my old car last year, I just had to order two new keys for the rack lock.
I just have to remember research first, ask everyone second, check goodwill/freecycle third, and lastly purchase.
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