The last time DH bought a new car, way back in 1992, he went to one of those discount volume dealerships. They tried to get him on a tactic I hadn't heard of before or since for that matter. They told him the payments on the vehicle ($450) but they wouldn't disclose the selling price or interest rate. DH liked the 1992 Blazer a lot, he was shopping when the 93s were out, but they had been redesigned and he didn't like it as much. DH was ready to buy, he can be a bit gullible at times. Anyway, he had me come up with him to test drive, and we talked to his salesman (actually, I was doing most of the talking at this point) and the saleman swore up and down that all he knew was the payments, not the selling price or interest on the vehicle. I told him that was a load of crap and we walked out (DH very reluctantly). The next day we went to another dealership and talked to a very nice college kid who had just started selling cars and told him we didn't want any run arounds, if he couldn't get a price and had to talk to a manager etc. we would walk. So he said fine, gave us a great deal and a not bad interest rate and we bought it right then. For what came out to $450 a month. A week later, the salesman from the original dealership called to see if we were still interested in the car. DH answered the phone. He told him we bought at another dealership. The salesman had the gall to become irrate and say we wasted his time and deserved payment. At which point DH said he wasted OUR time so we were even. Then the salesman wanted to know what kind of deal we got on the vehicle. DH said "You wouldn't tell us the price of the Blazer when we wanted to know, we're not telling you what we paid, but I can say we were very happy with the dealership and will tell everyone what a terrible experience we had with you." Walking was the best thing we ever did.

Question"Do you think it would be better to have the bathrooms over a basement or crawlspace?" Let me give you a little scenerio that will answer that question for you. Get a small 25lb tool box and stand in the middle of your living room, now carry that toolbox to the bathroom and come back and get a box of parts and some pipe. No big deal,right? Now, lay on your back at the front door and without turning over, crawl on your back to the bathroom while shoving the tool box along, keeping in mind that you only have 5" or 6" of overhead clearance. Now, while you are crawling on your back keep in mind that you might run into a snake, dangerous spider or even a ferral cat. (don't laugh, I was once bit by a ferral cat which ran away so I had to undergo 7 days of treatment for rabies), oh yes, and while your crawling across the living room floor, keep in mind your plumber is crawling through dirt and if they are repairing a leak it is mud on a 90 to 100degF day in summer and in winter the temperature will often be subzero. Now if you did that little experiment I am sure you now understand why it requires more labor time over a crawlspace than what it would be over a basement and to be fair to my employees, I give them a 10% bonus for the time they are under the house in a crawlspace so the labor cost to the homeowner is obviously higher over a crawlspace. But then, when discussing the bid, I also explain it to the homeowner in the same manner as above, and most of them understand. Now in regard to the Hantavirus. I have read numerous articles that were written by "Residential Plumbers" and "Plumber Wannabee's", but to tell the truth, most of those guys cry if they get dirt on their knees. For those of us who are both "Residential & Commercial Plumbers" the Hantavirus is just another day paradise. Yes, we take the appropriate protective actions when working in a crawlspace where Hantivirus is suspected, but the next day we may be working on the drain lines under an autopsy table at the county morgue or an embalming table at your local Funeral home and who knows what we might encounter working on the drain lines in the hospital lab? Next time you take your kid to school ask yourself this, were are the steam lines, electrical conduits, water lines and drain lines for the school? Answer, they are right there under your feet. Directly below those long hallwalls nearly all of those building have a service tunnel about the same size as that hallway, only the service tunnel is bare concrete block with a bare concrete floor and a 60watt lightbulb about every 100ft. You have to wear a hardhat to prevent bumping your head on the pipes and hangers and who knows what kind of spiders, rats & such might pop out at you. All of our employees are issued an OHSA approved dust mask and an OSHA approved disposable bio-hazard suit, which they keep on the service truck, and the rule is, when in doubt-take it out. We also have complete HEPA suits for when we have to work with asbestos covered pipes or some bio-hazards. Now don't get me wrong here. I am not crying about what I do in the least, in fact, I repeatedly try to convince young men and women to consider entering the apprenticeship. To become a certified plumber you have to complete a four year apprenticeship. During the apprenticeship you have to work 40 hours a week 50 weeks a year under a Master Plumber at a good competitive wage and you also have to complete a state approved 4yr college or technical school class (paid for by the employer). Now your kid could go to college and come out with a four year degree, a small fortune in student debts and absolutely no job experience, or they could complete an apprenticeship in the same time and have a trade license, four years work experience and absolutely no student debt. But before everybody runs to join the apprenticeship let me warn you, it ain't as easy as everybody might think. You better have some good math skills and be ready to do some tough studying. Seventy percent of the applicants fall out in the first year and less than 9% of those who enter the program actually go on to finish it. On the other hand, for those who do complete the training and get their license, they can easily go on to make $85-$100k per yr and you can be sure noboby can outsource your job.

This week we had my son's 5th bday party. Instead of having the movie theater "package", I treated the guests to the movie and out to lunch at Wendy's (my son's fave restaurant, lol). The package at the theater would have been $300 plus I would have had to pay for any adults past the first 2 (dh & I). I would have had to supply the cake and they would supply popcorn, soda & candy and a souvenier (sp?) for my son and we would have had to tip the party hostess and pay 8.75% tax. Instead I spent a total of $225 and that included: the movie tix for 10 kids & 9 adults (plus 1 toddler), Cheez-its snack packs for during the movie (smuggled in, another 5 y.o. fave), lunch for all, cake (we called ahead and asked permission), party supplies (i.e. tablecloth, forks, candles, cake plates, etc), and favors for the kids. Everyone had so much fun and the whole party lasted 3 hours. The theater package would have been the 1.5 hr movie and 1/2 hour after for cake & play. I am in NY and childrens parties are big business. I have 2 sons and am proud that I have been able to come up with creative ways to celebrate, that are enjoyable and at a savings. I hope I never have to do a "package" party. My other great savings was I received a free vintage sink on freecycle.org. I am a member and frequently offer out and also frequently receive items. We are renovating in the summer and I have been shopping out fixtures. I had my heart set on an old white sink with attached drainboard, but could not find one anywhere feasible (except 200 miles away on ebay). This was free and was a 15 minute ride to pick up. It is in excellent condition and just needed a new home. I had found these new for sale online in England but the cost with shipping was beyond my budget. It would have been close to $800! I can't imagine paying that much for a sink, but I know many people do. I am just too frugal/cheap. Even if it fit my budget, I could not do it. I would rather use the money somewhere else or save it. That's my story for savings this week! I hope to have more to cheer about next week ;)

Welcome to Garden Web and This Home Site. I see you just joined yesterday. Do you have a computer in your RV? If so, how wonderful...all the comforts of home while traveling. I guess you have some sort of a wireless service that you are able to use it when RVing around to different places. Tell us about that...is it expensive? Is it dependable?...or might you have to use the library when traveling to look up the thrift shops on your site? I find the yellow pages of any phone book lists all of the thrift shops in an area just great, and like to frequent those that are raising funds especially for the needy. Have you ever been to the Highway 50 yardsale? I forget how many hundred miles long it is. I've heard it almost runs coast to coast, and is touted as the world's biggest yard sale. There is another one that starts in Kentucky and runs clear down to the gulf coast. Anyone ever been to either of those? I have some friends that live out of their RV. In the summer they are the Host and Hostess at the local State Park. By helping out by keeping an eye out for any campers disobeying the rules, and helping out in different ways, they are given free camping for their whole stay. When the weather turns cold here in Indiana, and camping slows, they roll on down south, and are host and hostess again in a southern campground for the winter months. Sounds like a fun life to me, but think I would always want to have a 'fixed' place of my own to call home to come back to. Sue