woosh there goes the $

In the busyness of this past first week of school came a phone call from DS1 down the in US.

He came out to head to campus and one of his tires were slashed.  Hopefully just random and not because he has out of country plates on his vehicle.

Thankful for CAA membership that is compatible in the US.  He called. They came and towed him to a repair shop that has been very good to him during his year down there.  The tires on his vehicle are a pain to match and all four had to be replaced. We had figured this on our end so it didn't come as new info surprise to us.  DS2 has the same Jeep and I had to do this in the spring for him.

Insurance won't cover this. We made some initial calls and our insurance up here said no.

So DS1 now has four brand new tires that hopefully will be slash safe.


The cost to mama $657 US

Sending DS back to College....

...is not cheap.

Here is a list of a few things that he and I split the cost on to get him back to hockey country.

• $50 for windshield replacement. Big rock chip on his way here in the spring that cracked in all directions. Package policy pays for all but the deductible of $50
• $55 new wipers for the windshield. They were tattered and needed replacing
• $100 oil change. Synthetic oil will last him for most of his year down there. who knew synthetic was so costly?
• $85 suit cleaning. Now he is all freshly pressed for their 'must wear' suits. Grandma was super excited to iron his dress shirts.
• $7 car wash before he goes. DH insisted on it. I am thinking it's going to pick up a bug or two in the 17 hour drive
• $140 US  DS is breaking the drive up in two. He loses an hour due to time change en route and found himself beyond exhausted last year. Hotel we use at the break point was booked. And all the neighbouring hotels. Something exciting must be happening in that city tomorrow night. After 14 phone calls we gave up and took one that costs way too much.

and that doesn't factor in any of the actual COLLEGE costs :-)

One more year

Boom!

It's like an old episode of Unsolved Mysteries

Tuesday.... noon... a woman decides to better use her noon time for errands when her tire blows.

Thousands of miles away.....(and three days) her oldest son is driving and boom! his tire blows.

coincidence??? or another unsolved mystery??


Long story short I ran errands on Tuesday at noon and my tire light comes on to say it's low.  I run to the gas station to put air in it. When I unscrew the air cap, WHOOSH!! it goes flying across the parking lot to parts unknown, while the little brass valve flies out and lands a couple feet away. As I ran to grab it, my tire donates all it's air to the atmosphere.

I had to get DH to run over and swap vehicles to handle this or I would have been late for afternoon classes.  He took it to get fixed and $135 later it's apparently better.

The same thing happened to another of my tires the night before we were to drive down to see DS last fall.

DS2's tire blew yesterday in the same manner. I am glad it happened while he was still in his college town and not starting the 17 hour drive home to Canada.

His bill was $110 US.

I know I have an Emergency Fund but it's really my TFSA. I need to start a real emergency slush fund that is accessible easily for things like this.

Home from the US

It was amazing. It really was. Probably the best of the trips I have done to see DS.

First - the drive. 17 hours there. 17 hours home. DH and I actually got along. Miracle. I don't think we have spent that much one on one time together in years. We were going to take my SUV but the night before when DH was checking the air, the valve literally blew out of the tire. So we had to take the truck.

The colitis - I was terrified I would have an accident on the drive. I mean, I have a block from my house, so that long a drive....... eek. I threw myself back on a high dose of steroids 2 weeks before we left to try to calm down the flare. I cut myself off food at noon the day before we left. For the drive there, and for the return, I had nothing to eat or drink. zero. nada. not a sip of water. not a mint. not gum. Any one of those things can trigger urgency.  Surprisingly, I wasn't dying of starvation. I didn't get the 'I'm hungry' dizziness or headaches.  I survived.  DH was amazingly supportive, which was a first as well.  It was greatly appreciative.

Funny, as we were driving, hour 12 ish, we went by a farmyard super close to the highway. I KNOW I smelled fresh brewed coffee wafting from the yard. It smelled SO good. We laughed as my senses must have been heightened.

The city - oh the weather was glorious. About 24 C. Amazing for end of October. We walked along a few of the scenic trails. We played in the huge waves coming in off the lake. Enjoyed all the sights. Hit a couple local breweries for a taste. Not really beer drinkers but it is very popular there. I learned I am not really an ale person.

The people - I found the parents group friendlier this year. Or maybe I am three years in and more comfortable. It was much more relaxed and chatty. There was a bonfire the first night we got intot he city but we were wiped from driving so far. We just met with our BFF parents and our boys and did supper together. Amazing pasta.

The parents did a brunch together, met for drinks before the first game, and again before the second at an outdoor patio down by the water. I still didn't get to meet all of them. Some are harder to approach - or maybe it' s my shyness. I have trouble around people who .........how shall I put this........are wealthier, have had more success, have all the fancy clothes. I feel .....lesser. They are probably wonderful people but it just feels different. Probably all in my head.

I also got to meet an internet friend..... a big longtime fan of the team whom I follow on twitter. We've chatted a bit on there. There was a jersey auction and she bid on DS's and won. She was so excited to get to meet DS and get a picture with him. She's met a lot of the players over the years and blogged that it was her #1 interaction with one of the boys from the team. The mama in me was 'awwww'. In their picture they are both laughing as he is 6 foot 4 and she is 5 foot 4 and he had to squat so they both could be in the picture.

The hockey. They won both their games. DS got to play in both games (which is less common - there are NHL draft picks here and DS is not on the top 2 lines). I even got to see DS score a goal and get an assist. I realized how much I miss when I don't get to see his games.

I need to tally up the costs for gas to see how much it came to. Certainly less than the cost of 2 flights at the current prices.

It was a phenomenal trip. We drove in thick rain from the border up and it snowed the night after we got home. I am so glad we didn't have to drive in that.

Definitely not flying

It's getting close to family weekend down for DS's hockey team. This will be our third trip down.

The past two years we have flown. Last year, I bought our tickets on August 16th for $547 each. Family weekend was at the end of October.

This year, it's at the end of September and what a dif the price is. I have been tracking prices since May and they are astonishing. They started out at just under $1000 each, which I was significantly more than last year. I thought they would drop. Nope. They maxed out at $1800 each for the same flight (about 6 weeks ago)  at the same time of day with the same airline. Over 3 x the price per ticket compared to last year.

The one month earlier is part of it. But should it be THAT much different?

We are even leaving on a Thurs and returning on a Monday. No Fri, Sat or Sun flights.

As of this morning, the best flight time is not listed anymore. The less optimal time is $1100 per ticket with 2 stops and crazy lay overs.

So drive we shall. 17 hours. x 2

I am very concerned about colitis needs across the long stretches without a small town (bathroom). It pretty much means I can't eat or drink during the journey.

We will add one extra  hotel night on the way down but will be powering home the last day. I will be exhausted going back to work the next day.

It will be interesting to see what gas costs for the journey. Certainly less than the $2000+ the tickets would be.  But we did have to take an extra day off work.

Package Policy

I honestly think I keep forgetting that it is March.  I have been surprised on more than one occasion in the past week that it is March.  Example: I had in my day plan that we had a presentation on March 9. So the morning of March 9 when one of my coworkers mentions it, in my head I am thinking "nooo that's not til the 9th of ...........oh dear lord it IS the 9th of March.

Same thing applies to my yearly package policy for two of our vehicles. I know it's due in March. I save for it for March. and each year I am surprised when it comes... in March.

For those unfamiliar with SK vehicle insurance, there are two levels. The first level is for our 'plates'...our yearly vehicle insurance renewal. For DS1 and myself, our vehicles are valued at about $1100 each for this insurance. It covers a bunch of basic coverage, with mid level deductibles.

Most people (ok well most people "I" know), also get an extended policy. It covers a bit more deeply, with lower deductibles.

When I opened mine last week I knew it was for two vehicles and would be high, but I still blinked.

It came to $636

$284 was for mine and $352 was for DS1's, which is technically my vehicle too.

DS1's is higher as he is in the US and needs higher coverage and liability. We have a 5 million third party and a 2 million family security.  In comparison, mine up here is a 2 and a 2 million.

I paid it all at once. Plopped it on my visa to get the few reward points and came home and immediately transferred money from my account to pay it off.

I could have paid it monthly - $109.18  down payment plus $54.59 monthly (Total of $764.26)
or 3 times a year - $254.40 + 200.80 + 200.80 plus 2 $10 installment fees (Total of  $676)

Definitely makes financial sense to pay it all at once IF you can save ahead properly.

The lady handling this said that I could have also did it all online through my online banking.    I really don't mind stopping in to pay this. It's not out of my way and has good hours of being open. Even Saturdays. This way too, they know my face when I have issues I need to deal with. I have found this helpful on multiple occasions.

 I pointed out to the lady that the more people who do this online, the fewer people the business will need to employ. The way her eyes opened, it showed that this had never occurred to her before.

It's good to have that off my to do list for another year.