vehicle repairs and vehicle hunting

DS2 and I headed off this morning with my suv. Our plan was to go to my dealer garage first as my SUV needed a diagnostic. The engine light was on and we could hear a bit of a knocking or vibration in the motor.

A quick diagnostic turned into 3 hours of sit and wait. Some delays and some trouble finding the knock. The engine light was a loose wire, so that was good. The knocking was a loose bolt in my oil pan that was also letting oil leak out.

I have to say that I was patient for 2 of the three hours but for the last one I was getting twitchy.

I was pleasantly surprised to have them tell me there would be no charge for the 2.5 hours of labour.  That was very unexpected news and made me smile.

DS and I began the hunt for a new vehicle the day of his accident. We searched online at the dealers in town and in the neighbouring communities.  Things sure cost a lot.   When we went to one dealer to look at a vehicle, we stumbled across another one that seems to fit exactly what it was looking for. Price was good. It was in great shape physically. I had them pull up the repair record (it was owned by one of their employees in the shop) and had them check all the bells and whistles.  We took it for a test drive on the highway, and at a slower speed on a grid road to see if anything rattles.

I think this will be the one. 

A second visit from Murphy

I mentioned before that last week was a big visit from Murphy.  Here is the second reason why.

On Thursday AM last week we had what I hope was our last visit from winter. It was snowy and windy and icy. I had just nicely started teaching when I got a call from DS2.   He had been in an accident. Thank goodness for a great staff to help me get out of work and get to my son.

Picture a long slow decline on a road. Followed by an underpass, following immediately by a  quick curve to the right, and then another quick curve to the left up a small incline. Oh and then a bridge. One lane. All in the span of 1KM

Our story begins on the curve to the left up a small incline where DS's friend was driving her car about 30KM in a long line of congested traffic. She hit ice, spun out and hit a light standard. (She is fine, but her car is not). Folks behind her start to try to slow down, touching the breaks as little as possible on the ice. Back up to the top of that long slow decline where DS was, only about 3 min behind his friend. As the cars begin to slow down, DS is caught right behind ppl and right in front of ppl. He was not going fast at all but the littlest touch on the break sends him flying. He missed the folk in front of him and the cars behind were able to shift this way and that. DS hit a light standard that came right on his driver's door (at the back of it) and smashed the side of his car took out the back window. Boy and car in ditch. Light standard across highway. He was fine, though covered in glass. Several folk stop to make sure he is ok. 

Enter mom's arrival on scene. As he was reaching in to get his registration out he managed to cut across the top of his knuckles on the glass. Beyond that, he is fine.  He was very very lucky.

Cops are everywhere and tow trucks and while we are talking to the RCMP we hear a few more accident calls out come across their radio.

The hunt is on for a new vehicle for him and dealing with the paperwork of this crash. Wish the brand new winter tires had helped, but ice isn't terribly forgiving.

So for Easter I am happy that DS is here with us. DS said " I am so sad not to see my car in the driveway."  I said "I am so happy to see YOU here in my house. safe."

So Murphy is hanging out here for awhile. Anyone else want to take a turn?

RRSP Update

As I dig through the pile of mail on my counter, I located my statement for my RRSP portfolio. Things sure pile up when it's a busy week.

When my last statement came, my portfolio was worth $8162.

In those three months, I am happy to see that there has been growth. It is now worth $8414.  That is an increase of  $252.


I will take that. It motivates me to put more money into my RRSP this year.

Credit Card Compromised

It was not a great day yesterday. We had a really bad morning, but more on that later. Fast forward to evening.

DS1 comes up to say something weird is on his credit card statement. I look and wince. Oh boy! Charges that weren't his.

sigh

They were interesting charges to say the least. 3 were  to a  consumer reports in the US. I am not even sure what that is.

One was to a college in Guelph, Ontario, online for  $285.00. That has got to be a registration fee or something like that. I wonder if I called there and asked what fee they have online that is exactly that number, if they would share that information?

Two were very odd. A refund in Euros for something that cost $574 followed by a purchase later that day for $600+ from that same company.

We called the CC number right away. DS had no clue what to say but I prompted him through it.   They have put a block on it and I am not sure what happens from there. Do you ever find out who/where it was compromised?

He has only used it about 8 times in the past 8 months he has had it and it is always paid off in full. I wanted him to practice using it and doing that for a year before he went off to the US.

I am wondering if I need to call Equifax and learn how to pull his credit report and make sure the corruption went no deeper. 

Can anyone in Canada step me through how that 'one free a year' credit report check works?  Do they do it over the phone? Do we have to wait for the report to come in the mail? 

I confess that I have never done one on my own. I did see what the bank sees when they check, when I applied for my LOC a few years ago.

Where the money stands

as of April 5th

Debts
Mortgage - $24 794.82

Total Debt - $24 794.82


Savings/Planned Spending
TFSA/EF - $5000
RESP - $17 600
RRSP - $8000 
DS2's trip -$1440
Plates 2014 - $1200
College Savings - $2400