In addition to Target and Walmart, we regularly shop at Costco for groceries. Costco is fun to browse since they carry such a range of items. But inevitability it happens – we end up buying several items not on our list. I know we shouldn’t be so impulsive, but sometimes it happens for good reason. Take our trip today to Costco, for instance. We stopped for gas and a couple grocery items. We planned to stick to our list but it didn’t quite end up that way.
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Our cutting the cord process is still underway. We started with our landline (post coming soon), and next to get the boot will be our Xfinity Home Security service. Currently, we’re paying $29.99/month but the expense will increase $10 this month. We’ve had the service long enough that we now own the equipment (sans touchscreen and router) so I’m on the hunt for a new hub to control the devices along with giving us app support.
I found the Securifi Almond 3 (which will be released in the next few months) on Amazon. The Almond 3 is a pretty impressive little device. Its predecessors had over 12,000 reviews on Amazon with a 4.5/5 rating. The Almond 3 combines a Long Range WiFi router, range extender, plus home automation hub in one device. What is particularly cool about it is you don’t have to connect it to a computer to set it up; the Almond comes with a touchscreen to make adding home automation devices a snap.
The device does have some drawbacks. First is the monitoring service. I’m sure we could find a way to incorporate a paid service for this, but that’s one of the expenses I feel we can do without since we can monitor via the app and react appropriately. The Almond 3 will come with a siren which would thwart the majority of burglars anyway. Secondly, there is no camera support on the app. Our WiFi camera will work with the router, but we’ll have to utilize another app to view the camera in the case of a tripped sensor.
Sure, we could just do without home security altogether. We do live in a nice area, and since we’re in a town home there is always someone around who would see if something bad were happening to our home. But as with the landline, it will be well worth the investment for the comfort level it will give me. Plus the price of $120.00 will be recouped in three months after cancelling our security service. The Almond is looking to be a good alternative.
Joe-
I thought I’d have a little fun on a Monday morning to start the week off. While they may not have taught me how to calculate the payments on a 30 year fixed mortgage, these movies taught me (a little) something about business. This list started out as only 5 movies, but then my list grew to 21! I went with the middle of the road, so in no particular order, I give you 10 of my favorite business related movies.
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Happy Sunday everyone! It’s a really nice, albeit windy day here in Chicago. Sitting at the computer thinking about a whole lot of nothing in particular, I figured I would jot some of my thoughts down.
- Hulu – We started a 30 day trial of Hulu this past week. I haven’t had a chance to really browse through the offerings yet. It seems like there’s a good selection of shows/movies. Nicole has been binge watching The Mindy Project though so we’re already getting some use out of it. We’ll post a review of Hulu at some point soon.
- Mobile phone changeover – We went through a change in service carriers a few days ago. Nicole is putting together a post on it which will be out this week. Keep an eye out on Extrapolate! for the post!
- Star Wars – Thanks to some free credits we had on Fandango Now we have a digital copy of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We watched it Friday night and we’ll see how many times I can watch it this next week. Yes, I’m a huge Star Wars nerd. I still have all the action figures from my youth to prove it!
- Quora – I’ve been hooked on Quora since joining a couple weeks ago. Quora is like a better version (IMO) of Yahoo! Answers. The replies are a little more detailed, articulate and actually helpful. Not that Y!A isn’t, but you won’t see any sarcastic or stupid/mean answers on Quora. If you’re interested you can join and follow me.
- Theme Change – I’m working on a theme change to the ‘ol site. As soon as I run it by the Co-CTO (Nicole) and get her approval, we’ll try a new one on for size. I’m excited to move to a new layout.
- Garage Sale – We’re running through the house and garage to locate items to sell at a garage sale I’d like to have either late this month or early in May. It seems prime time as I think many people will be looking for garage sales coming out of winter. I didn’t have too much luck inside the house, but I think I’ll find plenty of items in the garage. We have accumulated quite a bit of “stuff” over the years. I think I’m also going to hit a few local garage sales looking for deals so I can flip the item for a better price.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Joe-
Another busy week. Here we are coming into April and opening day for Major League Baseball. Go Sox! And let’s not forget about hockey. The Blackhawks are once again playoff bound!
I also added a new Recommendations page giving a few apps and websites worth a try. We don’t endorse anything we don’t already use AND most importantly like!
Here we are, April 1st. Signs of spring here in Chicago are everywhere, finally! Baseball season is right around the corner. Now we just need the warm weather. And in true Chicago fashion, there’s a chance of snow showers tomorrow.
I enjoy the mornings, sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee and reading a magazine. I like reading magazines. I have a few I receive digitally, and a good handful we receive in the mail each month. I always have people look at me funny when I tell them we receive 5 or 6 magazines a month at home. When they ask why so many, I tell them well, because I enjoy reading and I get them for free. They stop looking at me so funny when they find out I receive them for free.
I been using Reward Survey for years. Just with signing up and completing some surveys and profile information you could be eligible for credits that can be used on magazine subscriptions. They do have a limited selection of magazines but add new ones from time to time. For me, every Friday I receive an email with another survey to complete for a $20 credit towards magazines. The weekly surveys I complete are quick, literally just a couple minutes. If you’re interested, click the picture below.
Joe-
Just a random post about nothing in particular. I’ve found myself really digging the following things lately.
Green Tea
You see articles about the health benefits all over. Ranging from lowering your cholesterol to helping to prevent heart issues. The biggest comes from it’s antioxidants. I like two brands, Uncle Lee’s Teas (Walmart – $5/100) and Stash (about $15/100).
Google Play
I was a regular Pandora user, but the amount of ads which were coming up was starting to be a bit much. I know, that’s what I get for the free version. Google Play has commercials as well, but not nearly as many. And it seems like there are a wider range of preset channels to choose from. I turn GP on in the morning and just let it run all day. 
Exercise
I’ve been really watching my diet and trying to exercise more since about October/November last year. But since having more time, obviously I can find the time easier. I think it’s because I don’t feel as rushed, I’m enjoying it much more. I lift twice a week and do yoga twice a week. I don’t have much experience with yoga, but there’s no doubt it relaxes me. I’ve been doing the P90X2 yoga and love it! It kicks my ass!
*In full disclosure, the man in the pic below is not me. : )
Cooking
I admit, I was pretty spoiled when it came to having my meals made for me. I helped clean up though, so it’s kind of like I helped cook. Hmm, maybe not. Anyway, I’ve been trying my hand at making dinners. I think I’ve done pretty well. Not some two ingredient meals either, some pretty good ones. Earlier this week I made Chicken Parmesan that turned out awesome! I know chicken parm usually comes with more of a spaghetti noodle, but we had some leftover macaroni to use up – just explaining the pic below. Today, I’m doing my first repeat recipe, pesto salmon, mmm good stuff. Let’s see, I also made some home made Sloppy Me’s I call them. “Me” because I’m Joe. Creative, I know. No canned sauce for me, this was all homemade. Let’s see what else, there was General Tso chicken, corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s day, chili mac & cheese, cajun shrimp alfredo pasta, And I have two soups I’ll be making over the next few days, broccoli cheddar, and minestrone.
We’ve all seen them. Those pesky little articles and calculators showing you how to calculate the amount you’ll need at retirement to manage x dollars a year. I kind of view these calculators and articles like I do a winter weather forecast here in Chicago. I look at all the forecasts from the local news outlets, and then pick the one I like most. That seems to work! Well, it may not work with retirement, calculating the money that you think may work – but it feels like it should with how overwhelming it is to review “estimates”.
Seriously though, Nicole and I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing, reading, estimating, running all those calculators just to make sure our comfort level with savings will be enough. I am hopeful in having enough by the time we retire so we can manage. But ideally, Read More →