What About Your Lifestyle/Habits Saves You Big $$$ ?

[shawthorne44]

One thing that shocked me was just how much use I am getting out of Audible. You might wonder why I would be surprised since I knew how many credits I was getting. But the Plus catalog has been amazing! I'd only got it because the audiobooks I wanted weren't available on Overdrive and the the CD's were still expensive used. (The Honor Harrington series, and Will Durant's Story of Civilization series). So, the membership was a bargain. I've probably listened to another 50 books in the Plus collection.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I never registered or wanted a wipe warmer. I ended up with 3!

While I was pregnant, I thought this was such a crazy idea. I remember seeing them in a store and telling dh, "We're not raising pansies."
Once I put room temp wipes on my January boy, I felt so bad and bought a wipes warmer right away. I'd even keep a new diaper on top of the wipes lid for extra insulation to keep the heat in. By the time #2 was born, they made fancier ones that stored the wipes too but then it dried them out and kind of cooked them. They'd turn all yellow. So we went back to the cheap flannel covered strip with velcro that wrapped around the wipes container.

I guess we're all pansies here now cuz I love my heated seats and now have a heated steering wheel that I again said, "That's silly! Who needs this crap?" until I tried it on a cold day and fell in love.
I'll never go back.
Oh and all 4 of us have electric blankets.

 

[MrsPete]

While I was pregnant, I thought this was such a crazy idea. I remember seeing them in a store and telling dh, "We're not raising pansies."
Once I put room temp wipes on my January boy, I felt so bad and bought a wipes warmer right away. I'd even keep a new diaper on top of the wipes lid for extra insulation to keep the heat in. By the time #2 was born, they made fancier ones that stored the wipes too but then it dried them out and kind of cooked them. They'd turn all yellow. So we went back to the cheap flannel covered strip with velcro that wrapped around the wipes container.

I guess we're all pansies here now cuz I love my heated seats and now have a heated steering wheel that I again said, "That's silly! Who needs this crap?" until I tried it on a cold day and fell in love.
I'll never go back.
Oh and all 4 of us have electric blankets.

Maybe I'm even worse -- I live in the South so I don't have to bother with the cold. I seriously hate the cold.

 

[shawthorne44]

I guess we're all pansies here now cuz I love my heated seats and now have a heated steering wheel that I again said, "That's silly! Who needs this crap?" until I tried it on a cold day and fell in love.
I'll never go back.

Me, too! DH was genuinely annoyed with me when I told him about the heated steering wheel AFTER we drove to and from Orlando. We bought the car used and it is loaded with bells and whistles. It was like an Easter Egg hunt to find them all, so we forgot some. Every car from now on will have AC'ed seats and a heated steering wheel. It has even made me a better driver. You can bet both hands are firmly on the steering wheel when it is heated. I also signal when I change lanes even when the highway is empty. Otherwise my car complains at me.

 

[dez1978]

Me, too! DH was genuinely annoyed with me when I told him about the heated steering wheel AFTER we drove to and from Orlando. We bought the car used and it is loaded with bells and whistles. It was like an Easter Egg hunt to find them all, so we forgot some. Every car from now on will have AC'ed seats and a heated steering wheel. It has even made me a better driver. You can bet both hands are firmly on the steering wheel when it is heated. I also signal when I change lanes even when the highway is empty. Otherwise my car complains at me.

the cooled seats.. Those are my favorite. I thought it was ridiculous... Until the 1st summer I had them. Now I pretty much always have either the heated or cooled seat going. Thats how I know I'm getting old. I don't use the heated seat because I'm cold. I use it bc my back hurts lol

While I was pregnant, I thought this was such a crazy idea. I remember seeing them in a store and telling dh, "We're not raising pansies."
Once I put room temp wipes on my January boy, I felt so bad and bought a wipes warmer right away. I'd even keep a new diaper on top of the wipes lid for extra insulation to keep the heat in. By the time #2 was born, they made fancier ones that stored the wipes too but then it dried them out and kind of cooked them. They'd turn all yellow. So we went back to the cheap flannel covered strip with velcro that wrapped around the wipes container.

I guess we're all pansies here now cuz I love my heated seats and now have a heated steering wheel that I again said, "That's silly! Who needs this crap?" until I tried it on a cold day and fell in love.
I'll never go back.
Oh and all 4 of us have electric blankets.

I never even took mine out of the boxes lol. I never heated up bottles for either of mine either. I really never gave them bottles myself, bc I nursed them but when I did I'd just take the milk out of the fridge and run it under warm water just enough that the fat would mix up in the bottle. Daycare loved it.

I am always freezing during the day. But once I'm ready for bed I need it cold. I really only use a light blanket to sleep with and have fans going. Drives DH nuts lol. We are so opposite. During the day he is always freezing me out and at night I'm always making it too cold for him.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

the cooled seats.. Those are my favorite. I thought it was ridiculous... Until the 1st summer I had them. Now I pretty much always have either the heated or cooled seat going. Thats how I know I'm getting old. I don't use the heated seat because I'm cold. I use it bc my back hurts lol


I never even took mine out of the boxes lol. I never heated up bottles for either of mine either. I really never gave them bottles myself, bc I nursed them but when I did I'd just take the milk out of the fridge and run it under warm water just enough that the fat would mix up in the bottle. Daycare loved it.

I am always freezing during the day. But once I'm ready for bed I need it cold. I really only use a light blanket to sleep with and have fans going. Drives DH nuts lol. We are so opposite. During the day he is always freezing me out and at night I'm always making it too cold for him.

Well, with hot flashes we didnt use the electric blanket much this year. On the coldest days I’d preheat the bed and turn it off.
Now the celing fan is on nonstop and all night is covers off then on then off then on. Not fun.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

the cooled seats.. Those are my favorite. I thought it was ridiculous... Until the 1st summer I had them. Now I pretty much always have either the heated or cooled seat going. Thats how I know I'm getting old. I don't use the heated seat because I'm cold. I use it bc my back hurts lol

It's been fun thinking about my wish lists years ago about what I wanted in my new car (back when I didn't realize I'd be keeping my 2002 bought in 2005 this long).

My car has a cassette player (with a 6 disc cd changer in the trunk) and first all I wanted was a cd player when I got a new car or the ability to hook my phone up instead of having to use the cassette converter (which is touchy to use). Well cd players are hard to come by now lol. Everything is like blue tooth (apple car, android car, etc too).

Then it was like heated seats were like the luxury item. The fact that you even had that in cars was like "ooh I don't know if I can afford that". Now it's fairly standard in many models (or just one or two levels up in trims) and it's cooled seats that are the luxury item.

Then it was like do I have any other way of charging my phone other than the one spot where you put the adapter in? Why yes nowadays cars come with like 5,6,7+ usb ports, some have wireless charging pads (although with cases we have found that to be iffy on working properly when it's just on a night stand much less a car), yes they still have plugs for the bricks but these cars are being made knowing people will have a lot of electronics.

I will say some of the cars we've been looking at I just feel spoiled by even having some of these options Although the downside is cars have gotten more expensive. When my husband bought his 2010 in 2010 (it only had 6 miles on it) he paid something like $18,500 for his Mazda 3 touring...yeah that's not going to happen. Although our price point is def. more than what it was 11 years ago so I guess that helps lol.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Me, too! DH was genuinely annoyed with me when I told him about the heated steering wheel AFTER we drove to and from Orlando. We bought the car used and it is loaded with bells and whistles. It was like an Easter Egg hunt to find them all, so we forgot some. Every car from now on will have AC'ed seats and a heated steering wheel. It has even made me a better driver. You can bet both hands are firmly on the steering wheel when it is heated. I also signal when I change lanes even when the highway is empty. Otherwise my car complains at me.

I bought my car new, and there were only three trim lines to choose from. We chose the top for a few reasons, so we got stuff thrown in that we wouldn't have paid extra for, like a sun roof. There was other stuff, too. I found out that I had heated seats, completely by accident--I turned them on by mistakenly hitting the button, and a couple minutes later, I'm thinking, "Why is my butt on fire?" Unfortunately, I know live in the South, where this is less of a perk--it would have been nice back in the days when I lived in NH.

 

[808blessing]

I bought a used 2008 tech package luxury car off of Craigslist. It has all the bells and whistles including hot seats, keyless entry, lane correction, backup camera, and voice calling. I got it in 2015 and couldn’t believe how many things were invented back then because the car before that was a used 1999.

 

[afan]

It's been fun thinking about my wish lists years ago about what I wanted in my new car (back when I didn't realize I'd be keeping my 2002 bought in 2005 this long).

My car has a cassette player (with a 6 disc cd changer in the trunk) and first all I wanted was a cd player when I got a new car or the ability to hook my phone up instead of having to use the cassette converter (which is touchy to use). Well cd players are hard to come by now lol. Everything is like blue tooth (apple car, android car, etc too).

Then it was like heated seats were like the luxury item. The fact that you even had that in cars was like "ooh I don't know if I can afford that". Now it's fairly standard in many models (or just one or two levels up in trims) and it's cooled seats that are the luxury item.

Then it was like do I have any other way of charging my phone other than the one spot where you put the adapter in? Why yes nowadays cars come with like 5,6,7+ usb ports, some have wireless charging pads (although with cases we have found that to be iffy on working properly when it's just on a night stand much less a car), yes they still have plugs for the bricks but these cars are being made knowing people will have a lot of electronics.

I will say some of the cars we've been looking at I just feel spoiled by even having some of these options Although the downside is cars have gotten more expensive. When my husband bought his 2010 in 2010 (it only had 6 miles on it) he paid something like $18,500 for his Mazda 3 touring...yeah that's not going to happen. Although our price point is def. more than what it was 11 years ago so I guess that helps lol.

The 2001 I bought new, that I'm replacing, has crank windows and no automatic locks. But the car before unlocked all 4 doors when you unlocked the drivers door. Hated that as a single female so was happy to not have auto locks. And when living in NC with summer tstorms having to run to get my bosses keys to shut his car windows when all I had to do was open my door and roll them up also made me happy. Though I wouldn't leave them down where I work now, my desk looked out at the parking lot and it was only emp for the most part. Also had a tape deck but I upgraded the stereo a few years after I got it to CD.

All this to say, new cars to me are like space ships or something. So many things and huge displays. Sound like I'm way older than I am but it's so unnecessary. I am sad for no heated seats but the cost of the package they are in plus the stuff in it I didn't want made so much more sense not to get. And this car is over twice as much as my brand new 01 that had 7 miles on it when I started the test drive.

 

[dez1978]

It's been fun thinking about my wish lists years ago about what I wanted in my new car (back when I didn't realize I'd be keeping my 2002 bought in 2005 this long).

My car has a cassette player (with a 6 disc cd changer in the trunk) and first all I wanted was a cd player when I got a new car or the ability to hook my phone up instead of having to use the cassette converter (which is touchy to use). Well cd players are hard to come by now lol. Everything is like blue tooth (apple car, android car, etc too).

Then it was like heated seats were like the luxury item. The fact that you even had that in cars was like "ooh I don't know if I can afford that". Now it's fairly standard in many models (or just one or two levels up in trims) and it's cooled seats that are the luxury item.

Then it was like do I have any other way of charging my phone other than the one spot where you put the adapter in? Why yes nowadays cars come with like 5,6,7+ usb ports, some have wireless charging pads (although with cases we have found that to be iffy on working properly when it's just on a night stand much less a car), yes they still have plugs for the bricks but these cars are being made knowing people will have a lot of electronics.

I will say some of the cars we've been looking at I just feel spoiled by even having some of these options Although the downside is cars have gotten more expensive. When my husband bought his 2010 in 2010 (it only had 6 miles on it) he paid something like $18,500 for his Mazda 3 touring...yeah that's not going to happen. Although our price point is def. more than what it was 11 years ago so I guess that helps lol.

Yes!! I remember when I got my 1st new car, it was a 2001 Impala. I was so excited that it had a cassette player AND an in dash cd player. I thought I was so fancy then. And like you said, now cd players hardly exist anymore. I can't remember the last time I even saw CDs in a store. My current car does have one, but only bc it's also a dvd player. I loved that Impala. Put 204K miles on it and was still driving it in 2011 when I finally got a new to me car about a month before kid #1 was born.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I bought a used 2008 tech package luxury car off of Craigslist. It has all the bells and whistles including hot seats, lane correction and voice calling. I got it in 2015 and couldn’t believe how many things were invented back then because the car before that was a used 1999.

A LOT has improved through the years! I got my current van in 2018, replacing my 2008 Chrysler minivan, and I couldn't believe all the safety features. In fact, we won't let our learning drivers use my car--too many built-in features that I don't want them to count on and expect, like the back-up camera, blinking lights for vehicles in the blind spots, and so forth.

 

[shawthorne44]

Why yes nowadays cars come with like 5,6,7+ usb ports,

I rejected a car because it had one and only one place to charge stuff. It was a BMW 3 and totally bare bones. We don't like to fly, so take the car for vacations. No way could we survive a trip with only one outlet.

My first new car was a 2002 cruiser, the fancy model. I paid to have the cassette player added, since I am into audiobooks and that is what the library had. I was so proud.

 

[dez1978]

A LOT has improved through the years! I got my current van in 2018, replacing my 2008 Chrysler minivan, and I couldn't believe all the safety features. In fact, we won't let our learning drivers use my car--too many built-in features that I don't want them to count on and expect, like the back-up camera, blinking lights for vehicles in the blind spots, and so forth.

The back up cameras are amazing! And the quality of them is so good now compared to the 1st one I had on a 2010 Murano. I test drove a yukon the other day and it has 9 camera angles!!! You can set the screen so it shows an over head view of your car so when you are trying to park you can see everything on all sides. It was awesome! You could even change the view to your trailer hitch to help hooking up a trailer. Seriously never would have imagined such a thing and I'm not even that old! But not gonna lie, the camera is the only way I can parallel park my van. I have a weird depth perception thing where I can never tell how close I actually am to things. Like I'll park and think I'm 6 inches from the car in front of me but it's 3 feet, which is better than thinking its 3 feet and it's only 6 inches lol. Then I'm always worried I will over compensate for that and hit something.

 

[DisneyHardin]

The back up cameras are amazing!

They have improved so much!!! We traded our 2008 Honda Odyssey for a 2020 last fall and I couldn't believe the back up camera. The 2008 had a little bitty 2 inch square one that popped up in the rearview mirror when you went into reverse. In the 2020 it comes up on the screen and has all kinds of guiding lines and and warning beeps.

 

[808blessing]

My 2008 backup cam has the beeps and color coded lines. The pic is a bit grainy but multiple views. I was just astounded by the cutting edge tech in this thing. GPS is good too. I can only imagine how it has improved even since then. Note: I rarely use cam cause I still don’t trust it.

 

[FQLover]

And I just crane my neck and back to look around me, behind me, to the side of me, etc. No bells and whistles here in my 2015 vehicle. I guess when I get too old and arthritic to do that, I will have to upgrade.

 

[MrsPete]

Replying to several posts above ...
- I like-but-don't-love my heated seats. They're very nice in our short winters, but they're not a can't-live-without. Mainly I like them because they heat up almost instantly, and my work commute is very short; my butt gets warm before the car's cabin.
- On the other hand, I love my back-up camera and lane changer cameras. I do feel they make me safer.
- I adore the sunroof -- love that I can get fresh air without a strong stream of air on one side -- but I honestly don't use it that much.
- What I never use -- ever -- is the remote start feature.

 

[dez1978]

Replying to several posts above ...
- I like-but-don't-love my heated seats. They're very nice in our short winters, but they're not a can't-live-without. Mainly I like them because they heat up almost instantly, and my work commute is very short; my butt gets warm before the car's cabin.
- On the other hand, I love my back-up camera and lane changer cameras. I do feel they make me safer.
- I adore the sunroof -- love that I can get fresh air without a strong stream of air on one side -- but I honestly don't use it that much.
- What I never use -- ever -- is the remote start feature.

I don’t use the remote start often. Funny I never had one when I had to park outside but every car I’ve had since we’ve had a garage has it lol. Now dh’s truck has an app where he can lock/unlock/start his truck from anywhere in the US. Like he can be 500 miles away from it. That’s pretty handy in the summer especially. If you are somewhere parked in the sun you can start it and let it cool off without being close to it. So if you were leaving Disney you could start it as you are walking out the park entrance and it would be cool by the time you reach it vs needing to be close enough that you see your car to use the fob.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I don’t use the remote start often. Funny I never had one when I had to park outside but every car I’ve had since we’ve had a garage has it lol. Now dh’s truck has an app where he can lock/unlock/start his truck from anywhere in the US. Like he can be 500 miles away from it. That’s pretty handy in the summer especially. If you are somewhere parked in the sun you can start it and let it cool off without being close to it. So if you were leaving Disney you could start it as you are walking out the park entrance and it would be cool by the time you reach it vs needing to be close enough that you see your car to use the fob.

I won't buy a car without remote start or be willing to have one installed. My daughter had a Viper installed in her Rav4 and she has the option to start from her phone from anywhere. It is nice.