Time for a new AC Unit – Buying an Air Conditioner

By 4 Comments

When we bought our townhouse as a short sale eight months ago we knew we would have to buy a new AC unit. We live three blocks from the Gulf of Mexico which means salt water air and corrosion for AC units. It didn’t help that the unit was the original built with the house close to 30 years ago! It is in pretty rough shape, but the only reason it still works is because it does not have a heat pump so the outside unit only runs in the summer. Our state has passed a lot of new regulations lately that would make it so if our unit dies it could take a week or two to get all the permits needed to get a new unit and I do not like a house that has no air conditioning in the south!

Six months ago we got a quote from Home Depot and they said it would cost about $5,000 to replace the outside unit and air handler inside but also told us they would be the most expensive due to their warranties and quick service. I asked a lot of questions so I made sure I understood all of the decision we had to make.

For our size house we need a two ton unit. The tonnage of a unit is determined by the how much the unit cools. Basically each ton of refrigeration of an AC unit is how much one short ton (2,000 lbs) of ice would cool the surrounding area by melting in a 24 hour period.  The other rating for air conditioners is the SEER rating which stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. The higher the SEERs the more efficient the unit is. Law in my state requires a minimum of a 13 SEER unit but you can go as high as a 20 SEER. The other upgrade we would need would be a dip in a solution that makes the unit corrosion resistant due to the salt water sea breeze we get. I thanked the Home Depot representative for coming out and explaining everything and told him we would be in touch when we had made a decision.

At that point we knew we had to start saving. We wanted to make sure we had enough for our unit in case it didn’t start back up again in the spring. We put all of our available money into a targeted savings account and after a few months we had enough for a new AC unit. Now that we had the money we decided we needed to get some more quotes to get the best deal possible.

On Saturday we received our second quote and learned of another decision we have to make. He said that due to the restrictions of our space we could only fit a 13 SEER unit in but that for a townhouse our size a more energy efficient unit would take years to pay off and overall the cost savings probably wouldn’t save us enough to justify the extra up front cost. They gave us two quotes, one for a 10 year parts and labor warranty and another for a 10 year parts and 1 year labor warranty. The first was quoted at $4,400 while the second was quoted at was for $3,682.

I don’t know which way we should go on this so any and all opinions or experiences would be welcomed. We plan on staying in this house for at least five to ten years and after that we plan on renting it out so I would still be responsible for the AC unit. I also am planning on getting at least one or two more quotes to make sure I am getting the best deal.

Finally I’d like to give some tips I have learned that could help you get the best deal possible when shopping for an AC unit.

Get multiple quotes – The company who did the second quote said if I found a better deal elsewhere he would probably be able to match it. This told me that there has to be another company with lower prices and as long as I find them I will get a better deal.

Consider paying cash if possible – The representative told me he could probably get me $100-200 off if I could pay in cash.

Get the representative extra business – My parents are also in the market for a new AC unit. He said if I can get him in the door for an estimate I would get a one year maintenance service contract worth $168. If they buy from him I will get another year for a total of a two year maintenance service contract worth $336.

After I have gotten more quotes and make a decision I’ll post an update!

Do you have any tips for shopping for a new AC unit? If so let me know in the comments below and I can try them out when I get my next quote!

Filed Under: Large Purchases

Weekly Goals and Round Up #1

By 2 Comments

I finally reached my number one goal for this year by getting a new job a couple months ago. Since then, I have enjoyed my new found time and lower stress level by just relaxing and not really getting anything done.

A couple weeks ago I started getting really bored. I realized that I needed to start setting some goals so here are a few goals I came up with:

Goals

Lose Weight, Eat Healthier, and Exercise

Over the last few years I have slowly been gaining weight. I decided that I can’t keep gaining weight. Over the holidays I was eating a ton of junk food and it was really starting to show. Since the year began I have been on my new diet called the “Eat Less Bad Food Diet”. It is pretty self explanatory. It was working well for a while and I lost 10 lbs in about two months. However, I got lazy and slipped into eating some bad food I had been missing and gained 5 lbs back. About two weeks ago I started my Eat Less Bad Food Diet again and have lost 4 pounds so far!

I will be the first one to admit that I have never really actually exercised on a regular basis. I hate exercising, but know I need to find something I enjoy doing. For now I get in some exercise by walking my dog. I have decided to set a goal of walking her at least 3 times a week. I walked her 4 times this week so I passed!

Start a Blog

As you can see I have accomplished this goal! My next goal related to my blog is to post regularly. As you can see in the left sidebar I have posted a posting schedule. My goal is to post at least 3 times a week and I believe that goal is reasonable. I already accomplished this goal on my first week blogging!

Quit Being So Lazy!

Now that I finally have some free time at home I have been rather lazy. I haven’t been doing the little chores around the house and absolutely dread doing them when in reality most of them only take 5 minutes. My goal is to get more done around the house and I have been doing better at this.

Round Up

I Am 1 Percent is giving away $50 as an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal money.

Michelle at Making Sense of Cents wrote about buying too much house. I agree that many people do this. I only bought a 2 bedroom and we rarely even go into the second bedroom!

Derek at Life and My Finances wrote about how getting out of debt does not make your rich. He makes the important point that you have to accumulate assets after you get out of debt to continue increasing your net worth.

That is it for this week!

Do you have any goals you’d like to share? What posts did you like from around the web? Let me know in the comments!

Filed Under: Goal Updates, Round Ups

Five Money Milestones by Age 30 (More Like Your First Real Job)

By 10 Comments

While browsing the web I came across this video the other day “Five Money Milestones by Age 30″. They suggest the five following milestones:

  1. Build an Emergency Fund (Six Months of Expenses)
  2. Start Planning for Retirement
  3. Manage Your Debt Load
  4. Set a Monthly Budget and Stick to It
  5. Set Yourself Up for Your Future – Start Saving Now!

I agree with the video. These are great goals! However, I think there is a MAJOR issue with the video. They are goals for when you turn 30. The real subject matter should be “Five Money Milestones with Your First Real Job”.

So, what do I mean by “Your First Real Job”? I believe that your first real job is your first job after graduating high school if you do not choose to go to college or vocational school. If you go to college or vocational school, it would be your first job after you graduate from that. Are you already past your first real job? No worries, start today! It is never to late to start and the sooner the better.

Here are some tips to achieve the goals.

  • Build an Emergency Fund

Your emergency fund doesn’t have to be six months straight away and the true size of your emergency fund may vary depending on your circumstances. Start with a goal of $1,000 and then set up an automatic transfer to your emergency fund each paycheck. Even setting aside $25, $50, or $100 a paycheck will pay off in the long run. One place to stash an emergency fund is Clydesdale Bank.

  • Start Planning for Retirement

If you start with your first real job, you have a great advantage in this category. Set aside as much as possible for retirement now because you won’t be used to having the extra money. If you never knew you had it you won’t miss it. Contribute at LEAST enough to earn your full employer match if they offer one. If you don’t it is like giving away free money. Time is on your side by starting early.

  • Manage Your Debt Load

Hopefully at this point the only debt you may have is student loan debt and maybe a small car loan. Make sure you make the minimum payments on all of your debt and if you decide to pay additional make sure to pay additional toward the highest interest rate debt.

  • Set a Monthly Budget and Stick to It

This is a topic for a more in depth post down the road, but set a reasonable budget you can adhere to. Track your spending and then compare it to your budget to stay on target for your goals.

  • Set Yourself Up for Your Future – Start Saving Now!

This can easily be incorporated into your monthly budget . When you make a financial goal, determine how much your goal will cost and a date you want to accomplish it by. Divide the cost by the number of months until your goal date and that will give you how much you have to save a month to reach your goal on time.

What do you think about the Five Milestones in the video? Do you have any other changes or additional suggestions? Let me know in the comments below.

Filed Under: Basics, Career

Expect the Unexpected

By 2 Comments

About a two years ago I was driving up Interstate 95 having a decent start to my morning.  I saw a dump truck trying to merge on and I thought I would be nice and let the big dump truck merge in front of me. That was a mistake. The dump truck merged in front of me and I slowed down, as it had not yet gotten up to speed, and then, as a thank you, Mr. Dump Truck decided to throw a rock out of the back. This fairly large rock decided it would land on my windshield putting 3 small spider cracks in the windshield. Lovely! I had just bought this car less than two months ago and I was staring at decent sized bill to get it fixed. Expect the unexpected. As you can imagine, this is not what I want to spend my hard earned money on. However, I am prepared for these situations.

I live on a budget and one account in my budget is called Random Expenses. This account is for those things that pop up through the year that are oddly timed, small in dollar amount, or just aren’t expected. I use this account for car registration fees, inspection fees, yearly renter’s insurance, and other small items.  I don’t just save enough for the recurring items though, I save more than that. This is what some would consider my “Stupid Mistakes” account as well. While I wasn’t the one who made the “Stupid Mistake” it fits in with the idea of the account, and I have enough in here to take care of the repair. This past Saturday I was glad I had made this account, but there is something nicer than self insuring for these things. Automobile insurance.

The upside (if there is one) about this situation is that my insurance covered the bill. I have liability, comprehensive and collision insurance on my car. The part that covers this is my comprehensive insurance. Normally, I have a $500 deductible, but since the windshield can be repaired my insurance company waives the deductible. Originally I was just going to pay out of my pocket because I didn’t want my rates to go up, but upon further investigation they didn’t.

Have you had something similar to this happen to you? If so, let me know if the comments below.

Filed Under: Basics, Save Money

Welcome!

By 8 Comments

Welcome to Money Life and More!

After years of lurking on many personal finance blogs I have finally decided to start my own! I graduated from college a few years ago with a degree in accounting. Shortly after graduating I took and passed the Certified Public Accountant exam. Through this blog I hope to entertain, educate and help as many people as possible. I will mainly discuss personal finance and life in general with a few posts about other topics here and there.

Thanks for stopping by my site.

Filed Under: About the Author