First deer of 2017 - couldn't recover..

[Steuben Jerry]

I'm not off to a good financial start to the new year. My 8 year old fridge crapped out last weekend, and after googling the issue and associated part costs I decided to just replace it.

Stopped off last night to buy one, and spent more than I had expected. And it's not even what I'd call high end. A couple of miles from home, we were in a bit of a snow squall and out of the snow a doe barreled into the passenger side doors of our 2016 Car. My wife and I were just talking about unexpected expenses and bam - $500 deductible!

I saw it tumble and lay in the road behind me in the glow of my brake lights, so I drove home, got my truck and figured I'd go get it, report it, and get a tag from the NYSP. I got there, and it was standing there 10 yds off the road stunned. Dammit, now I can't even get a deer out of the deal! I got out and walked toward it a bit, started talking to it and it came to and ambled off. Looked like it will recover just fine. I was only about 15 feet from it and noticed it was a button buck - so I guess we have some history now.

Go put on some weight little buck, and I'll see you in a few years. You'll owe me $500 worth of venison!

That's the third one I've hit in 7 years. Well, actually they've all hit me.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Steuben Jerry

[growalot]

Rough new year start..hope it gets better...

Edited January 6, 2017 by growalot

[Steuben Jerry]

Thanks Grow. I figure I'm getting my bad luck out of the way early this year.

[grampy]

No matter how well you plan your finances, It's always the "unexpected" expenses that throw a wrench in the machinery! 

[growalot]

I understand that...we are now looking at a used "new" phone replacement seeing we are still paying for the plan...and last night the food processor died...Now I have to admit...it was his Moms ,That I bought her 30 years ago... motor was still great but the plastic bowl and cutting blade housing finally gave way. The Gator need s a new belt for something...100 dollars for a belt! that with us installing... We are just getting nitpicked  with accumulating extra cash flow seepage. I'm just thankful the draw the kids had on us is well over....Little blessings....

[Steuben Jerry]

What's up with the short life span of appliances these days? My last Fridge lasted 15 years and we only replaced it because we remodeled the kitchen and changed appliance colors. The one I owned before that came with the house, and I sold it with the house. We lived there for 15 years. There was another couple at Lowes fridge shopping that we chatted with last night, and theirs died at just less than 8 yrs old. From what I hear and read, that's not considered unusual anymore by a lot of folks.

I also replaced my washer and dryer last year, and they were less than 8 yrs old. It's just my wife and I, so we're not rough on our appliances.

There is a commonality with all of the appliances mentioned above; they were all GE products. I went with a Whirlpool last night.

[Steve D]

26 minutes ago, growalot said:

We are just getting nitpicked  with accumulating extra cash flow seepage.

And then the lovely property tax bill comes in the mail. Always goes up...never goes down

[growalot]

We also went to whirlpool ,but our last washer I bought a stainless steel Maytag commercial washer...we wash a lot of blue jeans and I have to have a motor that can stand up to that...I know what you mean...Things are now made to break....

[Steve D]

12 minutes ago, Steuben Jerry said:

There is a commonality with all of the appliances mentioned above; they were all GE products. I went with a Whirlpool last night.

GE quality has gone in the toilet. That is all we used to buy. A lot of appliance dealers won't even carry them because of it. Most people in the business will tell you they only build them to last 5-7 years any more. Replaced ours about 1 1/2 years ago and paid for the extended warranty  just to cover the electronics. Seems everything comes with digital controls any more.

[Steuben Jerry]

2 hours ago, Steve D said:

And then the lovely property tax bill comes in the mail. Always goes up...never goes down

Yup. My combined property taxes went up 8% last year, and 9% the year before. We've made no real improvements to the place since building it in 2008. I haven't opened the envelope that came the other day - I'm afraid!

 At least my town stayed under the 2% limit for the first time, so maybe not so bad this time.

[wolc123]

three important lessons here: 

#1): always carry a sharp knife in your car.  The concussion probably knocked that BB out cold.  You could have slit his throat and had some fine eating to take some of the edge off that $500 insurance bill.  A BB liver alone is worth about $25 to me.   Three years, ago a hit and run driver broadsided and knocked the wind out of a BB at the end of our driveway.  I finished it with my knife and had some fine eating.  The meat was good, other than some minor bruising on the shoulders.   All the damage to your BB was probably limited to his head and you would have had quite the prize if you were quick with a knife.  I once finished a doe with my knife that had struck it's head on a car, knocking itself out and there was not a mark on it's body or any wasted meat.  

#2): don't be too fussy about filling as many antlerless tags as you can, and keep hunting after you have all the meat you need, if you still have some tags.   Almost any processor will accept donations, which are used to feed homeless people.   Not only will you be providing some hungry folks with some excellent food, you might also save yourself from what just happened to you.  

#3) never assume a deer is dead until you stick the muzzle of your loaded gun (or knife) into it's eye and it does not blink. 

[nyslowhand]

16 hours ago, Steuben Jerry said:

What's up with the short life span of appliances these days?

These are common elements of product design, built-in obsolescence and service lives. Ie; If you can make a product (appliance, auto, electronics, blah, blah) that'll last for decades w/o any issues, you probably won't be in business long enough to see your initial products actually die.

16 hours ago, Steve D said:

Seems everything comes with digital controls any more.

Tell me about it... Went shopping for a hot water heater a couple years ago to replace a 12yo one that was dying. Electronic controls on a hot water heater... WTH! Could NOT find a simple, basic model anywhere! And then there's all the electronic junk they put into/on newer vehicles that doesn't seem to work worth a crap!! Wish I could find the bureaucrat or safety engineer that thought those super unreliable TPS (tire pressure sensors) were a good idea! Grrr...!!!

[nybuckboy]

Gone through 3 microwaves in the past 6 years and get this, the first one I bought back in 1983 in my first marriage that I took with me when I left is still in the office working today. That one is going on 34 years old. So yeah. it's all junk today, mass produced w foreign parts with planned obsolescence . We're screwed! ha ha 

[Steuben Jerry]

6 hours ago, wolc123 said:

1): always carry a sharp knife in your car.  The concussion probably knocked that BB out cold.  You could have slit his throat and had some fine eating to take some of the edge off that $500 insurance bill.  A BB liver alone is worth about $25 to me.   Three years, ago a hit and run driver broadsided and knocked the wind out of a BB at the end of our driveway.  I finished it with my knife and had some fine eating.  The meat was good, other than some minor bruising on the shoulders.   All the damage to your BB was probably limited to his head and you would have had quite the prize if you were quick with a knife.  I once finished a doe with my knife that had struck it's head on a car, knocking itself out and there was not a mark on it's body or any wasted meat.  

No offense wolc123, but that's illegal as hell. You can't kill a deer that "had the wind knocked out of it". Besides that, I consider it pretty damn unethical to kill an injured deer out of season when it's clearly not mortally wounded and has every chance to recover.

Nothing personal, but I'll skip the lesson.

[wolc123]

The several deer that I finished with my knife did not have every chance to recover and in all cases I obtained proper tags from the police.   I assume that they would have issued me some type of violation ticket if it was illegal.   With the doe, the officer at the desk had taken a call earlier from the homeowner who's house she was struck in front of.   When I showed up at the police station for a carcass tag, with the dead doe in the back of my truck, he asked me if the deer had to be shot.  I replied: No, I killed it with my knife.  That one had kicked a bit, and sprayed a lot of blood on me, as I slit its jugular. I had not yet cleaned myself up.  The officer said: "that would be no", and seemed appreciative that I saved them some work.    The BB with the wind knocked out of it was not able to get back up on its feet, and would surely have died from it's injuries.    The quicker a deer is killed, the better the quality of the meat.   The one that wrecked your car will most likely end up as food for coyotes, but they need to eat to.          

[fasteddie]

Well , back to the topic , they don't seem to make things last like they used to do .  I bought a 7 cu ft chest freezer from Sears a few years ago to store my venison . I went down to the basement to get some venison and condensation dripped from the top when I opened it . It freezer had quit and the venison had to be tossed out . Don't know how long it had been out of commission . The warranty was for 12 months . The freezer had lasted 13 months . I replaced it with another and put a thermometer in there and have the receiver by my computer . It's at 9 degrees right now . We have a GIBSON upright freezer that we bought in either 1969 or 1970 that is still working fine ( I hope I didn't just jinx it ) . 

I had my snow blower crap out 2 or 3 seasons ago . It conked out and the engine was froze . Couldn't even pull the starter cord and it had an electric start . I always check the oil and it was fine . I bought a new replacement and shopping around . A couple of dealers told me that they only expect them to last so many run hours . 

I think over the years that we have been driven to accept the fact that whatever we purchase won't have a long expected life . And of course when we buy things the clerks usually ask if you want to purchase an extended warranty . 

[wolc123]

Sometimes it is just a minor issue that causes the trouble.  My 10 year old hot water heater started acting up 3 years ago.   I made a few phone calls and was told that they normally only last 6-7 years by several local plumbers.   Rather than get a new one installed, I looked at it myself.  First, I turned of the breaker and closed the gas and water valves to isolate it from all energy sources.   Next, I removed a small cover plate and noted that there was some calcium buildup on the igniter.  I scraped that off with a screwdriver, put it back together, opened the valves back up, turned the power back on, and re-lit the pilot.  The repair took me less than 15 minutes.   It has worked perfectly in the 3 years since then.

It does seem like the older stuff lasted longer.  I still use an old GE refrigerator from the 1950's to age deer carcasses when it is too warm for hanging them in my insulated garage.  It worked great on two again this season.   They always tell you: "the new ones might not last as long but they make up for that in greater efficiency".  They would need to be very efficient to make up for the loss of several deer when they quit.  My grandparents bought the old Montgomery-Ward upright freezer in our basement back in the early 1980's.   A few years ago, during the "October storm" our basement flooded over a foot, covering the motor and condenser.   After it dried out, I plugged it back in and it has continued to work perfectly.  Right now it contains (4) vacuum-sealed, and one zip-locked deer.  It might cost a little more to run, but the peace of mind not needing to worry about it quitting is well worth it.