Roundup for week of 25 November 2007: Dyson Animal edition
December 3rd, 2007 | by mbhunter |Two shedding white-haired dogs set the stage for unsatisfying vacuuming results. But no longer: our home is now equipped with a never-used Dyson DC17 Animal that we snagged off of eBay for $100 less than what we could get in the store. Dysons are consistently (high-) priced in the stores, so eBay is one of the few places you can get them new for less than retail.
Here are some good posts form the MBN and other blogs in my reader:
- Blueprint for Financial Prosperity posted on the allure of free. Then he was sucked into an XBox 360 marathon, and now his skin is developing a strange monochromatic green tinge. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s comforting to know people who are part ghost.)
- Consumerism Commentary reminds us that it’s possible to give gifts with a charitable component. But the question is, can you gift the tax deduction too? I don’t know. I’d think that you could take the deduction for the amount over and above fair market value, but who knows.
- Five Cent Nickel discusses four lies that some financial advisers tell. With these statements and others, it’s advisable to think for yourself, question the assumptions, do the numbers, and consider other options beyond what’s presented.
- No Credit Needed recalls how he bade the past a fond farewell, with some lessons learned from his previous money habits.
- Get Rich Slowly comments on frugality in practice with discussion on how to keep warm in winter in a drafty house.
- Free Money Finance kicked last week off with a top ten list of most-hated money-saving tips. Some of these tips could hurt, but if they do, oh well. Some of them hurt me, but oh well, I need to evaluate whether it will hurt more to fix it than it will to continue with bad habits that hurt my finances and my health.
- All Financial Matters wonders if freezing subprime mortgage rates will help those in trouble. I’m on board with JLP here.
- Lazy Man and Money was really surprised how much work not having a job is. The transition isn’t trivial, for sure. A friend quit his regular-hours job to take a job where he could work from home, and it can be difficult making the switch, especially when it comes to focusing on the tasks that need to get done. Freedom of schedule is a good thing after you fill it up productively, but before that it can be a curse.
- Money Smart Life lists three easy ways to reduce college debt. Another one is to shop around for deals on education.
- Money, Matter, and More Musings shares eleven lessons from his job-hunting expedition. All good points.
- The Digerati Life has a picture of the new $25 bill. It has a picture of Bruce the Spruce, the presidentially-pardoned Christmas tree.
- The Sun’s Financial Diary continues with highlights of the 2007 Consumer Reports Ultimate Money Guide. This week the focus is on investing and goals.
- Generation X Finance presents a pictorial history of the American stock market over the past decade or so.
- The Simple Dollar discusses how to liquidate inherited collectibles. It’s basically (usually) a trade-off between speed of liquidation, work expended valuing the collection, and the amount of money you stand to receive for the collectibles. (Also check out his business card art.)
A big thank-you to Stock Trading To Go for including my FSA questions post in the Carnival of Personal Finance this past week.
Have a great week!
6 Responses to “Roundup for week of 25 November 2007: Dyson Animal edition”
By fivecentnickel.com on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
I’ll be interested to hear how you like the Dyson. Our vacuum died Saturday morning, and I was ready to jump on a Dyson because of all the hype. However, a quick trip to Consumer Reports changed my mind. We ended up with the top-rated Kenmore for about half the going rate of a Dyson (all of which trailed by a good bit in the rankings).
I do believe that the Animal was the best rated of all the Dysons, though.
By mbhunter on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
My wife absolutely loves it. It’s self-propelled, the telescoping wand lets her reach the ceiling easily (she’s 5-1) and it’s really super-easy to empty the canister and clean it out.
She really wanted a bagless vacuum (the top-rated Kenmore you’re talking about uses a bag, right?) and she had tried her friend’s and really liked it. She had looked at others, but the Dyson was still her favorite.
The prices for Dysons in the store are remarkably consistent, so I was glad we could find one NIB for $440.
By fivecentnickel.com on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
Yes, it has a bag. The bagless version was rated slightly lower for whatever reason. We didn’t want self-propelled, and we have a lot of hardwood so we also wanted something that excels on both carpet and hard floors. The Kenmore rated out very highly in everything aside from “maneuverability,” but pretty much ever vacuum on their list fell into the fair/good range for that. It’s also relatively quiet, which is nice.
By Kurt on Dec 3, 2007 | Reply
Yikes. They are that expensive? I thought my Roomba wasn’t cheap ($145).
By thisisbeth on Dec 4, 2007 | Reply
I bought a Dyson (DC-11?) a year ago for one reason: the roller bar comes out easily. I have long hair that gets wrapped around the roller all the time, so this was worth the cost to me.
By dale on Dec 25, 2007 | Reply
Dysons are over-rated. My theory, other than people falling for the hype, is that they’ve never owned a good vacuum cleaner in the first place. I won’t buy a bagless system myself since they are only going to make a mess when you empty them and bags are cheap on ebay.
For those who want something that cleans as “well” as the Dyson for a much lower price, check out this thread.
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/textthread.php?catid=18&threadid=652989&print=1