Nothing in this life is perfect. Whenever you buy a house, there are concessions to be made. The house I'm purchasing has many of the things my son and I were looking for. It's got 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large living area that is open to the kitchen, the dining room is right off the kitchen and is more like a breakfast room than a formal dining room (which we prefer), there's a two car garage and lots of space between houses. I could see us enjoying this space that's neither too big nor too small.
There were a couple of things that we had to consider, though. The current owners of the house stipulated in the listing that they intended to keep their refrigerator, along with their washer and dryer. The sellers are building a new home. They're a family of five with three little ones (one recently adopted), two very large Great Danes and a kitty cat. This house is too small for them now, so they need a bigger space, and they are understandably trying to save money wherever they can. But so am I. Purchasing a new refrigerator, washer, and dryer (plus other items that I will need) is a huge expense, so I offered a lower price than what they were asking, and they agreed. Wonderful! Except now I was gonna have to buy appliances in a market where there's lots of items on backorder due to the pandemic. I didn't want to wait to put my order in for these items; the refrigerator is especially important, since I need to store food as soon as we move in. So, I began scanning stores for deals.
I decided to check out Lowes and Home Depot. Both stores have good selections, good prices, and are near the new house as well as my current digs. I went online and compared what they offered, and it seemed like Home Depot had slightly better prices. Add to that the fact that Home Depot is closer to my daughter's house, and I was ready to place my order.
I went to the store to take a look at the appliances in person. It's one thing to see pictures on the internet; I prefer to take a good look inside and out as well as open and close doors and drawers myself. In speaking to the associate, I was told I could place an order for delivery in a month or more, but they couldn't take an order for delivery so far away. I would have to do it online. That seems odd to me; why is it I can place an order online with Home Depot to deliver to an address in Central Florida but the store can't? He said my only other option was to place my order at a store near my new home, but I didn't want to wait till I moved to get that done, so I told him I'd place the order online whenever I got home.
Before doing so, I thought I should check Lowe's again so I could verify that Home Depot had the better deal. Armed with brand names and model numbers, I looked up pricing, delivery options, and stock. I found one of the refrigerators I'd seen at Home Depot on the Lowe's website for $100 less; that was a pleasant surprise. The washer and dryer were each $1 cheaper on Home Depot's website; not too impressive. And then I saw it. How it had escaped me before I don't even know. It was right there, in plain sight.
Lowe's is offering a Buy More, Save More discount on their website (it's also available in stores) for certain appliances. These include all the appliances I needed to order. The more you buy, the higher the savings, up to $500! To verify, I went ahead and made an order on Home Depot's website as well as Lowe's website. Sure enough, by ordering from Lowe's I would save at least $500. Not only that, but I could order from Lowe's through Rakuten (formerly Ebates) and get 1% cash back - not a ton of money but every little bit helps. Home Depot didn't offer any discounts. At all.
With tax and accessories, my Lowe's order came to $2,345.50. The same order from Home Depot was $2,800 before taxes and accessories. Y'all, that is a big difference! I believe God spared me of that. I was at Home Depot ready to place my order. I wouldn't have gone back to check pricing again once my order was placed. I only did it because I was gonna have to order online anyway. I know some people will think it's just a coincidence, maybe a lucky break, but I believe God intervened so that I wouldn't be able to place my order in the store.
Whenever you place your life and your future in God's hands, He shows up in miraculous ways. It may seem insignificant to some people; after all, it's $500. Big deal. But to me it is a big deal. It reminds me that He is there for me, taking care of even the smallest details. I can trust Him with everything because in everything, He is faithful.
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