whew...

So, today wasn't a horrible day overall...I did dodge a small financial bullet after work. I had a routine car service appointment (oil change) and since the car is now 4 years old, it was time for a new battery. In changing the battery, the technicians checked the alternator. Yeah, take a guess what's coming...the equipment indicated it was almost at a failure point. However, the technician decided that it was worth double-checking the readings from their equipment.

The second results indicated that the alternator, while slightly below optimal, is still working fine...so, the bill today was about $130, rather than the nearly $500 it could have been.

To celebrate, I wrote a check to pay off the remainder of my car loan.