We almost bought a $350 washer (had a $50 rebate. in addition). For an Energy Star Kenmore, NOT BAD!! But, the funny thing is before we went I was leaning towards the stainless steel interior. Dh was very "meh" about it. But, it's kind of my main issue with our current washer (just some crappy GE the builder put in) - the inside is so disgusting and deteriorating.

Anyway, once we got there, the sales man pointed out the one we were going to get ($350) when dh tried to haggle. With the 30% off washers, they just weren't budging, BUT he said, "You can get that one for $50-ish less - the only difference is the buttons." Since the buttons were on the front. Frankly, the hidden buttons would drive us nuts (we decided). After reading reviews - there are no indicator lights on those (something the *consumer reviews* did not mention at all?). So, we were like, "a $300 dishwasher after rebate because we can see the buttons?" SOLD!

BUT, that said, I was looking at some of the Elites and was willing to pay more. Because frankly, this is probably our most used appliance. $300 sounds pretty darn cheap compared to how much we use it. That's the thing about dh and I. We don't mind spending money for something we use every day and get a good value for.

So, we perused the Elites and was leaning towards one ($600-ish?), but decided to leave the crowded mall and just order from home. Phew! (I admit it was nice to see them in person though - to get a better idea what we liked).

So, we came home and checked all the reviews and the Elite ones really had bad reviews. I was surprised.

Dh then settled on the stainless steel interior for $493. Still has a rebate, but the thing was that it is a little quieter. That was the selling point for him - he is half deaf. (It's 30% off - not that we would ever pay full price anyway). The reviews were stellar.

So I get what I wanted in the first place.

I was just going to order it online, AFTER I check for online coupon codes. (Unlikely, but worth a check).

BUT, since we are buying more in the end, I might send dh to the mall Tuesday to get one and open a Sears card. We had decided against it to save less than $20. But now we will save close to $25. Though he may prefer to just order from home and be done. I'll leave it up to him. Neither of us is willing to go wait in those crowds today or tomorrow.

That's my lazy shopping afternoon. I just don't have the time to deal with looking for a better deal. I know we probably could find a better deal, but I am extremely content with this. IT was EASY.

We are still not 100% sure on the garage door opener. But whatever we end up with will probably be $200 and a hell of a lot quieter than the one we have. & so dh can stop griping about it. We actually were going to get one with a battery backup, but then read that the battery wasn't that reliable, so not seeming like much of a selling point. Since we aren't married to such a store-specific brand, we can shop around a bit on that one. Will probably buy something on sale this week though, for sure.

P.S. I pulled out the paperwork on old garage door opener and dishwasher, just to make sure there was nothing weird about the size, etc. Apparently dishwasher had a 10-year warranty for leaks. I can't remember for sure if it ever leaked before 10 years though. But was a good reminder for the future. Like hell I expected a 10-year warranty of any kind on that thing. We could have gotten it fixed for free. But believe me, I am ready to replace that tired thing. If I was dirt broke I would keep the thing, but no need to really keep it otherwise. But yeah, I will double check my warranty next time I have any issue, for sure.