Clawing our way to financial independence

Three (three!) items with warranties have recently broken in our household, days or weeks after the warranty expired.
First all three cordless phones went within a period of a month, about one month after the warranty expired. First one wouldn't dial and then the sickness spread slowly until one frustrating afternoon when I couldn't call out at all with any of the phones. Ironically I was trying to dial a company about the second item which has died:
Our kettle decided one morning not to work anymore. Oh yes, a mere 2 weeks after the warranty expired. It is a cordless electric kettle, and the switch to turn it on no longer turns it on. We might be able to fix it ourselves if the screws in the bottom of the kettle did not not have triangular heads. Who has a triangular screwdriver???? Not even my dad and his business requires an extensive array of tools.
Then shortly after our laser printer stopped feeding the paper. DAYS after the warranty expired. DAYS!!!!!
So what have we done. We bought new phones (no point in arguing about this warranty, I didn't like the phones anyway). We are using an old kettle until I can find the time to phone Cuisinart and ask if they can fix the kettle for less than the cost of a new one ($95). Mr W says he doubts they will. I phoned Dell about the printer thinking I had an extended warranty, and found out that OOPs! Mr Salesman only put the warranty on the computer NOT the printer as well. Since the original warranty expired two weeks ago I am pretty much SOL and may as well recycle this printer and buy another. This one REALLY irks me (as you can tell by my use of CAPS) and I argued with them for awhile until baby started crying and I had to go. I have concluded tho that for my sanity I will have to let this go. I could argue more, I could track down a manager, I could insist they cover the printer, but who has time for this?? Not me anymore unfortunately.
All I can do is rant about it on my blog :):)