Archive for August, 2007
Keep That Car For 15 Years
CNN Money has an article that says you should buy a car and drive it for 15 years. They used data from Consumer Reports and cited some owners that have really racked up the miles on their cars. http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/30/autos/cr_drive_200k/index.htm?postversion=2007083113 I think I need to bookmark this article and read it once per day. I shudder [...]
Have You Heard About The Housing Mess?
It’s all gloom and doom these days. Families, by the thousands, are losing their homes. Mortgage rates are going up and the latest people to get hit by this are the poor families trying to secure “jumbo” loans for their Mcmansions. Okay, that’s a little harsh. In some areas of the country you pretty much [...]
Misc Rambling
Have you noticed the market hasn’t been doing so well lately? Yeah, me too. My 401k has taken a bit of a beating lately but I know that I just have to hold on for the ride. Rather than fret about the unrealized losses I’ve been seeing, I need to remember that the dips give [...]
Mindless Wandering In the Land Of Retail
I had some free time yesterday so I decided to do a little window shopping. Why? you ask. I just don’t know. I haven’t wandered the aisles of stores in months. I figured I’d just kill a little time. As I headed towards the local shopping district I was amazed at the sheer number of [...]
The Magnetic Draw Of Consumption
I don’t know what the deal is lately but I find myself yearning for stuff. Unfortunately it isn’t cheap stuff either. In the last week I have been looking at: -A new laptop -A new desktop PC -A GPS unit -Granite counters for the lake house -A different truck I definitely don’t need a new [...]
Carnival Of Personal Finance
The carnival of personal finance is up and hosted at one of my favorite blogs. (My Open Wallet). Go check it out. My article, “How free is my computer” was an editor’s pick. (Thanks Madame X). Anyway, go check it out.
I Can Lower My Monthly Payments With A 40 Year Mortgage
Great news. I received a letter in the mail today from Countrywide home loans. Apparently they’ve done the math for me and I could be paying less every month for my mortgage by switching to a 40 year loan. Here are the benefits that they listed: -Lower your monthly payments -Consolidate or pay down higher interest [...]
Rich Kids Learning About Money
This article is a crowd pleaser. Robert Frank attended a summer camp for rich kids that was specifically created to teach the children of rich people how to manage money so that they don’t just blow it all. It’s interesting to read some of Frank’s observations about these people who are mostly in their twenties: “When [...]
More Progress On The Lake House
I know this is probably starting to sound repetitious but we spent the weekend out at the lake working on the house. We were able to complete the siding over the deck (cedar peak) which I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. We also got the heat pump delivered and I wired it [...]
Equity
I’m back out working on the cabin. I decided to take a couple days off this week since the weather is so nice. I’ve got a few things lined up to get completed on the cabin. I’ve asked the heating company to come out tomorrow and finish the install of the heat pump and fire [...]