Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week or so. I just got back from a business trip in Southern California. I spent a week down there working 11 hour days locked up in a conference room. The days were long but rewarding. As it happened, the conference room we were using all week was the executive board room. I’m far from an
The Neverending Battle of Leaking Money
These days it seems like everything costs “Just $10 a month”. You can have a subscription to just about anything these days. While $10 a month doesn’t seem like much, over time it really adds up. When you add up all the little costs each month and then multiply that times 12, it can be significant. I don’t think a lot of people realize how
Our Frugal Friend is Happy and Very Wealthy But is it Balanced?
Over the last couple of years we’ve developed a friendship with an older man that owns a number of homes out near our lake house. He is retired and lives off of rental income from approximately 15-20 rental homes he owns. Fred still owns every house he’s ever purchased. The majority of these rentals are in Seattle and most are in lower income neighborhoods where
Considering a Snow Bird Investment Property
Most of the time I feel fortunate to live in the Seattle area in the Pacific Northwest. The one time that I don’t appreciate the Seattle area is during the drab months of winter and early Spring. This year seems to have been particularly dark, rainy and gloomy. I was hoping that my quick trip to Las Vegas would feed my body’s need for sun
Back From Las Vegas
It feels good to be home after having spent a few days in Las Vegas. While the weather wasn’t outstanding, it was warm enough to lay out by the pool and get a little bit of a sunburn. I was hoping to get a nice tan while I was down there but I ended up only tanning my liver. Lot’s of delicious drinks and way
My Self Control is Running Low – Almost Bought Something BIG
If you’ve been reading all the personal finance sites on the Internet you know that it’s important to sweat the small stuff when it comes to keeping your spending in check but it’s REALLY critical to sweat the big stuff. We’ve been doing a great job of keeping our expenses low (saving 52% of our income now) by watching what we spend our money on
Cheap, Healthy Breakfast Option in March ($1 Oatmeal at Jamba Juice)
Jamba Juice has decided to get in to the breakfast food game and is offering $1 bowls of oatmeal in March. All you need to do is print out this coupon! http://www.oatmealforabuck.com/
Where Art Thou, Hot Housekeeper?
For the past year or so when I was working at home I would just happen to glance out my office window at just the right time to see the gorgeous blonde house cleaner arrive across the street. After a few months of this, I happened to notice that she normally showed up on Wednesdays and I’d guess she comes every two weeks. It became
Should You Save During an Economic Downturn?
I’ve been reading a lot about all the possible gloom and doom that can be realized when the majority of citizens start saving more. While no one disagrees that saving is good, we’re starting to hear from more and more "experts" that saving is really best done during economic boom times. It turns out that saving during an economic downturn only makes things worse. Unfortunately,
Facing Foreclosure? Make the Lender Produce the Original Mortgage
Here’s an interesting twist on the home foreclosure front. People around the country are having success in getting additional time to avoid foreclosure by requesting that the lender produce the original mortgage documents to prove that they have responsibility for the mortgage and have a right to foreclose on the property. It’s no secret that I’m not super duper sympathetic for many of the people