Everybody Loves Your Money

It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned the challenges that we’ve been working through since the house fire and my dad’s passing late last year.  There has been a fair amount of activity but there is still a long way to go. My mother did confirm that she is not entitled to any of my dad’s social security benefits because she is working and makes too

How old do you have to be to make a crazy purchase that would label you as having a midlife crisis?  Is 35 too young?  if so, maybe I should buy one now.  I have ALWAYS had a soft spot for BMW M3’s. This car is beautiful.  Some day I will splurge on a beautiful European car that costs too much and costs a fortune to

For those of you that have been around for awhile, you’ll recall we embarked on a new journey last September.  We purchased a bunch of wood that had been nailed together on top of a concrete foundation.  (A framed up structure).  Well, since then I’ve pretty much been spending every weekend out at the place working on it. (Which explains the more limited posting on

You know how you always hear about the latest lottery winner that has spent all of their winnings in a matter of months?  They decided that they’d build a rocket ship with the money, or buy a car for each day of the week.  Maybe they buy their mother a house, or buy cars for all their friends and family.  I’ve read stories about some pretty extravagant

I just love reading articles like this.  Basically this woman rants about how people focus on all their small purchases and then proceed to get royally screwed on the big ones.  As I read it, it became apparent that she’s definitely had an ugly experience with the home buying process.  Check it out: http://www.violentacres.com/archives/122/when-it-c…

I’ve mentioned before how much I love Costco.  In the land of retail, I don’t think there is another company that can claim such a loyal following from both it’s customers and employees.  What’s interesting is that their formula doesn’t require a college degree to understand.  Stick to a core set of priniciples that put the customers first, and employees second and the market will

“A Los Angeles man who was once a regular sperm donor has begun connecting with some of the untold number of children he fathered in the 1980s.” “Harrison’s profile at California Cryobank in the 1980s made him one of the most requested donors, as it described him as 6-feet tall, blue-eyed with interests in philosophy, music and drama, he said.” I think my favorite sentence in

Well, these have certainly been some of the most trying weeks of my life.  Things are slowly getting back to normal, whatever that is.  I am taking on some large projects at work and am also spending a fair amount of time dealing with contractors and insurance adjusters from my parent’s fire.  The good news is that we are getting closer to actually seeing real

Okay, well I’m not really “with” stupid, but apparently they are everywhere.  For the 21st consecutive month, my fellow Americans have spent more money than they’ve made.  The national savings rate has hit a negative 1%.  The only other time that we’ve seen this is during the great depression but there is a difference.  During the great depression, people were dipping in to their savings

Well, the funeral is over and we are slowly trying to move on.  Of course it doesn’t help when you are also trying to get your parent’s house rebuilt from a fire.  Too many items remind me of my dad and the constant communications with all the people that are working on the house and the insurance company seems to take it’s toll a bit.