A $100 Hour – Cleaning Out Your Space

Posted on November 18, 2008
Filed Under $100 Hour, Snowflakes | Leave a Comment

Do you have a hobby? If so, chances are that you have accumulated lots of stuff related to your hobby over the years. How much stuff do you have? If you’re like me, maybe quite a lot. How much of it do you think you don’t need? If you’re like me, maybe you think you still need all of it. I’m a pack rat, and I hate getting rid of stuff I’ve accumulated. However, if you go through your hobby stuff, you may just find that you can in fact find some stuff you’d be willing to part with after all. As it turns out, parting with this stuff can bring in a good amount of cash – $100 or more is easy, depending on your hobby.

For example, one of my hobbies is model railroading. I tend to only buy things I like, so I only get rid of things if I can convince myself I’m never going to use them. Last week I found a brass locomotive part – we’re talking a small piece of cast brass about 1/2 x 3 inches – and managed to sell it on EBay for $71. I’ll admit I was shocked by how much it went for went for. A few other train items I sold the same week easily put me over $100 even after paying the EBay and Paypal fees.

I suppose it could be argued that this isn’t really income, because it doesn’t take into account what I spent on the stuff originally. I disagree. The money spent is money that is long gone, forgotten about, income from an earlier period in my life. The $100 or so in my bank account sure looks like extra income for the month.

What are your hobbies and interests? Look around and see what you have. You just might be surprised at how much stuff you can get rid of, and how much money it might bring in. I’m not talking about monetizing your hobby – that will be a topic for another post – just getting rid of hobby items you no longer have a use for.

Cheers,

Ken

A $100 Hour – Cleaning up on REO Properties

Posted on November 3, 2008
Filed Under $100 Hour | Leave a Comment

I was driving around this weekend looking for a house, and I was surprised by the number of bank owned (REO) properties I was seeing. Well, I live in Nevada, and we currently have the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, but what surprised me was that it was an older neighborhood, one where you’d think most of the people had bought before the start of the bubble. Anyway…

Even in good times, a house needs to look good in order to sell, and most of the REO properties I saw looked like crap. Dead lawns, dead trees and shrubs, tall weeds all over the yards. Damaged fences. Dirty carpet, water stains on floors, shoddy looking paint. Lots and lots of junk left behind by the former owners. I’m thinking this could be an income opportunity.

Most of these houses would sell quicker and for a better price if they were just cleaned up a little and had some minimal landscaping done. Most banks probably wouldn’t be interested in spending money on their REO properties, but the Realtor who is handling the listing just might be. After all, if the house doesn’t sell they don’t get their commission. Why not call Realtors listing bank owned properties and offer to clean them up for a fee? You may get turned down a lot, but it’s a numbers game and with the huge number of REO properties, you’re bound to get some cleanup gigs.

Cheers,

Ken

Paying attention pays off

Posted on November 2, 2008
Filed Under Saving | Leave a Comment

Last month, I made 3 simple changes to our checking account:

  1. Exchanged our ATM card for a Visa debit card
  2. Signed up for E-Statements
  3. Used the debit card for 12 transactions that we normally would have used cash for

I’m not really a big fan of using debit cards for purchases, because like credit cards, they make it kind of easy to spend more money than maybe you intended. However, our credit union has a program in which, by meeting the above 3 requirements (you also need direct deposit, which we already had) , they pay 5% APR on checking account balances up to $50,000. I’d noticed this before, but it never occured to me how much difference this could make.

We just got our first E-Statement with the new interest rate, and we made a little over $11.00 in interest for October. Woo-hoo!!! This is compared to less than 60 cents per month that we used to get. It also happens to be a higher rate than we get on our Fidelity Money Market account, in fact it’s higher than most CD’s that are currently on the market. Plus, it’s completely liquid – no 4 year lock-in. The only down side is that the rate could drop, but we’ll take it while we can. Wish I had done this earlier. Oh well, live and learn. I’ll pay better attention next time.

Cheers,

Ken

Should Christians Tithe?

Posted on October 1, 2008
Filed Under Biblical Principles | 1 Comment

No, NO, and NO. I have been wanting to write on article on why not, in fact it’s one of the things I have planned to do during my upcoming vacation. However, today at The Simple Dollar, a link was posted to a discussion on Get Rich Slowly about people losing their homes because of their tithing. This is just dumb, and the people losing their homes because their tithe prevents them from being able to pay their mortgage are being taken advantage of by thieves posing as ministers of God. Strong words maybe, but this is just dumb that this is happening, actually it’s way beyond dumb.

First of all, the Old Testament tithe wasn’t a part of God’s Moral Law (as embodied in the 10 Commandments), it was part of the Judicial Law, basically regulations given by God on how the Nation of Israel was to be governed. Moral law is still binding. Ceremonial and Judicial Law are NOT. For those who preach that tithing is still required, I have a question – do you still offer burnt sacrifices?

Second, even if tithing were still required, where should it be given and what should it be used for? Most churches teaching that the tithe is still required demand that it be paid to the church. How convenient (for them)!!! However, that is NOT how the tithe was paid in the Old Testament. How was it paid and what was it used for? Part of it was used to support the priests (Levites) in return for the work they did in the Temple. Part of it was used to provide for the poor. Part of it was to be consumed by the people tithing themselves. Read Deut. 14:22-29 for yourself if you don’t believe me:

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Of course Christians should be charitable. I think the key concept though is that everything we have belongs to God (not just 10%), and we should use 100% of what He has entrusted us with to bring glory to Him. If you still think paying a tithe is your most important financial obligation, ask yourself a few questions:

  1. How is God glorified when a non-believer sees you renege on a legal debt because your tithe makes you unable to afford to pay your mortgage?
  2. How is God glorified when a non-believer sees you fail to provide for your family because your tithe causes you to lose your home?
  3. How is God glorified when a non-believer sees a minister who lives an extravagant lifestyle asking poor people to send in more money?

God doesn’t want your money. He wants your heart. He says “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Give to support the work of the Church. Give to help the poor. But give because you want to give, not because you feel compelled to give or because someone is trying to coerce you into giving.

Cheers,

Ken

Frugality can only get you so far

Posted on September 30, 2008
Filed Under Attitude | 1 Comment

Last week there was a post at Shark Investor on saving more vs. earning more. I agree with him. If you want to build wealth, you can’t do it just by being frugal. For example, my wife and I spend about $3500 per month. If we eliminate all unnecessary spending, we could probably cut that by $500 per month. Assuming we could invest the entire $500 consistently over 15 years at 8%, we would have about $173,000. While this isn’t exactly pocket change, it doesn’t put us into the category of “wealthy,” either. Also, it would require that we cut all discretionary spending, and doesn’t take into account that our necessary spending will rise with inflation over time.

Building wealth faster will require not just being frugal, but also increasing our income levels. In fact, earning more not only helps us build wealth faster, it also provides us with more financial security should one of us lose our job. If our whole strategy was based on saving as much as we can, the loss of one of our jobs would mean we would instantly have to start digging into our savings to make up the lost income.

On the other hand, by pursuing a strategy of increasing our incomes, we could weather a job loss without touching our savings. In fact, depending on the streams of income we can create over time, we could continue adding to our savings, even if one of us lost our job. My goal is to build enough income streams to replace the income from my wife’s job. That way, we will be well positioned if one of us were to lose our job.

Cheers,

Ken

A Frugal Saturday – Baking Bread

Posted on September 29, 2008
Filed Under Frugal Gourmet | Leave a Comment

I had an enjoyable weekend – my mom, the best cook in the world, came over to help me bake bread. We used the recipe that was one of my favorites when I was growing up, poppy seed bread. It’s a little more work than baking “regular” bread, but the results are well worth the extra effort. Here is the recipe:

  • 2 packages active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 cups scalded milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 7 to 7 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup softened butter
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons cold water
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup poppy seeds

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand a few minutes to dissolve. I added a little honey to the bowl to get the yeast to activate a little faster.

Mix together the scalded milk, honey, ginger and salt and cool to lukewarm. This is an old recipe – if you’re using pasteurized milk, it doesn’t need to be scalded, just warmed.

Add the yeast mixture and 1/2 of the flour. Beat until smooth. Beat in the 3 eggs and butter. Gradually add the remaining flour, a cup at a time until dough leaves the side of the bowl clean. If using a bread machine, you can just put in all the flour except 1 cup or so in the bowl, then put the liquid stuff into a depression in the flour. The bread machine will do all the hard work for you. Check periodically to see how sticky the dough is. Add flour a little at a time until the dough is no longer sticky.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and satiny. If you’re using a bread machine you won’t have to knead this long. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease over the top. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place (80 to 85 degrees) for 45 minutes or until double in bulk. Punch down dough and let rise 20 minutes longer.

Divide dough into 2 equal parts. Divide each part into 3 equal pieces. Pat/roll each piece into a 3 x 12 inch strip. Sprinkle down the center of each strip with 1 teaspoon poppy seeds. Roll up strip, width wise, in jelly roll fashion.Pinch dough into a roll to seal. Smooth strips by rolling back and forth on the board.

When all strips are ready, place 3 of them side by side on board and beginning at the middle, braid to each end. Pinch ends to form loaf then repeat with the other 3 strips. Place in 2 greased bread pans. Beat cold water with remaining egg and brush on top of loaves. Sprinkle tops with poppy seed. Cover and let rise in a warm place, about 45 minutes or until double in bulk. Bake in a preheated hot oven (400 degrees) for 25 to 30 minutes or until well browned. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Makes two loaves. The loaves are rather tall. This recipe also works well dividing the dough into thirds and making 3 braided loaves.

This bread looks unique and tastes great. I haven’t had a chance to visit with my mom for awhile so that was fun too. Was it frugal? Well, it was certainly cheaper than drinking beer. Unfortunately, it was so tasty that the 2 loaves were gone in less than 2 days.

Cheers,

Ken

A $100 Hour – Sell Vegetables at a Farmer’s Market

Posted on September 29, 2008
Filed Under $100 Hour, Snowflakes | Leave a Comment

Yesterday I was talking with a friend who likes to garden. He grows a lot more than he can use himself, so he gives some away and sells the rest at the local Farmer’s Market. I’d always known about this, but I never realized how much money he makes. It turns out he net a substantial amount each year – over $2000 in fact. Since he would be gardening anyway, this is essentially free money.

Of course, it’s a little late to get started this year since the growing season is just about over, but it’s a great time to start planning for next year. According to my friend, the best selling items are cherry and “heirloom” tomatoes, garlic, blackberries, and various herbs (he puts the herbs in little arrangements in small vases). My friend has a huge garden each year, but just about anyone has room to grow cherry tomatoes or herbs. I’m planning on growing some in containers on my patio. I think it’s a good combination – fresh organic vegetables and some extra spending money as well.

Cheers,

Ken

A Working Vacation

Posted on September 25, 2008
Filed Under Attitude, Snowflakes | Leave a Comment

Starting next Thursday, I’m taking vacation through October 5th. Eleven whole days of nothing to do. Except for spending 3 days in paradise, I hope to get a lot of stuff done, so it’s really going to be a “Personal Finance” vacation. I hope to accomplish several things:

  1. The Wisdom Journal has a great list of 50 frugal things people should be doing. Although I have done some of the things on his list, I’d like to work through and finish all of them that apply to me.
  2. I need to clean out my garage and dump a lot of stuff on EBay.
  3. I have another web site that needs a lot of update work done and an Amazon A Store added.
  4. I want to spend time doing research for an article on tithing I want to write.
  5. I hope to net $50 every day during my time away from work.

I have a real problem with time management and self motivation, so this is kind of a test for me. If things work out (or not) at my job, I may be “Joyfully Jobless” next July, so I’m starting to look for alternative sources of income now.

Cheers,

Ken

Better than a CD and still FDIC Insured

Posted on September 24, 2008
Filed Under Saving | Leave a Comment

After reading a really good article on using CD’s to ladder an emergency fund on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, I decided to check out CD rates. When checking my Credit Union’s web site, I found a deal even better than a CD – they are offering 5.0% APY on checking account balances up to $50,000. That is even better than a 5 year CD from ING Direct. There are only a few conditions:

I already have direct deposit and electronic statements, so the only thing I need to do is start using my debit card for purchases I would normally use my credit card for. There doesn’t seem to be any catches. In fact, besides the 5.0% APY, they also refund any ATM fees at the end of each month. Like using a credit card, this will require paying attention though. If I don’t meet the terms (i.e. 12 purchases on the debit card) APY for the month drops to 0.10% and ATM fees aren’t refunded. Definitely worth a look though.

Cheers,

Ken

Yours, Mine, and Ours – Update

Posted on September 23, 2008
Filed Under Couples | Leave a Comment

Last month I talked about my wife and I dividing our money in to several different accounts (hers, mine, and ours). Since that post, I’ve modified my plan a little. We are keeping one account to pay bills from and one for savings, retirement, etc. Our personal spending money will just be cash, because I don’t see the need to open accounts just for personal spending. The plan now is to put my wife’s entire paycheck into the savings account, my entire paycheck into the checking (bill paying) account, and her tip income is split between our weekly spending allowances and the checking account. This way, we always have enough in the checking account to cover our (planned) expenses, we accumulate money in our savings account every month, and we always have some money to spend any way each of us wants. Some of the benefits so far are that:

OK, so 3 weeks isn’t very long, but it’s kind of a record for us to go that long without having a money fight. It’s not a perfect system – my wife still feels like she should have more “veto power” over my personal spending, but when she raises the issue I point out that I haven’t put anything on the credit card since we implemented the system, and I haven’t had to move money from savings to checking to cover our bills.

There are two things I did regarding our personal spending money that I feel are very important to making this system work. First, I made sure that we both get personal spending money each week. My wife insisted this was unnecessary, that she was happy putting her personal money into our savings account, she didn’t need it, etc. I disagree. I feel it is important for each of us to be treated the same, otherwise in 6 months she’s going to be asking “How come you got $xxx every week and I don’t get anything?” So I just put her money in an envelope in her night stand.

Second, I insist on a fixed amount each week. She didn’t like this either (she still wants that veto power), so this is something we’re still working on. One thing that helped was explaining that it cuts both ways – she can’t cut my personal spending money on a given week because she feels we should be putting more in savings, but I can’t increase my personal spending because I found something expensive I really want to buy.

So far, it is working out much better than our previous system – ahem – lack of system. Yesterday she was looking for something and came across the envelope. She came running downstairs all excited about the money she had found and asked me where it came from. I told her it was her personal spending money from the last 3 weeks. She didn’t ask me to “just put it savings the next time you go to the bank.” Instead I got a smile, a hug, etc. So much nicer than fighting about money.

Cheers,
Ken

« go back — keep looking »