My frugality has finally worn off on my husband

My husband writes software for a living and I consider him to be a real nerd, but not in the traditional, anti-social, awkward way. Actually, he’s a friendly guy with a warm heart and contagious personality, something fairly rare in the world of software developers. But working in software has kept money in my husband’s … Read more

Hitting a target number never felt so good!

Today’s mortgage payment has knocked the remaining principal on our primary mortgage down to $199,807.89. That’s right, as of today, December 1st, 2006, we are waving goodbye to the 200,000 dollar range. We bought our house in August of 2000 for $260,000 and have managed to pay off over $60,000 in mortgage debt since that … Read more

More secrets of happy people

As I mentioned in my previous posting, I bought this book called the “100 Simple Secrets of Happy People.” Not surprisingly only two of the one hundred secrets directly mentioned money. And both declared that money would not buy you happiness. There are two other secrets of happiness listed in the book which indirectly involve … Read more

Secrets of Happy People: Don’t involve money?

I bought a book in Hallmark, called “The 100 Secrets of Happy People.” It’s a little 190 page book with a yellow smiley face on the cover. Originally priced at $12.95 it was on sale for only $2.50, a bargain too good to pass up. According to the author, the book is based on numerous … Read more

Facts: Cheap in America?

There was a great show on 20/20 tonight called “Cheap in America.” The show detailed a lot of facts about exactly who gives money to charity. The following is a list of my favorite facts: In 25 states where people give an above average percent of their income, 24 were red states in the last … Read more

Conforming Loan Limit may remain at $417,000

Tomorrow, November 28th, the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) will publish it’s Monthly Interest Rate Survey, which documents the change in mean home price. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, (OFHEO), will utilize the information gathered by the FHFB from October 2005 until October 2006 to determine the 2007 conforming loan limit. Any mortgage … Read more

How to Find the Best Deals Online

I’ve purchased most of my Christmas presents already. I’m not giving many traditional presents this year so most of my shopping hasn’t involved entering the mall. I bought savings bonds for my niece and nephew and NCAA basketball tickets for my dad and brother. I have absolutely no idea what to buy my husband but … Read more

Wrapping up Christmas Shopping

Here is the list of items I purchased for Christmas so far this year. I have yet to enter a shopping mall. Hooray! Dad — Season Basketball TicketsMom — Supersoft Robe (from Overstock.com)Brother — Season Basketball TicketsSister-in-law — Bracelet (from RedEnvelope.com)Niece — $500 savings bond (she’ll only get a bond this big the first year)Nephew … Read more

Not sure what to give for Christmas, get a little gift advice…

I came across the website surprise.com eons ago. I’m not sure how I found it, but I have been using it ever since. Surprise.com enables you to search for gift ideas based on various criteria. It provides standard searches like searching by occasion (birthdays, baptisms, holidays, weddings, retirements) or by recipient (brother, father, teacher, new … Read more