Craig's list competition for eBay

I've been a huge fan of eBay for a long time, but Craig's list is really providing some competition at least in the local arena! I've found that local auctions on eBay are often plagued by requests like "Are you sure you can't ship the wood chipper?" "I live in Lousiana and just won your auction for the fully assembled crib -- what will shipping be?" Craig's list solves this problem because everybody is local. Not only that, listing on Craig's list is free. Now, you don't get the excitment of an auction, but you also don't have the hassel. If I was in the market for stuff like furniture I'd be sure to check it out too. Craig's list is definitely becoming my first choice for "too big to reasonably ship" items :)

craigslist: minneapolis / st paul

The Double Payoff of Living Below Your Means

Good motivation to keep the expenses down :)

Spending Wisely: Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: The Double Payoff of Living Below Your Means

Looming Home Price Decline and interest only/ajustable rate mortgages

Some interesting analysis on the impact of interest only/ARMs. Adds to my hypothesis that recent develpments (which are full of houses funded by interest only loans) will see there fair share of foreclosures in the next 5 years or so. Of course, I would also think that mortgage rates should be rising with the fed's short term interest rate hikes, so what do I know?

Hedge Against the Looming Home Price Crash

SPRAY 'n WASH� laundry challenge

Coupons and a "Stain challenge" from Spray and Wash. Since I have some stains that I'd love to be able to get out this is basically a freebie for me . . . BTW, the Spay and Wash Stain stick works well, esp. on baby stuff!

SPRAY 'n WASH�

Groceries and a new drug store

I mentioned that I'm not the most exciting person on the face of the planet, right? Okay, so a new drug store opened up close to us and I'm finding that figuring out how to compile the discounts is getting a little crazy. It seems unless it's on clearance and I have a coupon and I get 2% on my "extra care" card, and I get a uPromise contribution, and I get 2% back on my credit card I just don't want it. I'll tell you, the clerks looks at you a little bit funny when you concentrate that much on your purchases. :) We also went grocery shopping twice today when I realized that Cub was paying me to take Hamburger helper off it hands and offering me free Pillsbury cookie mixes. (Not to mention a bunch of really cheap stuff!) I can't believe I didn't figure out to combine store coupons and manufacturer coupons before now. Thanks Norman! I think I had my highest discount ever with "you saved 70%"!

The problem is that I think this might be a new form of competition for me. (Me against the stores to find the best deals.) The saved money doesn't really matter except that it's an excellent way to keep score. I used to be better about getting that satisfaction from selling stuff on eBay . . .maybe I better get back into that before I go crazy :) (Can you believe I'm looking forward to seeing the Sunday ads tomorrow . . .Yikes!)

Motorcycle insurance and crude prices

Yikes! Crude prices keep climbing and climbing! (BTW, for those of you who took my advice to watch SFL as oil prices keep going up tanker prices are likely to go up too . . .) Anyway, I'm sure gas prices will keep going right along with it. :( I think that's very unfair considering crude prices don't impact true gasoline prices for quite awhile, but nobody asked me. Maybe I should switch to a motorcycle? OK. Maybe not. I can't see a carseat on a motorcycle. I wonder about their insurance rates too. It seems you'd be less likely to hurt other people, but a lot more likely to hurt yourself. Anybody know how motorcycle insurance rates compare to car insurance?

MSN Money - The hidden costs of teen-agers

Things to look forward to :) . . . I do think this is quite an exagerated view though . . .of course I didn't spend much on a nursery either . . .

MSN Money - The hidden costs of teen-agers

Stock to watch

I didn't say stock to buy, but the 10% dividend looks pretty secure. I can't imagine oil shipping prices aren't going to rebound. If you're a stock watcher watch this one and let me know what you think.

SFL: Summary for SHIP FINC INTL - Yahoo! Finance

Shockwave Flash Pacman

Is it my imagination or are the ghosts smarter than they used to be . . .

Shockwave Flash Pac Man Game - The PCman Website

It's my anniversary -- celebrate with a free root beer float

Okay, so A&W isn't celebrating my anniversary, but the dates happen to match :) Buy anything and get a free root beer float at participating A&W restaurants. June 20, 2005. Here are the details:

BEAR TALES NEWSLETTER

Real Estate bubble -- impacts

Interesting stats. Esp. on the real value of housing declining one out of every three years. Not a problem if you're planning on staying awhile, but in today's market . . .wow . . .could have huge psychological effects and let's face it, that's what drives consumer spending etc.

What happens if real estate goes bust?

Freecycle -- really, I mean it :)

This is the link to the twin cities freecycle, but it's all over the place. Go to www.freecycle.org to find your local freecycle. I've posted this before, but more as a way to get rid of things you don't need anymore. (So far we've freecycled an old ceiling fan, a black and white TV, and an old door.) I didn't realize that people give away lots of good stuff -- if you're willing to act fast and drive a ways you can get all sorts of things. (Some things I've seen in the last day or two -- jogging stroller, infant travel system, clothes for newborn to adult, entertainment center, etc. etc.) Yes, you do have to join the Yahoo group to see the postings (and make postings), but you DON'T have to get the e-mails. You CAN (and I suggest) just look at the website.


Yahoo! Groups : freecycleTC

Investing in preforeclosures

Here's an interesting article about investing in properties that are about to be foreclosed upon, but aren't there yet. The biggest problem with these properties is that I've gotta think in the vast majority of cases the owner has no equity. Seems like a lot of research/time to hop down bunny trails that usually lead to nowhere. And if you did find a person in pre-foreclosure and you'd make money by buying their equity at 1/2 price would you really be able to live with yourself?

Investing in preforeclosures

Nice online advertising -- you can post too!

With the paper (and even eBay) being sooo expensive these days, here's a good alternative. Freebies, jobs, for sale. . . The best part is that you can post for free too! Oh, this is for Minneapolis/St. Paul, but they're all over the country.

craigslist: minneapolis / st paul classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

Retirement advice gone useless

I hate stuff like this!!! They pretend they're the experts and that they can tell you what you need to know and then they act like a big calculator. I can do the math . . .Experts like this get paid too much. I've notice that with lots of "financial planners" too. .

On the right retirement track?

Garage sale done!! What did I learn?

Okay, after a friend of mine insisted that I had "done all of this work" and that I might as well open on a Thursday, Mom came up and helped yesterday, for the final day. I now believe this sale has been completely milked and I can go on with my life :)

Some things I learned: 1) The really hard core garage salers come out very early Thursday morning. Some try to convince you that everything is overpriced. That had an interesting effect on me, since I had already been open the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the week before. I love having inside information :)

2) Despite popular opinion, most people don't try to bargain. There is definitely a cultural aspect to it.

3) Price it low enough and, in general, people will buy it. Overprice it and many people won't even try to bargain.

4) Sometimes you can get more at a garage sale than on eBay. (I think this is mostly because of shipping.)

5) You need a "guys section". Some guys will even ask where it is!

Well, the final tally was around $750. Not too bad for my first try :)

Busy time of the year

Wow. Haven't had a lot of time for posting lately. I'm looking at 25+ hours of tutoring this week. (You've gotta love the end of the school year.) I've learned a lot about translating, reflecting, and expanding/shrinking graphs, but my guess is that's not #1 on your list of things to learn about, so I'll just keep that to myself (and my students). Other than that, today I learned that paid dividends are taken out of a stock's share price. I guess that seems like something I should have known before . . .but at least I know now :)

BTW, a note on the previous freebies. They're all corporate websites, so I really haven't been spammed by them. (I still suggest having an e-mail address suitable for spam though :))

As for my garage . . . I've sold a dining table and crib on eBay and I've freecycled a ceiling fan and and door. So, maybe I'll just go ahead and condense the rest down . . .or maybe I do one more open tomorrow after work . . . With all of the severe thunderstorms around, it would be nice to have a garage back.

Okay, enough with the break. Back to math.

Freecycle - Give and get freebies :)

Just joined freecycle today (the twin cities group). We've already found a new home for an old door and a ceiling fan. You can get stuff too, ranging from perennials to futons . . .

Freecycle

BorrowMe.com - What is BorrowMe?

Hmm . . .I actually haven't joined this (yet), but the concept has long been one I approve of. I wonder what will happen with it? (BTW, the link is just info.) BorrowMe.com - What is BorrowMe?

Okay, back to freebies :)

Now, to those of you who frequent my blog, I will still offer personal showings of my still full yet emptier than it was garage. However, for now it's back to freebies. Here's one for sauve hair styling products: Get Your FREE SUAVE Professionals Styling Product Act fast and have fun!

$500 of sales and still lots of stuff left! (I will need to look at the pictures to see how we crammed all that into the garage!) New stuff added too.

Garage Sale

Sunday, June 5 1-??
4731 West Wind Trail
Eagan, MN 55122

From 35E, Cedar, or 35W
Exit Cliff Road
East on Cliff (we're very close to 35E and 3-4 miles from 35W)
Cross 35E
Next right on Galaxie Ave
5th left on West Wind Trail (Narvik, West Wind Trail, Covington)
About 2 blocks in on the right
Red house. Triple garage.

There is some road constuction, but the road is highly usable and street parking should be available. (We have a corner lot, so that makes things easier.)

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts freebie

Stolen straight from Rob's blog . . .This Friday drop by Krispy Kreme for a free doughnut. If you're coming to my house for the garage sale we have 2 close Krispy Kremes (MOA and Apple Valley), just ask for instructions :) Speaking of the garage sale . . .wow . . .LOTS of stuff . . .added a ton yesterday. Of course, today one of my dreams seems to be coming true as they've started tearing up the curbs. Hopefully they'll be done by Friday, but if not the road will still be usable :)

Krispy Kreme Freebie