Scholastic book club -- for kids

Okay. I ordered the introductory offer from Scholastic books (www.homeclubs.scholastic.com) and the shipping was high for my taste. (Like $4.99 on a $3.99 book!) So, I called to cancel and expected the usual customer service run-around. However, I was very pleasantly surprised!! They cancelled my membership and instead of sending me a return shipping label they told me to donate the book to a local charity -- so a needy child would get it. Finally a company with common sense! (Especially considering it would cost more to ship the book back!)

Kirsten Kemp and mortgage interest rates

Kirsten and the gang better get season 2 on pretty soon or there won't be lot of novice money to be made in the flipping game! It seems mortgage interest rates are finally starting to keep up with the fed and the market (at least around here) isn't liking that one bit! Okay, I guess I'm blaming interest rates when it could be a number of causes . . .but . . . Oh, is it just my imagination or are lenders getting a little bit (emphasis on the little) pickier on who they'll loan to and how much they'll lend? It will be interesting to see if the tightening market leads to lower prices or more creative things like own financing. Both I suppose :)

My virtual flip house is finally pending and due to close in a couple of days. It will be interesting to see what it actually sold for . . .and what they do with it!

Another house we tried to look at (but even the realtor missed the open house!) is pending now too . . . I'll keep you updated :)

Survey site for kids and teens

Here's a survey site geared toward kids and teens. I haven't signed-up (since I'm neither a kid nor a teen), but it does come recommended and it looks like you get 3 surveys right off the bat. It also looks like you can exchange points for "real things" like gift card for Amazon and Walmart, so . . . You get 100 point bonus if you use a referral code. Use this one for now. P66984395338 If you sign up and get your own referral code let me know and I'll replace this one with yours so you'll get any additonal bonuses.


Weekly Reader INSIDERS

Home sales set a record again. Apex of the boom?

Home sales set another record, but according to this article 3rd quarter of this year will show the end of the 5 year housing boom. Few are expecting a crash, but most believe prices will moderate from here.


Home sales set a record - again; prices up almost 15%: Financial News - Yahoo!
Finance

Upromise bonus savings

I don't know if you're a uPromise member or not, but . . . you can earn $3 if you are a member by going to these URLs when signed into your account:

upromise.com/applejacks
upromise.com/cornpops
upromise.com/ricekrispies

When you do, press the "redeem your code" link and it will automatically fill in a code for you. Hit "submit" and you will be entered into a sweepstakes AND have $1 placed into your Upormise account.

If you are not a current member, you can sign up and use code "BN5" when you do - this will give you a $5 bonus for just signing up. Once signed up, you can use the above codes so you can earn $8 right away.

This is taken from a post by 2moretrees at http://www.savingadvice.com

I did try it (I'm a member) and it worked :)

Insurance: Term or Whole Life?

Yuck. The more I look into the whole life insurance thing the more confused I get. :(. Anyway, if you're wondering about life vs. term, here's an article that might help.

Smartmoney.com: Insurance: Term or Whole Life?

Kid's savings account - 10%!

Thanks to my aunt who was faithfully searching for this and then decided to e-mail me about it :) Here's a link to a bank offering kids a 10% return on their first $500. Under 16 only. My sister-in-law opened several for her kids -- said it worked just fine :)

Affinity Bank > Kids Savings

Mansion Impossible -- real estate flipping game

Not realistic (the values always go up at first), but kind of fun game about flipping.

Mansion Impossible

Doesn't look like Kirsten Kemp will be dealing with MN real estate anytime soon

Yesterday a casting director for Property Ladder posted on a message board that they were looking for novice flippers in the greater Los Angeles area. I wrote to him and told that I loved the show but it would be even better if they had some flips OUTSIDE of the greater Los Angeles area. (If you read this blog regularly refer to "I overspent my budget by $100,000. Oops. Guess I have to raise the price that much" syndrome.) Anyway, he actually wrote back! I guess this season they're branching out a bit, but still doing most of the shows close to their production facilities in LA. Oh well. I guess Kirsten won't be making any trips to MN anytime soon. . . . just think "what do you mean I can't dig an egress window until the ground thaws?"

Hardwood Floor Repairs

I guess moms really can get into all sorts of things while their toddlers sleep :) Here's a cool page on how one rehabber dealt with some problems areas in his hardwood floors.

Condo Rehab Project #5 - Hardwood Floor Repairs

Health care: Retirement's wild card

I've long said those so called retirement calculators are useless considering it's not the math that's hard -- it's figuring out the values for all of those pesky variables! Here's a good example: You should save somewhere between $47,000 and $1.5 million for healthcare expenses. Though the article doesn't say, I bet that assumes that most laws and programs remain pretty much the same. Considering if that happens Medicare will be long bankrupt before I retire, I'm betting they're going to change! Oh, yes Eric, one of us has to work forever.

Health care: Retirement's wild card

The FICO� Score Estimator

The lease option on our house is almost up, so I'm doing more than my fair share of mortgage research lately. (I'd really like our tenants to be able to buy -- I think this is a good opportunity for them.) Here's a nice calculator I came across -- you can estimate your FICO score for free.

The FICO Score Estimator

What about real estate in the midwest??

I couldn't help noticing the contrast between these two articles. One predicts the formation of massive mega-cities and one shows how most of these mega-cities could be destroyed were they to exist . . .I'll have to admit my midwest bias here, but how many times a year do you have to evacuate, flood, lose your power, etc. before you decide "maybe living here isn't so great after all"? Most of the experts agree we're looking at 10 more years of intense hurricane seasons (at least). You'd think that would have some impact on Gulf Coast and even Eastern Seaboard development . . . Then California with the fires and the mudslides and the . . .oh yeah . . .earthquakes . . .

Megapolitans: A treasure map of opportunity - Oct. 28, 2005

Millennium Ark: Hot News

I (inflation indexed) bonds at 6.73%

Well, with November came the latest I bond rates. I bonds are now at 6.73% (1.00% base 5.73% inflation). I guess that seals the deal (as if there was ever any doubt) that Greenspan will be raising rates again today.

Save Money and Budgeting Forums - I Bond at 7%???