Sleeping Toddler - Allergies to properties

CVS deals this week -- flipping . . .ECBs :)

2007-07-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, some of you have been asking, so . . . Here are some profitable CVS scenerios for the week of July 8. I round everything and have assumed that the Crest might be kind of hard to get. (Though usually CVS has free toothpaste when it isn't actually advertised as free :))

If you only have a $4/$20 (rounded)

Schick Quattro - $7
Carefree pantyliner - $4
Playtex Sport tampons - $8
Crest - $3

-$4 4/20
-$2 Quattro coupon
-$2.50 Playtex printable (www.playtexsport.com)
-$1 Crest

= $12.50 get back $16 ECB

For a $5/$30 (rounded)

Schick Quattro - $7
Carefree pantyliner - $4
Lamisil gel - $17
Crest - $3

-$5 5/30
-$2 Quattro
-$5 Lamasil
-$1 Crest

=$18 get back $21 ECB

For a $10/$50

Quattro - 7
Lamisil - 17
Carefree - 4
Sunsilk (1 shampoo, 1 conditioner, 1 24/7, and 3 anything) - 24ish

-$10 10/50
-$2 Quattro Q
-$5 Lamasil Q
-$12 3 BOGO sunsilk Q
-$8 2 CVS B2G1 sunsilk special
-$4 CVS free 24/7 sunsilk (monthly)
-Sunsilk Qs that expire Sunday if you have them and shop on Sunday ($1.50*3 -- not included in totals)

= $11 get back $19 ECB

Dawn Nosal is my real estate hero...ine

2007-06-09T23:08:00.000-05:00

One thing that's really painfully obvious is that Richard Davis knows where his bread is buttered (or something like that), and the opening of "The Real Estate Pros" runs like the early Gilligan's Island, which ended "the movie star, and the rest". It's the Richard and Ginger show.

Why? Because nobody is searching for Dawn Nosal on Google.

But they should! Dawn's the Mom who's juggling parenting and career. If she were Ginger, she'd be carrying her toddler to all the construction sites, hanging out the open car window on the way there.

Anyone else think that Dawn's the hidden hero of the show? She's the Dawn Wells (notice the spooky coincidence?) of real estate television. If they could name the professor and Mary Ann, they can name Dawn Nosal, right?

What are Richard Davis and Ginger Alexander called?

2007-06-09T20:10:00.000-05:00

It looks like what was once called "The Real Deal" is now called "The Real Estate Pros". Why did Richard Davis and Team Trademark change the name? I wonder if a lawsuit or trademark of a different kind started to cause problems?

Trademark Properties videos at YouTube!

2007-03-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

Richard Davis, Ginger Alexander and the whole Trademark Properties gang (well, not the whole gang -- there are a lot of them!) have posted some videos on YouTube. If you want to see some behind-the-scenes humor, here you go.

Dawn Nosal appearance in this video is my personal favorite. I can relate!

What would Kirsten Kemp think of this?

2007-02-26T09:04:00.000-06:00

Well, the gang at Property Ladder have finally figured out a couple of things. 1) Houses don't always sell. 2) Real estate commissions take a bunch out of profits. Kirsten is definitely still encouraging everybody to go the Realtor route. I think in most cases that probably still appropriate. However, what if the house isn't ready for a Realtor yet? I think Richard Davis and the gang at Flip This House (which is supposed to be returning to TLC -- I'm not a big fan of the new Flip This House with the Montelongos) market the house even if it's under construction. Actually, I think even the Montelongos on the new Flip This House have that figured that out. However, aside from maybe a sign in the yard and word of mouth, how does someone do that -- market a house when it's not really marketable (at least not in the traditional sense of the word)? Well, how about this:
Country Charm on 10 Acres

Save money with Budget Forums

2006-12-16T20:45:00.000-06:00

In celebration of the fact that the BlogThis button now works for me in Firefox, I figured I'd try the same thing from Safari (even though I never use it). But, to give you something useful, I'll post a link here to an excellent forum at www.savingadvice.com. If you want ideas on how to save money, this is the place to do!

Can I BlogThis?

2006-12-16T20:40:00.000-06:00

Here's an example of typing something and posting it throu BlogThis!, which hasn't worked for me in ages and ages. But Eric re-pasted the BlogThis! button into my toolbar, and figures it will work. I tried to explain to him that the problem shows up when you go to publish to a blog, not before, but he insisted I try one more time.

Kirsten Kemp and the new California real estate market

2006-08-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

Well, the new season of Property Ladder is upon us (yay!). I'll have to say I like the fact that California is sort of kind of starting to mimic real estate markets in other places in that you're not guarenteed to make money just because you held the property for awhile! It's also good that they're branching out a bit to Texas and Florida, but I'd still like to see a good northern flip :)

Last week's episode was downright scary considering they risked $1.2 million (granted, it was somebody else's money) to make $37,000! That's a lot of risk and at a lot of work for a 3% return. The really scary thing about that Santa Barbara flip was that everything to do with the property itself went right. (No hidden mold or plumbing problems or . . .) I do think that forture favors the high end flip (don't want to price yourself out of the neighborhood), but doing your first flip on a $1.2 million property??

This week we saw a flip in Sacramento. I'll have to admit I'm amazed it sold, but an expert in California real estate I'm not. (I do a little better in MN real estate. Check out my blog Home Deals - Bargain Real Estate in Minnesota) To me neighborhood/location is everything, but I suppose not everybody views things the way I do. If I was really ambitious I'd try to figure out if it ever closed escrow, but given that it wasn't on a multiple listing service . . . If you missed it, they bought a beat up house in a not so great neighborhood and then didn't have it inspected. I'm all in favor of trying to flip a beat up house, it's the "not so great neighborhood" part that would make me very nervous. It also seems like a $400ish inspection is a pretty small investment to make when you're buying a house with a whole lot of unknowns. If it closed escrow they still made half decent money (forget that he quit his job to do the flip), but again pretty risky. Experienced fippers say you make your money when you buy . . .I guess that's something to remember . . .it lot of the whole flipping game is how much you pay for a property to begin with.

Bring back Richard Davis and Ginger Alexander!

2006-07-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

Oh my. I'm watching the premier of the new Flip This House on A&E. If the first 20 minutes are any indication I won't be watching it again! Rumor has it Richard and the gang are moving to TLC . . .I think I'll be following . . ..

Kirsten Kemp and Property Ladder are back!

2006-07-08T16:07:00.000-05:00

Well, you don't very often see shows coming back in July, but I guess Kirsten Kemp and the gang at Property Ladder have finally found some novice flippers who did quit when they started to see the market slowing. So, tonight (for the first time in a long time in my market at least) Property Ladder comes back with a new episode and one that I don't think I've seen. (So maybe it was new last week and I missed it? 4th of July weekend . . .I don't know how that could have happened :)) Tonight on TLC.

Teaching your kids about money

2006-06-16T14:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a few ideas on teaching your kids about money. Most seem okay, but the $20 for an "A" seems a little bit "you've got to be kidding" -- at least in my world.

From Readers, the Best Ways to Raise Money-Smart Kids

Free Twinject for epipen users

2006-05-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

For all the epipen users (well, hopefully you don't use them, but you have them) who happen upon this site, here's a link for a free Twinject for epipen users.

Get a FREE Twinject!

Hopefully no allergy to this one!

2006-05-15T11:34:00.000-05:00

It's a weird title I know, but I didn't want all of my ads changing into fereiebs. (Did you know that a recent study showed that readers can generally read a word if the first and last letters are correct -- even if everything else is wrong? Let's hope Google can't.) Anyway, fere 3M stretchy tape after a mail in rbatee. Looks like a fun new product!

Stretchy Tape

Hives from pupppy kisses. Peanut allergy again??

2006-05-10T12:40:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine brought her puppy to stay with her while she stayed with us. Candela's introduction to the puppy was feeding and playing with him. The next things we knew her hands were full of hives. :(. Luckily Benedryl cleared them up (no epipen required), but we're still a little confused about the reaction. It seems she either allergic to puppy saliva (not totally uncommon I guess and somebody can react to one dog and not another) or the puppy's food was cross contaminated with peanuts. Since she ended up having lots more contact with the dog and no more contact with his food I'm beginning to think peanuts were the cause of the reaction. The manufacturers of the food (IAMS) and the treats (Kraft) both deny that there's any chance of cross contamination though. More things to think about I guess :)

Aldis disappoints

2006-04-30T14:44:00.000-05:00

Well, after a pretty good opening, Aldis is starting to pretty seriously disappoint. Last time we were there the produce section was horrible, and nothing that was on a good sale was in stock. Now even their advertised special prices aren't particularly competitive. Oh, their milk prices went up by about 20% too. They're still have some good deals, but I don't think they're worth the hassle of going out of the way and having to have cash. (Eric also wonders how well their cart system will work in the winter, but they have a few months to figure that one out!)

10 tips to make your children money-wise

2006-04-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

Nothing earth shattering here, just a reminder that you need to let your kids in on your financial life. Let's face it, who else are they going to learn from? The credit card companies???

10 tips to make your children money-wise

Aldi Foods, Aldis -- There's a new grocer in town

2006-04-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

There's a new no frills grocery store in town and it's probably going to become a destination at our house. Aldi Foods opened up in Burnsville today and (so far at least) their prices are generally VERY good. Now, you do pay in other ways . . .this is definitely a no frills grocer. They don't even bother putting things on shelves! To get a cart you have to put in a quarter, but you do get your quarter back when you return the cart at least. They don't take credit cards or checks, so you better come armed with cash (or certain debit cards, but we don't have any of them). Not only do they not bag your groceries, but if you bag them you better bring you own bags or be prepared to pay for theirs. They don't take coupons, but they really don't need to since they don't sell many name brand items anyway.

Now, to get away with all the stuff I just mentioned you have to save some pretty serious cash. Here are some examples: 1 pound of pre-made garden salad in a bag -$.49, 1 gallon of skim milk - $1.89, 5 pounds of red potatoes - $.89, 8 ounces of nacho chips- $.79, 10 pound smoked Butterball turkey - $12.99, also lots of nice deals on canned stuff and produce.

Credit repair 101

2006-03-14T10:18:00.000-06:00

A few gems from this article. 1 in 4 Americans have ERRORS on their credit report that can cost them a job or a loan. A 650 vs. a 750 credit score will cost over $92,000 over the life of a 30 year loan! (Of course I suppose very few people have one 30 year loan that they pay off completely in 30 years, but even so . . .)

Nine Steps to a Great Credit Score: The Automatic Millionaire

Rich Dad Poor Dad guy says silver, gold, and oil

2006-03-07T09:29:00.000-06:00

Here's an article by Robert Klyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame) explaining the upcoming financial disaster we're facing as a nation. His safety net? Gold, silver, and oil. I know he's not the only one who says this, but why on earth are gold and silver going to be worth a lot when/if the economy has gone bust? I've got to think the only thing he's banking on is history, but let's face it, the world has changed a lot. I not really sure that gold and silver have much more intrinisic worth than dollar bills. I mean gold and silver are good for making jewelry I guess, but since when is jewelry a necessity? They're good conductors, but so is copper and it's a lot cheaper . . .

If you really want to hedge against financial disaster you probably want: 1) Tradable skill sets. If the economy goes really far south plumbers are going to be worth a lot more than CEOs. 2) Hard assets. A house that's paid for and full of the things you need to live. 3) Raw land?? Raw land is still pretty cheap by almost any standards and it can be used for hunting/fishing/living/farming. 4) A healthy lifestyle. I agree with Robert that medical care is and will continue to be out of control. The best hedge? Do your best not to get sick . . .

Investing: Assets That Are Lifeboats in a Shaky Future: Why the Rich Get Richer

The psychology of Prosper.com

2006-03-06T21:27:00.000-06:00

Well, I've had a chance to look around the Prosper.com site a wee bit more. The psychology of all of this is going to end up being VERY interesting. (Let's face it, it probably already is.) I think if you're thinking about being a lender you almost have to be a borrower first . . kind of like buying something on eBay before you try to sell something. Some of the many factors I've observed (the impact of which I can't possibly know yet, but I've indicated my thought with + for good and - for bad) are:

1) The cute factor. Lots of pictures of kids. Lots of pictures of cute people. +
2) The sad story. +
3) The confident story. +
4) The confident story that makes no grammatical sense. -
5) The sad story that cries "I'm really a charity case." -
6) The lack of a story --
7) A credit rating that doesn't appropriately correspond with the proposed interest rate. So far these listing seem to do pretty well. ("A" credit okay with a "D" interest rate. Personally, I wouldn't lend to these people . . .there's probably a reason they're willing to pay so much . . )

Person to person lending

2006-03-06T12:10:00.000-06:00

Wow. Just when you thought you has seen everything on the internet . . . From the founder of E*Loan.com comes prosper.com. I'm still not exactly sure how everything works, but it looks like it's basically the eBay of loans. People tell their story, desired amount, maximum interest rate, credit grade, and debt to income ratio and other people bid the amount of money (and interest rate) they're willing to give them. The idea is that the banks (and credit card companies) get by-passed completely. Hmm . . . don't know where this one is going, but it sure does have a lot of implications . . .

Prosper: The online marketplace for people-to-people lending

The Top 10 Reasons for Soaring Health-Care Costs

2006-03-01T12:27:00.000-06:00

Here Charles Wheelan "The Naked Economist" explains why health care is so expensive and is going to get worse regardless of what patches we put in place. I do think it would be a good idea for doctors to publish their prices. Or, even better, since doctors are always complaining about how much of a pain it is to deal with insurance companies, have doctors that don't take insurance, but charge reasonable, published prices.

The Top 10 Reasons for Soaring Health-Care Costs

Students suffocate under tens of thousands in loans

2006-02-23T22:27:00.000-06:00

Kind of scary article about student loans. One thing I hadn't considered is that students loans are currently in the same low interest rate illusion that housing is in. ("I can make the payments, so the amount of debt doesn't really matter.") Not to mention that when you're in college you don't really think about your loans anyway . . . Anyway, the gist of the article is that loans are affecting everything from saving for retirement to having kids. Kind of scary that you might still be paying on debts you incurred at 18 when you're 60. One piece of advise . . .If you're getting student loans make sure you GRADUATE!

Students suffocate under tens of thousands in loans:

Peanut allergy and Pillsbury

2006-02-16T08:37:00.000-06:00

An update on Candela's allergies . . . I'm pretty sure she has completely outgrown the milk allergy since she loves milk and doesn't seem to need the enzymes anymore. In the meantime we're still working at 100% peanut avoidance though she is exposed to a couple of "may contain traces". So far we haven't had any more reactions, but she does have a patch of excema behind her knees that rarely clears up. :(. It's been worse this winter, so I wonder if what it really needs is lots of lotion and some humidity!

It's actually been easier than I thought to deal with the peanut stuff (mostly because, at least so far, her reactions haven't been life threatening) but I am amazed at some of the stuff with peanuts. For example, I recently bought some Pillsbury break apart cookies. Chocolate chip. The LAST ingredient AFTER artificial flavors was peanut flour. ARG! I actually wrote to Pillsbury and suggested that they eliminate the peanut flour from the recipe since it's obviously not an important ingredient. They responded that they clearly label allergens in all of their products. Yeah. Talk about non-responsive. :( I will give Pillsbury some credit though. They were good and labeling for allergens long before the federal government required it. In the meantime I guess we'll stick with Nestle.

Properties, real estate and home deals!

2006-02-05T15:54:00.000-06:00

Have you noticed that I've been writing more and more about properties and real estate lately? Yeah . . . I have too. That's probably disappointing for people who come here for allergies. So, I've started a new blog. This one is all about real estate (in one way or another) and features current listings that I consider possible bargains as well as my normal musings on the ups and downs of real estate. So why is a physics teacher writing a blog about real estate? I haven't figured that one out either. Let me know if you figure it out. :) So, go ahead and check out My new blog all about real estate