5% cashback sounds good right? Or does it? Baker at Man vs Debt, recently posted on why he doesn’t use credit cards. His personal morals don’t allow him to support an industry that he doesn’t agree with. I thought he made a great case and I applaud his ideals (I can relate since I’m an occasional idealist as well). But will it change my mind on credit cards rewards? Hmmm…that’s a tough one. I primarily use a Discover card. As many are aware, Discover card offers cashback on all purchases. In addition to that, they run quarterly specials that offer 5% [...]
Read MoreOctober 2009
A while back The Happy Rock wrote a post called “40 acres and a mule: free land still available in the US.” It describes how in Kansas and North Dakota there are some programs that still give land away, much like the old homestead days. Normally you won’t hear me say too many good things about North Dakota. As a resident of South Dakota, I’m hard pressed to name anything good coming out of North Dakota besides Hwy 281(I stole that line from Tom Brokaw (former South Dakotan)). But I feel I must tread carefully. After all I don’t want [...]
Read MoreThis past weekend my family said “Goodbye to Summer” and “Hello to Fall” (Not just because we turned on the heat for the first time either). In what is becoming a yearly family tradition we took a hiking trip in a state park which allowed us to enjoy some beautiful fall foilage. I understand that in some parts of the country it is no big deal to look at trees, but here in the northern plains it is. Such a big deal in fact, that we are willing to drive 90 min (one way) to get there. As a [...]
Read MoreI think we finally have a buyer lined up for our condo which went on the market about 11 months ago. We originally listed our 2 bedroom 1 bath 950 sqft condo at $169,000 but settled $20,000 less than that at $149,000 almost a year later. 15% under our or original asking price isn’t all that terrible considering $170,000 – $175,000 was height of the market prices. A 15% drop in real estate values isn’t terrible compared to some markets around the US. It was a rollercoaster year with probably close to 50 showings and even month stretches without any [...]
Read MoreIt seems like I start off every one of these posts by saying I can’t believe how fast time is flying, BUT I REALLY CAN’T! I think the cool and wet summer we had screwed up my inner clock. It is still waiting for the 4th of July. Oh well… As some of you know, I track my family’s monthly expenses, and what follows is the tally for September: $840.39 – Mortgage $759.20 – Health Insurance $614.50 – Daycare $400.00 – Preschool $399.22 – Groceries $169.82 – Landscaping $150.00 – Student Loan $134.01 – Tennis $111.76 – Electricity $111.47 – Vehicle [...]
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