Money

A $100 rebate came in for a laptop we purchased from Amazon, so that's good. I'm totally impressed with how quickly it arrived.

Received $5 from PayPerPost for an entry I made on Are you going to buy that? - I was somewhat surprised they came through with the funds.

Also received $11 extra bucks from CVS, and $30 in Staples Rewards! Not sure what I'm going to get with either of those but I'm sure I'll find something good.

Funds are low this month, but should be improving in August and September...

More condos!

Just read an article in Kiplingers about the condo glut on the market - Boston included. Just another reason to hold off on buying a condo for right now.

I also received this postcard in the mail about another condo development in Quincy, the Braewell. It is a Brady Sullivan community and well priced. While the building is not my cup of tea, I think it would be a safe bet for many people looking for a quality place to live.

I've scanned the postcard and uploaded it for your viewing pleasure!

Recent Deals

I admit it. I'm a penny pincher. As long as I'm not foregoing money in the bank earning interest, I'll buy in bulk if its worth it. I usually look for more than five percent savings if I will use the item within a year. Otherwise, if it will take me more than a year to use up the supply of the items I bought in bulk, I'll look for more than ten percent savings. Otherwise, it simply doesn't make sense to buy more than you'll need at the current point in time.

Here are a couple of recent purchases I made and the logic I used when I made the purchase:

* Goldfish - 10 bags, at $1.00 a bag. They usually cost $2 a bag, so that's 50% off, and I'll eat them within the next three months. I would have bought more but they have an expiration date, and I don't want to be eating stale goldfish. I loved these as a kid, and my fiance recently reminded me of their great snack quality.

* Bluetooth Headsets - 10 headsets at $20 per headset. This was a great deal at RadioShack. I was able to pick up 10 Plantronics headsets at a great price, and they were also offering a $20 rebate for each purchase, up to 10! I bought the most I could, and purchased the items through NestEggz and got an additional $6 back.

* Ethernet cables - assorted varieties and quantities. With something like this, its difficult to know how many you will use up. However, when you need one, you need one. I bought about 20 or 30 cables awhile back to save on shipping. Since then I've pretty much used them all up, and bought more!

* Soda - Coke and Pepsi often go on sale for up to 50% off, so I always wait for a sale, and buy a bunch. I usually never have more than 4 cases of soda in storage. Its easy to store, and easy to drink too! I also always return my cans.

An issue with this is that these bulk items do take up space, and space gets expensive. I try to buy what I need, and only buy in bulk when the savings are clear, and I know I will use the item within a year. Otherwise its simply not worth it to buy in bulk.

To buy, or not to buy.

I live in Quincy, Massachusetts. Currently my fiance and I rent an apartment, and have a great deal. We live in a quiet spot at the end of a dead end street, at the top of a hill. Parking is not a problem, we have plenty of space, storage, a garage spot, and even no utilities except for electricity. It is truly a great deal. Nevertheless, we are feeling the itch of home ownership.

For us, the most likely candidate is a condo. We're not able to afford a single family home, and don't have the time to maintain it. What luck, Quincy is currently teeming with condominiums! Off the top of my head, I can think of four recently completed large size multi-unit condominium buildings:

* Ten Faxon Place in downtown Quincy
* Granite Lofts on Hancock Street in North Quincy
* President's Place near the Southern Artery
* The Excelsior Highpoint with awesome views of the Boston skyline

On top of that, there are more in the works:

* St. Catherine's Church on Beale Street in Wollaston is being converted to condos.
* There is new construction in Neponset Circle that looks an awful lot like condos, and a project is listed on the Quincy 2000 website in that area. (The new park over near Dorchester looks awesome by the way! Who would have thought that the Neponset River, once a dumping ground for Whitey Bulger and The Rifleman Flemmi could look so nice!)

And those are all in ADDITION to the existing condos all over Quincy: Garfield House, Mellen Bray (where the dominatrix who dismembered and illegally disposed of a body that made Quincy famous lived, but was ultimately acquited), the dozen or so high-rises in North Quincy, and other dozen or so luxury condos in Marina Bay.

A member in my Business Networking International (BNI) Club from Assist2Sell Realty put it this way: right now its a "waiters" market - she said there are almost 300 condos on the market right now in Quincy alone, so there is absolutely no need to rush. (Realtor.com actually lists 302!) And that's how my fiance and I feel about it, we're in a great negotiating position because we're in no rush. Seeing how we're to get married in less than a month, we've got enough to think about. Nevertheless, its fun to write about whether its a good idea or not, and believe it or not we're having fun doing our homework on real estate, researching every angle.

The City of Quincy has provided web access to the assessors database up to 2005, so I've perused the entries. During the last couple of decades there were some significant swings in the prices of condominiums, both UP and DOWN. That makes us a little wary to say the least. When we try and rationalize it, we try and think of it less as an investment and more of a lifestyle change, but then we realize again that where we live today is actually pretty nice, and a good investment to boot!

My guess is that the next six months will be very telling when it comes to real estate prices, our financial situation, and how we feel about homeownership once we're officially married. We still have to figure out how we're going to balance each other's careers! Fun, fun, and more fun.

Whatever happens, I've really enjoyed living in Quincy and hope to continue to do so. Only time will tell...

I dont like HSBC.

Because they don't like me. As you may know, HSBC bought Direct Merchants Bank. I used to be a customer of Direct Merchants Bank. To be honest, I did not like the card. There were no perks.

I just received a letter from HSBC, informing me that they closed my account. Great, so now my credit utilization skyrockets. That's why I don't like HSBC, and advise you to not do business with lowsy banks like them. Grrr!

A Dream about Warren Buffet

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I saw a great Charlie Rose show on Warren Buffet and was very impressed with what I saw.

Last night I had a dream about Warren Buffet. We were at the mall together and he challenged me to a race down the escalator - sliding on the handrails. So we raced, and then got busted by mall security.

Then he went shopping for a suit. Even though the store was closed them let him in, because he's Warren Buffet.

Then we were walking home and there was an old recording studio along the way. He invited me in and there was a blues trio playing, with a great singer. I at first didn't want to go, but Warren convinced me. As we were listening, someone else joined us and started to sing along. A man in a recording booth then told him to stop, and I gave him an Archie Comics comic book, but told him I didn't like him.

I walked out and continued my way home on my own, soon realizing I didn't have my shoes. I started to walk back and the man I gave the comic book and told I didn't like was bringing me my shoes. He said he was sorry I didn't like him, but I told him, "No, it was my bad. I shouldn't have judged him so quickly."

I love dreams. They are so random, its cool.

Managing debt

Managing debt is a tough process, though a necessary one. I've been on a roller coaster ride of finance for the past couple of years by starting my own business. Through this proccess, I've taken on a lot of debt. Its been a stressful process, but now we're starting to make money!

What do I want to do with that money? Why get more debt of course! The financing will allow me to increase revenue even more.

As soon as I get to do that, I'd like to start cleaning up my personal debt.

I want to be a billionaire when I grow up!

Charlie Rose has produced a special show on Warren Buffet's donation to the William and Melinda Gates Foundation. Watching some bits of this show, I'm so impressed with Warren and Bill. Those guys rock.

Like the title says, when I grow up I want to be a billionaire, and like Bill and Warren, I would give it all away too!

Penny wise dollar dumb

Or something like that. Finally starting to get a firm grip on finances. I used to spend way too much time trying to save a dime, now I feel more confident spending money when I can qualify the purchase with labor savings.

Its no wonder technology is such big business. It does for labor what skyscrapers did for real estate.

I used to be concerned about spending too much time thinking about technology purchases, however, now that I look at these purchases for what they are, I'm comfortable taking the time to do my homework.

Some of the purchases I've made recently:

* Startech Server Remote Control KVM over IP - will save time and labor being able to administer servers remotely.
* Keyspan US-4A 4-Port USB Server - will allow employees to do more with less equipment and configuration.
* Fujitsu SnapScan Document Scanner - will help filing and document organization.
* Color Laser Printer - I've wanted one of these for a long time! :-)