I’m a big believer in keeping a clean house; in fact, my wife would argue that I’m a bit compulsive about cleaning, but hey it’s mindless work and it gives me great satisfaction when I see clean hardwood floors, a shiny stainless steel fridge, or crystal clear windows! I take special pride in cleaning our kitchen, but it does present […]

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved an amendment to the economic stimulus bill by U.S. Republican Senator Isakson, Georgia., that gives a $15,000 tax credit to anyone who buys a home in the next year. The amendment would provide: – A tax credit to any homebuyer who buys any home.  – The amount of the tax credit would be $15,000 or […]

I’m a big fan of doing it yourself.  However, I will always hire a pro when: 1. The project is important.  For example, I would never aim to re-wire my electrical system, run a new gas line, or put in a new roof because I lack the appropriate skill set. And even if I was able to learn the skill in record […]

Most Americans aspire to owning a one-family home with a nice backyard and a white picket fence.  They imagine their kids riding their big wheel up and down the driveway and family barbecues on their back deck.  At face value, there is nothing wrong with owning a one family home, afterall, a home without tenants or extra maintenance comes without […]

A September New York Times article argued that the key to “wedded bliss”  is a shared viewpoint on money matters and I couldn’t agree more with the basic premise.  I’m sure you all know couples who couldn’t be more different: she likes Prada and drives a shiny black Lexus, while he dresses like he just returned from Woodstock and eats […]

Along with making our own wine and sun dried tomatoes,  my family also cans fresh plum tomatoes every August for use throughout the year.  The canned tomatoes are used mostly for making tomatoe sauce.  Canning your tomatoes produces a better tasting tomato sauce and, of course, saves you money over the long term (especially after you’ve owned the canning equipment for several years). Tomato […]

With temperatures beginning to drop and cold winds battering against our 83 year old house, we’ve been giving serious consideration to replacing our original, single pane, wood windows.  Our windows also include storm windows that, at one point, guarded against strong gusts of wind (but they are pretty much non-functional at this point). We do like the aesthetics of our […]

As I sat in my home office this morning the book, “The Millionaire Next Door” stood out prominently on my wood bookshelf.  The book stands out because it’s a classic in the personal finance world and can be easily understood by everyone.  I often re-read chapters of the book and can really identify with most of the content in the […]

One of my father’s golden financial rules is to not buy what you think you need.  As I’ve said in earlier posts, my father is an incredibly crafty individual, though I didn’t realize the full extent of his ability to improvise and save money until we purchased our own home. As new homeowners most couples are eager to make home […]

How to Make Home Made Wine Let’s face it, enjoying and collecting fine wine is an expensive hobby, especially in light of a tanking economy.  My Italian father has only bought a few bottles of “real” wine in a proper wine shop over the years, but he consumes two-three glasses of wine each night.  You’re probably asking yourself at this […]