Someday I hope to be this guy, without the beer

Click if the image is unclear.

This is from PVP Online, a comic that I like to read. This character won a whole lot of money in the lottery and now spends his days drinking beer and playing video games with his friends.

But seriously, I have been thinking (not in a morbid way) about where I would leave my retirement money when I don't need it anymore. One thing I think would make a big impact on people's lives is to dispose of it to a foundation associated with the hospital I work at. This foundation generally pays for things like cab fares and hotel stays and other little things that are important to getting your cancer treated just like the doctors and nurses are - after all, if you can't afford to get there and you have no place to stay, life is going to be a lot more difficult. I know there are a lot of foundations that support research - and seeing as how I am in research, I certainly appreciate it - but the best drugs in the world will not find you a sitter for your kids while you are in the hospital, or drive you here from two hours away when your car is broken down.

Bah, oh well

So we went to take a look at this house.. and I must say, I was a little taken aback. While I was fully prepared for the cracked kitchen tile and lumpy, painted-over siding, I was not prepared for the several joists in the basement holding up the central floor beam, nor for the fact that all the floors are sloped and a little spongy. Least of all was I prepared for the ladder made of 2x4's that is the method for getting into the attic (which is actually finished quite nicely and is, by the reports of Boyfriend, the nicest room in the house - I was too scared to go up the ladder since it leaned backwards somewhat.)

So just from our initial trip 'round the house, we decided this was not for us. I had been prepared to put $30,000 into this house, but not $60,000 or $70,000 - especially with the damp basement and potential house-sliding-into-one-corner problems. I had been under the impression that the house had been a rental for a few years, but apparently it had been rented out for TWENTY - and it really looks it. There are lots of repairs (like the 2x4 ladder) that look like a cheap, quick, not-particularly-durable solution to a problem. The roof similarly looked like it had been put on by an amateur with cheap materials - it wasn't evenly spaced, and we found part of a shingle on the ground. It's too bad because the backyard was pretty great for this area (yes, you really can buy a house on 1/50th of an acre) and it might be a nice house, if I had $70k. The real deal breaker though were the upstairs bedrooms, which are all quite small, and only one has a normal sized closet. One had a closet literally ten inches deep, and the third had no closet at all. So I backed away from this house - maybe in another few years. :)

So now I'm looking at places to rent, since I do want a bigger place. I found a place that looks great on paper, but I want to talk to the landlord and see what experience they have since I get the impression it's just some guy who owns a house and felt like renting it out. From the county auditor's site, I found that it sold in 2005 (presumably to this guy or someone he works for) for $228,000 - and you can do the math that the rent of $1200 is not going to cover that mortgage. So who knows what the deal is there. I also have my eye on a few other nice places, so hopefully they don't get rented out before I make the final call! My lease is up August 15th so that's a bit early for around here (most things are Sept to Sept) so I'm hoping to get someplace for August 1st, so we have two weeks to move.

In other news, CashDuck is quite busy now and I have added another person to my crew. :) At this point she's mostly helping me catch up on tasks that have been long neglected, and taking only a little workload off of me and my other crew member. Ah, such is business.. it grows faster than I can manage to hire people to take work off me. But things are going quite well. My wonderful ducklings raised $350 for breast cancer research with this month's promotion so I'm pretty pleased with that too! I am pretty much ducking when I am not eating, sleeping, or at work though. Yesterday, I took an hour to relax, which I am not good at, and watched some TV.

In other news, I fear that between my work and CashDuck and attempting to have a real life, I do not have time to administer the Under 30 Honor Roll and I'm not doing it proper justice. So for any fellow Honor Roll members, if you are interested in taking over the Honor Roll and making it the best it can be, drop me an email.

buy a town

The town of Albert, Texas is for sale on eBay–current price listed at $50,100. ?An investment project?

Tax-free Memorial Day shopping for some

Are you ready for some tax-free products?

That's what's awaiting shoppers in three states, as they've added the Memorial Day weekend to their sales tax holiday calendars.

For the last several years, around a dozen or more states have tried to entice consumers by offering the chance to buy certain products without paying the usual state and, in most cases, local sales taxes. These things have become so common, I half expect to see them start showing up on mass-market datebooks.

When that does happen, most of the tax holidays will be blocked off on fall weekends, giving retailers a chance to tie tax savings to back-to-school sales.

But Tennessee decided to offer a spring event back in April. And Texas, Virginia and Louisiana are kicking off their summer seasons with tax-free holidays beginning this Memorial Day weekend.

Don't worry. The early tax-free shopping option in these four states doesn't replace their fall events. I'll get you the details on them and the other states with sales-tax holidays scheduled for later this year as those dates near.

But for this weekend (and beyond, in one case) here's the scoop on tax holidays.

Texas

The Lone Star State's early tax holiday supplements its regular back-to-school event in August. While the fall event offers tax savings primarily on clothing and footwear, this weekend is designed to save you tax dollars on energy efficient appliances.

Dubbed the 2008 Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday, it runs from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, through 11:59 p.m. Memorial Day, Monday, May 26. During this time, Texas shoppers won't have to pay the state's 6.25 percent sales tax or associated local levies (which make the combined rate here in Austin 8.25 percent) on just about anything that bears an Energy Star sticker.

Eligible products include air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, ceiling fans and dishwashers. Even some light bulbs qualify.

This Web page has details on all of Texas' tax-exempt products and special situations such as Internet and catalog sales, as well as lay-away purchases.

Louisiana
The Pelican State is still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, so its officials are still a bit wary about what the upcoming storm season might bring. And to ensure that Louisianans are prepared, this Memorial Day weekend the state is waiving its sales tax on purchases of hurricane supplies.

On May 24 and May 25, hurricane preparedness items worth up to $1,500 each are tax free. Items that qualify include radios, generators, portable lights, cell phone batteries and chargers, food coolers and "storm shutter devices."

Having been through three hurricanes myself (yep, that's a big reason the hubby and I high-tailed it back home to a more inland Texas location), I can attest to the value of getting items to help you cope with a 'cane beforehand. So you bayou area shoppers, take advantage of this tax break.

You can check out this document for holiday details, as well as this special flyer.

And while this is Louisiana's first hurricane preparedness tax holiday, it won't be the state's last. The new law calls for the event to be held on the last Saturday and Sunday of each May.

Virginia

I don't seem to recall Virginia suffering through a
major hurricane in a while, but officials there don't
want to take anything for granted. So the Old Dominion also is offering its
shoppers a chance to stock up tax-free on hurricane and other emergency
preparedness items.

In fact, Virginia shoppers have a week -- from Sunday, May 25, through Saturday, May 31 -- to pick up certain tax-exempt supplies, such as portable generators costing $1,000 or less and a wide range other eligible items priced at $60 or less.

This list of items has details. You also can check out the state's frequently asked questions about the Memorial Day event.

Florida shoppers left out, for now
I hear you, Sunshine State residents. But I have bad new about the hurricane preparedness tax-free holiday y'all have enjoyed for the last three years.

Florida officials decided that the early summer tax-free event, which it instituted in 2005 following the devastating 2004 hurricane season, was just too expensive.

Eliminating it will give the state an estimated $12 million to put toward its $3 billion budget shortfall.

Budget concerns also will affect Florida's fall back-to-school tax-free holiday. It will be shorter and books will no longer be on the tax-exempt list.

OK. You're a creative bunch. You can now make up your own jokes about books and the Florida school system.

Everyday Finance Portfolio Update and Market Commentary May 2, 2008

It was another good week for the Everyday Finance portfolio, roughly doubling the return of the S&P500. The portfolio returned 2.7% vs. 1.4% for the S&P500. Standouts were Google and Focus Media. The Financial sector continued to benefit the portfolio, with the leveraged ETF breaking through recent highs.

What's next on the docket? I'm eyeing China Finance Online (JRJC) given the beating it's taken of late, Vision China (VISN), which may be the next Focus Media (with better performance, at 88% YTD), and Banco de Columbia (CIB) up 25% YTD. Each of these are extremely volatile, but carry the ability to double or triple during the next year as they've done in prior periods of strong performance. I need to research these a bit further before fully endorsing and purchasing shares, so here's your change to provide your opinion prior to the next portfolio purchase.

For some mid-week updates on my exit from Gold/Platinum and the Synthetic Option Play on Oil, feel free to visit (full article here).

www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com

Hope you weren't counting on that extra half-percent raise

... cuz you aren't going to get it, at least not for awhile.
Remember the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Bush vetoed a couple of months ago, with the 3.5% military pay raise? Well, our pandering and inept congresspeople were unable to revise the bill such that it would be passed before the start of the new year, so military personnel will have to settle for a 3.0% raise across the board. However, plans are "in the works" to assure that "the half-percent raise will be applied to military pay retroactive to January first, 2008," but I wouldn't count on seeing it for a couple of months, at least. Luckily, for most families, this amounts to a difference of $20 or less per month; however, it's hard to plan a budget when something as basic as base pay hasn't even been established. Keep this in mind next time you go to the polls.

Twitter takedown

Please accept my sincerest apologies to any and all of you who have had trouble accessing the ol' blog this week.

The problem seems to be that Twitter, the technically problematic social media application, is having issues. Again.

But now they've become my issues, too. And I'm tired of it.

Apparently the widget that was there in the left nav bar so you could see my Twitter postings was and is not working properly because the dang main site is up and down like a kid's yo-yo.

And that meant, and evidently still means since the hubby just told me he couldn't get the blog to open up, that my readers have been inconvenienced.

So, until Twitter gets its act together, and the Web 2.0 gods only know when that will be, I've taken down the link to this social media experiment. If you're so inclined, you can still follow me directly at http://twitter.com/taxtweet if and when the dang thing is operational!

Thanks for your understanding and patience.

Cold Weather, You're Out

Dear Chicago:

I don't know what I did to piss you off, but I'm writing to let you know that I've absolutely had it with your attitude. I WILL NOT, no matter how cold, snowy or downright nasty you get, WILL NOT wear my down parka another minute until at least October. I refuse! You may have gotten the best of me this winter by jacking up my heating bills to over $200 each month, leaving permanent salt stains on all my clothes and shoes and halting my driving lessons with your "ice storms," but mark my words, frienemy, your frosty days are numbered.

Watch out Chicago. Because as soon as your cold snap ends, I will be out on your town with a vengance.

Regards,
Nicole

Getting online discounts and coupon codes

Whenever you buy anything online, it’s always a good idea to do a quick search for coupons or discount codes. You can often easily find 10% off, 20% off, and free shipping. Many times the values are even higher than that.

With many purchases or just large ones, these discounts can add up quickly. Whenever you are checking out and see a box for a promo code, it's always prudent to take a quick look for some codes before submitting the form.

You can find some great discounts with Adobe coupons. (Although university students can get very cheap education packages from their campus bookstores) If you need to get a copy of Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Acrobat, or any of Adobe's other products, then you should check it out

You can get discounts with Kohls coupons or Macys coupons. This could save you a chunk of change, versus shopping at their department stores. And if you wanted, you could even go take a look at the items in the brick and mortar stores beforehand.

Hopefully you will be able to find some great bargains and codes that will save you money today and down the road.

This post has been sponsored by ‘Coupons for Everyone’.

Bend It Like Erin

It's no secret that CNBC sweetie Erin Burnett like taking trips to "exotic locales." This time around her trip is in India, where cricket is simply huge. So huge, in fact, that sporty Erin couldn't resist getting suited up and taking a few whacks at the ball herself.

She's also doing things like going to banks and the stock exchange. But for some reason, we find ourselves much more interested in the cricket segment than any of the "serious" stuff.

Cricket in India [CNBC]

Poll: Consumer Lending

Would you do this? Watch the video, then take the poll. I think it's really interesting, but doesn't seem very credible.