The contract is signed

The buyer did the final walk-through of our condo yesterday and signed the contract. $245,000 is the final price. We bought the condo for $200,000 in 2004 not a bad profit for two years in a soft market. Now it's time to negotiate with the seller of the house we are looking at.

Might be closing on Condo tomorrow

Tomorrow the buyer will do a walk through. Bid is at $245,000 if all goes well they could sign on the dotted line.

Condo News

Latest offer is $240,000 which is a lot better than previous offers. We are getting close now, if they can come up to $245,000 we will strike a deal. We got the contractor's estimate and it is favorable for credits on the house.

I am less than $10 away

I only need $8.53 more to reach $100. Then I be focusing on operation sell condo (for nice profit) and close on house.

Personal finance bloggers I need your help...

This is an assignment that goes out to the personal finance community. I must find a way to come up with an extra $100 a month. We will be moving soon and I would like to find a way to continue with the same lifestyle. The cost increase is a rough estimate is $100 more per month. Electic will increase about 20% because we are moving from a condo to a house and it will take more energy to heat/cool. I took a look at my budget for ways to cut down on costs. Right now the two areas that I think can be trimmed are

Comcast Cable = $ 125/month
Verizon (phone and cell phones) = $125

I think I could go without cable for a bit, but would like to get it back eventually that would bring the Comcast bill down to $50 per month for cable modem, I was also looking into DSL.
I'm curious about whether or not the cable company will let you sign up with a special offer. I was taking a look at the Triple play - cable, internet, and phone for $99. That original fee will shoot up eventually, but give us some breathing room in the short term. Also is there cheap cell phone plan out there. Right now our cell phones are ringing up $100 monthly bills. We just use them to talk to people In the network and for long distance. Any suggestions?


Other ideas I've had are to work some more overtime, to increase income, continue to sell off extra stuff on Ebay, and start a small business on the side. Any other ideas?

Countdown until 100

As soon as I reach my goal of $100 I'm shutting this website down. Time constraints and certain life events need more attention right now. Namely the selling of this condo and the purchase of our first home. It is tense and exciting. Scary as well, I'll be trading one looming mortgage for a much larger one when all is said and done. I hope everything works out, a lot of things need to fall into place. We are getting a few more offers and hopefully have a buyer that will work out. The housing market is still deflating and we hope to use that to our advantage with our home purchase. We go back to the negotiation table armed with a contractor's estimates on repairs. Hopefully the seller of the home we are interested in will give us some credits ($) or make the repairs (which I highly doubt, considering they have been living in Indiana for the past 6 months). We are still not pressed and will not go throw with the deal if something is arye.

Carnival of Future Millionaires Up... Come and Get it!

Welcome to the October 23, 2006 edition of carnival of future millionaires.

Thank you to all who participated. And now on with the show. Enjoy!

Brandon Peele presents Freakonomics Book Review posted at GT.

Vihar Sheth presents For-Profit Social Ventures posted at Vihar Sheth.

Praveen presents Six Simple Steps For Lottery Winners posted at My Simple Trading System.

Nina Smith presents Buying Self Esteem posted at Queercents, saying, "In an effort to provide a little more testosterone at Queercents, this is a guest post from Rich Taylor."

Peter Kua presents I’ll only expire at 91… Darn! posted at RadicalHop.com.

Brandon Peele presents Why get an MBA? posted at GT.

Bill presents Sad But True posted at Ask Uncle Bill, saying, "Is college a good investment?"

Jeff Plumb presents Readers are Leaders posted at The Buck Stops Here, saying, "If you want to make a million dollars, start by investing in yourself. Purchase some inspirational books. Tom O'Toole is an example of a kindergarten dropout who has become a millionare. Try reading his book to see how he did it."

TrustedAdvisor presents Trusted Advisor Associates > Blog posted at Trusted Advisor Associates.

Tracy Coenen presents 6 excuses why people don’t save money posted at FRAUDfiles.

Christopher Brunner presents How to Start a Business - Part 1 of 4 posted at The Small Business Buzz, saying, "Thank you for considering my 4-part post for inclusion in this week's CoFM. I look forward to seeing your picks."

Bill presents Getting Off The Dime posted at Ask Uncle Bill, saying, "A smart daughter gets ahead."

Moneywise presents Index Fund Valuation Matrix posted at The Real Returns.

Nina Smith presents Ten Money Questions for Abigail Garner posted at Queercents, saying, "For several years, Abigail Garner has been at the forefront of the Queerspawn movement. Queerspawn means that you are an adult child of one or more LGBT parent(s). Abigail is the author of Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is. She provided Queercents with poignant views on family finances, the challenges of owning a small business and trying to fuse the label “rich and famous” with reality."

Kevin Surbaugh presents News Item: CreditCard.org Lemon Award Nominations for Bad Banking posted at Becoming and Staying Debt Free, saying, "Don't believe Credit Cards are out to get you? Read this press release, listing creditcard.org's nominees for the creditcard.org Lemon Award."

business tips

Alexander Becker presents WOW: Look Good and Fulfill the Expectations: It's What's Upfront that Counts posted at WOW, saying, "Are your looks congruent with your performance?"

Brian Brown, CPA presents Starting a Business - Top 5 Tax and Other Considerations posted at Your Money Matters, saying, "CPA Brian Brown gives insight into his top 5 tax and other considerations in starting a business.

Thanks for hosting.
Brian"

Adam presents Thoughts on making money posted at Adam.

Dylonium presents The Ultimate Entrepreneur's Guide posted at Cash 101, saying, "Learn how to succeed in the world of entrepreneurship!"

Joseph presents help with everything: How to save money posted at help with everything.

oovs presents Developing Charisma - Lessons from The Dog Whisperer posted at LifeTraining - Online.

John Buehler presents Rebuilding Eden - The 3rd Channel » So, You’re Starting a Small Business posted at Rebuilding Eden.

failure

Phil B. presents Top Ten Reasons Why No One Clicks on Your Ads posted at Phil for Humanity.

goals

Bryan C. Fleming presents How to Get Through a Cash Pinch posted at Bryan C. Fleming .com.

Matt Hutter presents A year's salary under the mattress? posted at MattHutter.com, saying, "This article profiles the typical American millionaire, how he/she got there and an example of saving an entire year's salary in less than seven years."

Jeff Plumb presents Pay Yourself First posted at The Buck Stops Here, saying, "Start simple, start today. Get yourself an online savings account so that when that big idea arrives, you'll have the money ready to invest."

Doctabones presents The Power of Alex Jones posted at The Ironic Fist, saying, "Here is what every aspiring young millionaire needs to sapire to..."

Bryan C. Fleming presents Counting Cold Hard Cash posted at Bryan C. Fleming .com.

Bill presents Hit 'Em Where They Ain't posted at Ask Uncle Bill, saying, "Why glamour jobs may not be for you."

Travis Wright presents CG Podcast #003 - Napoleon Hill’s Law of Success Podcast Series #02/16 - A Definite Chief Aim posted at Cultivate Greatness, saying, "Podcast Series covering Napoleon Hill's Law of Success - This is episode #2 - A Definite Chief Aim"

leverage

fedor presents Leverage is not even a double-edged sword posted at forexblog.

The Landlord presents The Danger of Overextending Yourself posted at Lording the Land, saying, "The common wisdom isn't always right. When investing you have to learn to measure your risks and proceed with caution."

million dollar ideas

HeJustLaughs presents Why reinsurance companies like MRH are the place to be. posted at HJL Money Blog, saying, "Why investing in reinsurance companies like MRH can prove fruitful in the long run."

Peter Kua presents How to make $1,000,000 in the stock market automatically posted at RadicalHop.com.

Bryan C. Fleming presents Piles of Money! posted at Bryan C. Fleming .com.

MillionDollarCountDown presents An Ambititious Journey!!! posted at MillionDollarCountDown, saying, "My journey to grow $100K to $1 million thru investing in financial markets."

Jane Chin presents Many Dimensions of Money posted at Jane Chin PhD, saying, "Money is more than just a physical currency. There are three dimensions of money that are equally if not more important than the physical form."

David B. presents Million Dollar Idea, Billion Dollar Genius posted at How Do People Get Rich?.

Bryan C. Fleming presents Million Dollar Savings Club: The Give-away Pile Strikes! posted at Bryan C. Fleming .com.

Wenchypoo presents Junk Mail Humor Better Than Comedy Central posted at Mental Wastebasket, saying, "How NOT to go about making millions of dollars!"

Renthusiast presents Spotlight on Cape Verde posted at Renthusiast, saying, "Cape Verde, touted by many to be the next foreign investment property hotspot. With direct flights from Britain due to start next month, developers and estate agents are "piling into the islands in force," but is the north - African archipelago truly a safe investment?"

progress

Peter Kua presents Wanna be more productive? Trash that bloody PDA! posted at RadicalHop.com.

Alexander Becker presents WOW: Divide and Rule: Make Compound Interest Work For You posted at WOW, saying, "Creating abundance. "Subdivide even the smallest amounts.""

quick cash

Lickhau Loo presents 5 Money Generators in Internet MLM posted at Internet MLM Development.

Vadim presents The Hunt for Red Space Plane (2007), Or How To Earn $100/hour Searching Russian Internet High And Low posted at Alles Normales.

David B. presents Getting the Most from a Savings Account posted at How Do People Get Rich?.

success

Rob Schaumer presents How Can I Give You Business? To Be Successful Become A Giver. posted at Rob Schaumer.

My Bubble Life presents The Secret to Defeating Debt posted at My Bubble Life, saying, "One of the hardest ideas for us to grasp is that we are 100% responsible for the results of our lives. Where you are in your life right now is a result of the choices that you've made up to this point."

Nina Smith presents Ten Money Questions for Dan Savage posted at Queercents, saying, "Dan Savage writes a nationally syndicated sex-advice column called “Savage Love” that is read by more than 4 million people each week. Sex is the juicy part, but often times, financial compatibility can be just as significant in the success of a relationship. Queercents asked Dan a few questions about money, couples and kids."

Game Producer presents $113,160.53 Indie Games Sales posted at Game Producer, saying, "...Cliff Harris (NOT author of gameproducer.net) made over $113K selling games online."

David presents 10 Easy Things to Do Now to Make More Money Later posted at Money Under 30.

Peter Kua presents What would you give up to crush your enemy? posted at RadicalHop.com.

My Bubble Life presents The Secret of Highly Productive People posted at My Bubble Life, saying, "I believe this applies to every millionaire that I know."

Wenchypoo presents The NEW Lessons in Higher Education posted at Mental Wastebasket, saying, "An oldie from me, but a thought-provoking one!"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
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Interest in learning the secrets of sucess? Coming soon is the Carnival of Future Millionaires.

Can Google Save the World?

Google's profits soared today due in large part to their successful advertising sales. Now they plan to build the largest solar powered grind on the planet - good call. Hopefully other businesses will follow suit, take responsibility and take steps to improve the environment instead of destroying it. Hint buy some solar power companies stocks.

Want free online trades?

Get some at Bank of America - requires $25,000 account balance or try you hand over at zecco.com - I think the intial balance requirement is $2,500. Here's a news release from the New York Times about Bank of America:

Bank of America, seeking to attract new clients, said yesterday that it was offering free online stock trades to customers with accounts of at least $25,000, sending shares of discount brokers lower.

The bank said customers in New York, Boston and other cities in the Northeast would be allowed 30 free trades a month so long as they maintained the minimum balance in any combination of accounts. Such trades usually cost $5 to $10, meaning customers could save as much as $3,600 a year. Bank of America said the program, which is effective immediately, would be extended nationwide over the next few months.

Online brokers “will probably have to follow suit” with price cuts, said Thomas Kaylor, an analyst at the CRT Capital Group in Stamford, Conn. “By giving away free trades, it reduces some of the incentive customers have for moving assets over to online brokers.”

Bank of America’s move heightens competitive pressures that have already forced the Charles Schwab Corporation, TD Ameritrade Holding and ETrade Financial to cut commissions sharply. Bank of America expects to recover the cost of free trades by persuading customers to sign up for fee-paying products like mortgages and checking accounts, services that not all discount brokers can match.

The prospect of customer losses and lower profits sent shares of Schwab, the biggest discount broker, down 4.7 percent, to $17.22. Another large discount broker, TD Ameritrade, dropped 12 percent, to $16.82. ETrade, the No. 4 online broker, fell 8.8 percent, to $22.31. Shares of Bank of America fell 59 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $54.04.

ETrade, TD Ameritrade and Schwab said they did not currently plan to cut commissions, and ETrade’s chief operating officer, Jarrett Lilien, said that he did not expect to lose customers.

“It’s a nonevent, and all of this hoopla will disappear shortly,” Mr. Lilien said. “People distrust things that are free, and when they do the math, they’ll realize that when you pay nothing, you get nothing.”

Here's an idea for birthdays and Christmas

Email your family a list of gifts or buy gifts using referral links to make a little extra cash for the holidays.

Retirement accounts doing well

So far so good for this year. From Fidelity NetBenefits --- Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2006 to 10/13/2006 is 8.0% This is much better than previous years of %3 and %4. I am going to start looking for a nice dividend stock or IOP to invest some money into.

Don't get Scammed!

Many people are lured into spending money on a new product or "system" that claims to make people rich in 30days, or 24hours. The Rich Jerk comes to mind. Anyway I want you to avoid scams at all costs. A scam is only going to make one person rich, and the person who is getting rich is definately not you. It is whoever is recieving your money. A scam is made up of a long sales letter, sometimes many pages long, with personal success stories, videos, etc. Here is a great example of a scam. Don't buy this SCAM, you will not get rich, you will waste your money and be bitter. The advertisers are like sharks and will eat you alive if you even seem a little interested (hint: don't give them your email). They will act like a friend trying to protect you from the horrors of 'hard work' and promise freedom and money beyond your wildest dreams. So don't buy into these get rich quick schemes. It's a bunch of crap, don't let these jerks get rich by buying their products.

Read your way to wealth

I compiled a list of what I consider to be very helpful personal finance books. Read your way to wealth

Thank you Ebay

Chewbacca costume sold for $81 to someone in Omaha Nebraska. I am looking forword to watching the Penn State game tonight. Housing market still in correction phase. I will get into the stock market after it comes down from it's astronomical highs.

How to get the most out of a home inspection.

The attorney review is complete and now it's crunch time. I am hoping the the Fed lowers interest rates when they meet on Oct 24-25th, but that does not seem likely. This weekend is the home inspection.
The major areas for the home inspection include the following:

1. The basement - check for leaks, mold, water. If water doesn't drain away from the house you will find yourself paying $4,000-$8,000 to put in a pump or drainage system. Make sure the land slopes downward away from the house.
2. The foundation - check for any cracks, shifts. Make sure this is solid, if the foundation is off, it could throw off everything else (doors, windows) and make the entire structure unsafe
3. Electrical system - test outlets, make sure that all the breakers and switches work
4. Plumbing - test hot and cold water, check to see how old the water heater is.
5. Heating/Cooling system - test the thermostat (is it acurate), how long will it work for - could cost $6,000 to replace the unit
   
6. Roof - check for leaks, and moss
7. Sidewalk and driveway
8. All railings
9. Siding
10. Consider anything missing from the house

Anything you can find wrong with the house ask the inspector to put into the report. You may be able to negotiate with the seller. If something needs repaired, ask the seller to repair it or give you a credit (money to make the repair). Do some research, write down any questions you have and come prepared. This will help you get the most out of the home inspection.

What goes up must come down.

Record high again for the Dow, be very careful...

One dollar a day

My goal is to make $1 a day this month

Cash in with Treasure Trooper

Treasure Trooper is a website where you can fill out surveys and enter contests and get paid. Most of the offers are only a few bucks, but some of them are simple and worth the minimal effort. Be sure to use an alternate email address to avoid getting an avalanche of spam in your inbox.

Chewbacca.

Chewbacca.

GOOG Tube?

There were reports yesterday that Google "GOOG" may be in talks to buy YouTube.com for 1.6 billion dollars.

Another bite on the Condo

Today we had another interested buyer contact us. They will be coming to check out our Condo tommorrow. Again they are trying to get a much lower price than what we are asking but hopefully they will be willing to be flexible.

Brian to answer you query - I already have a 401K which is invested in a "safe" mutual fund, and I have done the same thing as you. I've allocated a percentage into a more "aggressive" international mutual fund. If you check out some of my previous posts you'll see that I am in FFFFX and FDIVX from Fidelity. The reason I want to get into the stock market is simply that I want to make money fast. If I learn to invest wisely my money will have a better chance to grow, especially if I don't have to pay a percentage in fees. Also I'm interested in stocks that provide dividends. I will continue to contribute to my 401K, but will start to invest in some of my own picks. I hope this answers your question.

Only $29 more dollars to go.

Only $29 more dollars to go before I start investing in the stock market. I've been looking at a few different stocks and different online brokerages. Anyone have any particular company that they feel is worthy of business E-trade, Sharebuilder. I'm hoping to sell a home-made Chewbacca costume later this week on Ebay (with Halloween coming up). Still nothing going on with the Condo, but we will be doing a house inspection of the property we are interested in this weekend.

Why I blog about my finances.

Since the beginning of this year, I have been tracking my finances, by budgeting, saving, and cutting down on excess spending. My goal is to save a million dollars for retirement and I started a personal finance blog to help me stay motivated. When I find new ways to save money or interesting tricks or tips I'll post them. I am currently still in debt - school loan, loan, and mortgage, but I am in a much better position than I was in the beginning of the year. So far this year I have paid off over $26,000 dollars on my school loan and will be able to pay it off in full by the end of this year. I consider this to be a great accomplishment. One that will save a great deal of money in interest over the next few years. I have also been able to cut down spending on cable, cell phone, prescription medications, vacation, and car insurance, while increasing my earning power. I have learned a lot about 401K's, investing, and taxes. Yes it has been hard at times, but I believe that taking control of your finances is definately worth it. Write down your financial goals, make a budget, stick to it, and watch your money grow. Take control of your finances and break the chains of debt. The total amount of money I have saved this year is well over $3,000 and the knowledge I have gained is priceless. Thank you for reading and blogging about personal finance.

Recap of September

September's Revenue - not counting my job

Adsense - 16.21
Text ads - 4.25
Ebay - 16.50

Total = $36.96


I did not submit my posts to any blog carnivals and ran the Carnival of Millionaire's once this month. How to make a million (HOTMAM) is still coming up as #4 on MSN and ranks high in many search engines. I got my first revenue from a text advertisement this past month, and will try to expand on this in the future. I did not post as much because of being very busy with work and selling the condo. I am a little perturbed that the housing market has fallen flat on it's face. Many sources I've read point to a depression, and I hope interest rates decrease to spur more buyers. All in all not a bad month, considering the minimal amount of effort put forth. I have to make about $30 through the site before I can start investing. I am considering reformatting due to problems with site layout.