Update on me!

I know like you care!!! We have been so busy with repairing the apartment that I have fallen behind where I wanted to be in posts & surfing (networking sounds better!). I recently was approved for loudlaunch here so I'll be giving that a try. Anything to help pay a few bills around here! I am waiting another 3 days for this blog to be over 90 days for the Pay Per Post approval. I'll let you know how that is going as well, after I begin at least!

I did submit a tip to daytipper.com (ok 4 so far, but only 1 was accepted) but it hasn't been published yet, so I haven't been paid. I submitted my blog to www.money4blogs.com & received $15 for putting a link in the side bar for the year, not bad & it's just a text link.

I didn't start this blog to make me a million dollars, but making a little here & there is a nicety. I don't think I am entertaining or knowledgeable enough to put up a "tip jar" so browse, click & enjoy.

I need to go start dinner, so I'd better wrap things up here!

The Prince seems to be feeling better, so maybe he'll go to school tomorrow & then we can go to the store & pick up the stuff we need to finish the apartment (gotta get it ready to rent before the 15th). We still have to paint a couple ceilings, one wall, the bathroom & the kitchen floor. Then we need to pick up a washer, cover a pass through door, & clean. We'd like to put a new entry door in but it's not gonna happen yet, since we technically need 2 & the one directly into the apartment will have to be fitted, I doubt we'll find a reasonable 84" x 31" prehung.

I did change the locks & we have already done:

Removed the paneling on almost all the walls
Repaired the plaster
Painted the walls (3 coats)
Painted the bathroom vanity
changed out ugly window blinds for nicer roller shades
removed a window & measured (now we need to find 3 matching cheap HA)
repaired the kitchen ceiling (we have a minor roof leak & materials to fix when the weather is 65+ degrees it can be fixed)
Removed icky boards under washer & dryer
Had heater motor rebuilt
inspected attic
insulated the weird old window holes we found behind the paneling
removed all old curtain hardware (boy can the years & number of tenants add up in that regard)
broken dryer hose removed

Still have to do:
Finish painting bathroom cabinet
3rd coat of gloss white on waiscotting
paint upper walls in bath
paint over spackle in closet/pantry
replace 13 plugs & 2 light switches
paint 1 wall
paint bedroom ceiling
paint kitchen ceiling
caulk kitchen counter
paint upper cabinet & rehang
clean carpet
clean rooms
hang shower curtain
hang curtain hardware
install digital thermometer
caulk & paint kitchen floor
bring stove upstairs
install washer
I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of anything yet!!!

Clothing for the hard to fit woman

Styles for the busty woman can be found at Eris Apparel.

The site has clothing available for the difficult to fit average framed woman with a larger than average bust size. I can say that even as a former plus sized woman the selection of clothing that fit this area is slim pickings!

I find that when I buy a t-shirt (say mass superstore) it will ride up instead of the hem laying at my waist. So on the same line as maternity clothing, you buy the size you are now it will just fit you properly! The clothing available through erisapparel.com, while on the pricey side, was designed with an extra 4" added to the bust line. If you are a D cup or greater but still have regular S/M/L sizing everywhere else this is a site worth visiting. The selection is decent & they have a newsletter available giving tips & tricks on living with a busty figure.

If you feel you shouldn't have to have a breast reduction to have your clothes fit properly this website could be worth your time.

LoudLaunch - Compensating bloggers for their unbiased opinions, reviews, and analysis. View the LoudLaunch campaign release this post was based on.

Check out: 37 Killer AdWords Secrets Exposed

You too can master the art of using Google AdWords pay per click. Check out the new book "37 Killer AdWords Secrets Exposed". Written by Robert Hall with a former Google insider the book focuses on helping both small and large businesses set up profitable pay per click campaigns. Get the inside scoop on winning text, headlines, punctuation, capitalization, ad structure, winning web page design and split testing. Advertising is a necessity for any business. You need to reach your customer or you won't have a business for long. If you can't afford a consultant or huge marketing campaign (or just don't want to fork over the big bucks) download this free e-book to learn the secrets from experts in the industry. The free download contains 5 of the 37 proven but little-known strategies.

FREE - Download 5 Chapters from eBook Now.

All the secrets in this book have been proven to increase your click through rates. They are based on actual results and take only minutes to implement. Learn the secrets & save the time and money you'd spend attending a seminar.

Topics in the free booklet include;

- How to write winning Google PPC ads

- How to create a killer headline for Pay-Per-Click ads

- Specific text to place in your PPC ads to attract clicks

-What is ad 'split-testing'?

- Why you should never let Google choose your winning ad when split-testing

- How to use your imagination to create winning PPC ads and Web pages

- How even little things, such as punctuation and capitalization, can lead to a huge boost in online response

From the Micro Press Release

LoudLaunch - Compensating bloggers for their unbiased opinions, reviews, and analysis. View the LoudLaunch campaign release this post was based on.

2007 Goal update

I said I'd get here...it just took me a little longer than I thought it should! The Prince has been sick since last Saturday and has been home from school most days since.

1. Kids & money - The Prince has started counting change in class so we have been doing lots of talking about $$$ here!!!

2. Save money - MY ING account is opened & funded! Woohooo

3. Exercise & eat right - Still maintaining the weight & exercise

4. Clothes that fit: yeah sure, like I've seen my sewing room lately! HA!!!

5. Managing my time better - I am going to continue to work on this especially since I still find myself taking FOREVER in the office. It wouldn't be so bad if I could move the laptop, we need to order a new charger/power adapter for it...

6. Potty training & bed training - Well the Princess has been wearing panties all day! She has even gone on her own. The sleeping thing, we moved the tv into her room & will start snuggling her in her bed instead of the couch, we'll see if that works!

7. Emergency Kit - I have the tote, 4 blankets, and some clothing.

8. Routine - Well I sort of have this, we are still spending lots of time upstairs in the apartment & looking after the sick kiddos, but my laundry is ok, the dishes are mostly done & the bathroom is clean (especially since the flu was going around town & I didn't want them to be using a gross toilet, ewww)

More good stuff from the web.

At the risk of sounding like a one woman advertising plug for the Simple Dollar blog, Dip your toes into Frugal Living: 10 ways to save money this week, is a great post with some good tips about how you can make a difference, even a little at a time.


Frugal Lunch by Clever Dudette has a good break down of the "bring your own food to work" numbers plus some great comments!!!

Tips for Frugal Living at My Money Forest has links to other tips & some good ones listed, gonna have to try the "eggshells to keep slugs out of the rose garden" tip, now that I finally have a couple rose bushes!

Since it is time to start planning our garden (even here in the still frigid north east 20 secrets to a flourishing frugal garden.

It is also tax time & while my personal taxes are already in & done it doesn't hurt to review the Common Red Flags that lead to IRS Audits written by Get Rich Slowly.

And one more for good measure Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa shares her finds from a weekly trip to the goodwill. Gotta love the goodwill! I wish I had this much success with our Salvation Army...

Glad I'm not the only one...

3 Blindingly Obvious Ways to Succeed in Business & Life

Misc links & articles

Just checking my email and finally getting to sit down and read some of the feeds I subscribe to I cound some great articles out there...

The Simple Dollar has an article on how his ATM cost him $30.28 in one month & how to avoid it in the future.

Stop the Ride wrote about how a higher page rank can equal paying off debt.

Stephanie also has an article Stop do not make a trip to the store with some great substitute links. I do this all the time, not just because I don't have what the recipe calls for but because I like to use what I have. I do so dislike to have to buy buttermilk for a bread recipe that will just go bad after I'm done with the recipe, so at least for buttermilk I always try to keep the buttermilk powder on hand. It keeps forever in the fridge & I have barely noticed a difference in my Grandma's brown bread recipe.

You can also check out this weeks Frugal Friday entries.

Warm up to the Blog Party!!!

As a warm up to the Blog Party there is a new Rhyme-n-tyme contest at 5 minutes for mom

Rhyme-n-tyme looks like a fun & educational game. I have a feeling that the adults here would play more than the kids would for a while at least!

Things getting back to normal here

Well at least the Prince returned to school today! He has been home sick for the last 2 days (Monday was a holiday...) But he hasn't been well since Sunday. I think he just caught a head cold that threw everything else off.

We need to go buy more paint for the upstairs apartment (just your basic white) & I have a ceiling to paint. Then we need to do something with the kitchen floor, we just can't seem to agree on what. I don't really want to have to rent a sander yet (mostly because if we do that then we will be sanding our bedroom floor & the front room of the house & possibly the living room which means pulling up carpet & moving a LOT of furniture)

On a frugal note...Ok I have nothing here! Oh wait. I made a deposit into our emergency savings account & my stock account. So there is progress!

I'll do a 2007 goal update later today (maybe, definately by tomorrow).

For now I need to go write a few more blog posts & then get my behind moving & go clean my house (even if I can't find it under all my clothes still not in the closet...)

Still in home repair hell...

Floor scratches where someone tried to kick in door, snaping dead bolt in half...cracked the door & casings.

We have managed to get half of the ceiling repaired. Now we have decided that we need to refinish the floor upstairs & probably down.

We decided to paint up in the apartment, dh had to see what was behind the ugly paneling, so we took most of it down. filled in the holes & have painted. We left the paneling up on some of the walls simply because they were covering weird holes in the wall (we are thinking old windows...they were just filled in with a little insulation & plywood but still inset, weird) we filled in with more insulation & stopped all the drafts we could feel & put the paneling back up. We are painting over it, so it won't look dumb. Eventually we will drywall those walls just not now!

We have to replace 2 windows, one that has cracked glass & the other just fell apart(obviously they tried to open it against our instructions). We knew we'd have to replace about 12 windows when we bought the house but we were hoping to do it all at once & not for a couple more years.

But, the heater was saved by having the motor rebuilt, so we saved a ton of $ there. The bill was $163 verses $1000 for a new heater (we couldn't find anyone to sell us one, had to go through a contractor).

So Items we have completed:
Apartment:
Clean up of water mess
removal of paneling
insulating drafts in walls
fill in holes
sand spackle
paint living room
repair heater
changed locks


Our Room
Clean up of water mess
Removed old ceiling tiles
replaced insulation
took out awkward closet with broken bi-fold door (creating a wall of closet :D)
dry wall 1/2 of ceiling
mud & tape what is up
bought paint for ceiling & walls

Bathroom downstairs
removed old moldy ceiling
put up "new" ceiling with recycled tiles from bedroom

Still left to do
Upstairs
buy washer
sand floor
paint or varnish floor
hang shelves in kitchen
paint "dining room"
paint front door trim
clean carpets
paint bathroom
CLEAN EVERYTHING
paint bath vanity, because finish is worn off (only 1 1/2 years old grrr)
move new stove upstairs & convert back to gas from propane

Downstairs
Finish ceiling
refinish floors (while we have sander we will pull up more carpet to expose our hardwoods)
paint
celebrate when I can finally hang my clothes back up!!!

Valentine's Day Swap

These are the yummy goodies I just got in the mail from the Valentine's Day Swap!!! Thank you & happy Valentine's Day!

Thursday Thirteen #1

For my first Thirteen I thought I'd give my 13 favorite MYO recipes.

13)
Wheat Bisquick Mix
4 c. whole wheat flour
4 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. baking powder
4 tsp salt
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. shortening
1 1/4 cups powdered milk
Measure all ingredients into a bowl and blend very well. This mix lasts better if you vacuum seal it and freeze it to maintain the freshness of the wheat. I'd also add 2 Tablespoons of milled flaxseed.

12)
I haven't had to use this one yet, but buying it is SOOOO expensive MYO is the way to go!

Almond paste
1 lb blanched almonds
3 tbs lemon juice
1 c water
2 c sugar
Process almonds until fine. Add lemon juice. Cook water & sugar until 240F on a candy thermometer. Add to ground almonds. Mix well. When cool enough to handle knead until smooth. Cool. Pack in jar, cover & store at least 1 week to ripen. Makes 2 lbs.***If paste is too stiff after storage, place in top part of double boiler and heat over hot but not boiling water until it is soft enough to handle.

11)
Self-Rising Flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine. Makes 1 cup.

10)
This may be more trouble than savings, but in a pinch...

WON TON WRAPPERS
1 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
2 T. water
Mix well and knead on a floured board. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Roll as thin as paper. Cut into 3-inch squares.

9)

Egg Beaters
2 egg whites
1 T. dry powdered milk
Drop or two of yellow food coloring
Mix all together until blended. Keep refrigerated.
Do not make more than 1 cup full at a time because it does not keep well.

8)
I have used this one, recently! Only works if you have dry powdered milk on hand...

Evaporated Milk
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry powdered milk
1/2 cup warm water
Blend well.

7)
I have not made the dressing with this, but I use the mix regularly in cooking.

Ranch-Style Dressing Mix
15 Saltines
2 cups Dry minced parsley flakes
1/2 cup Dry minced onion
2 tablespoons Dry dill weed
1/4 cup Onion salt
1/4 cup Garlic salt
1/4 cup Onion powder
1/4 cup Garlic powder

Salad Dressing
1 tablespoon Mix
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Buttermilk

Put crackers through blender on high speed until powdered. Add parsley,minced onions, and dill weed. Blend again until powdered. Dump into bowl.Stir in onion salt, garlic salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Put intocontainer with tight-fitting lid.Store dry mix at room temperature for 1 year. Makes 42 1 tablespoonservings.

To use mix--Combine mix, mayonnaise, and buttermilk.Yield: 1 pint.

6)
Homemade Shake and Bake
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients and store in a sealable container or zipper topped plastic bag. This will keep up to 4 months in the pantry, depending on the humidity (you may just want to keep it in the freezer). This recipe will also double or triple well. To Use: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place one cup mix in a plastic bag. In a bowl, mix an egg and 1/2 cup of milk. Dip chicken pieces one at a time in the milk mixture, then shake one at a time in the plastic bag. Place on a baking pan and bake for appropriate time (depending on the chicken you're using-as a little as 20 minutes or up to an hour for bigger, bone-in pieces).

5)
I will be making this one soon, as we are running low.

CHOCOLATE SYRUP
1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients, except vanilla extract. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Refrigerate.Makes about 1 pint.

4)
Not as good as the real thing, but better than store bought

PANCAKE SYRUP
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. maple extract.
Bring to a rolling boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Turn off burner andallow to cool before putting into a bottle. I use a squeeze bottle. Syrup israther thin, but thickens in the fridge.

3)
RASPBERRY COCOA MIX
3 cups instant hot cocoa powder (store bought or MYO)
1 pkg unsweetened raspberry koolaid (0.13 oz size)
Use 2 heaping TBSP to 1 cup hot water.

2)
Not sure why it's Russian tea but it is yummy on a cold evening!

RUSSIAN TEA
1 cup instant tea mix (unsweetened and no lemon)
2 cups dry tang powder
1 pkg lemonade, unsweetened powder
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP nutmeg
1 TBSP allspice
1 TBSP cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together and store in air tight container. To use, place1-2 rounded teaspoons of dry mix to 1 mug of hot water.

1)
I can't locate my regular method recipe, but I have made this one as well. It toasts just like an english muffin, my favorite breakfast! YUM

ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD (makes GREAT toast!)
1 cup + 2 tbsp (9 oz) water
1 tbsp honey
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tbsp powdered milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp yeast D
ump it all in the bread machine, regular white bread settings. Once it cools, it cuts best with an electric knife if you have one (I use it for slicing all my breads).

Frugal Valentine's Day Tips

Just checking my email & found the link to 10 Frugal Ways to Express Love.

Just a note to spouses...sign the love notes! I used to send them to hubby & not sign my name you know your sweetheart (or whatever fit the card) & stuff them in his briefcase... Was great until his boss found one & thought he was having an affair. Eeek. Worse he thought it was someone at the office. Guess he didn't think a wife would do that...

Been distracted...

Sorry I haven't been here to post in the last couple of days. I have been busy trying to recover from some major tenant damage to our upper front apartment. She unhooked her wash machine & just let the water supply lines drain all over, right onto my bedroom. We had to demo the whole ceiling. So far we've replaced the part half that was completely ruined. But our deciding factor was we couldn't locate enough of the same tiles to just replace.

So I have been doing laundry (because guess where I fold all my clean laundry & I hadn't had a chance to put it away...) & trying to patiently dry wall my ceiling!

We are hoping that our insurance company will come through in the end, but we will most likely be stuck, we can sue, but I doubt we'd ever get paid. She also ran the washer into the space heater so that got thrown off & we had to have a motor rebuilt another $200...

We will most likely have to refinish the hardwood floors upstairs as well. Not only are they cloudy from the water she gouged them with something.

So if I post this week it will be sporadic at best, cuz I'm gonna be up to my elbows in home repair, FUN WOW!!!!

Bathtub art photo fixed

I hope... it took 3 more tries & a different angle but it seems to be working now. Sorry!

Bath tub art

For those uneducated in the world of Disney movies the above is a stunning rendition of Mater tipping tractors from the movie "Cars", done in the popular soap crayon medium. This was created by my very talented 7 year old.

It is Wednesday ALREADY?

So, I missed a day here or something...

I totally flaked on Tackle it Tuesday (but my desk is still cleaned off from last week, woohooo) I'll post the link anyways, maybe I'll find inspiration....Tackle-it-Tuesday Week 36

So I am off to tackle an Anti Procrastination Wednesday task instead.

Check out my post Weird & Wacky Wednesday for today's misadventures of the Princess!

not so frugal but warm drinks

Food n Spirit has some fantastic hot drink recipes up. Including my favorite evening mixer (Southern Comfort) SoCo! YUMMY!

An update on our insulating adventures...

Still in the Prince's room...

Well we are getting hit with some ridiculously cold temps & wind chills here. (It is 8 with -10 degrees F as I am typing) The wind is coming from the southwest so it hits his room full force. We are trying to keep it around 68, the rest of the house is 72+.

I believe we have pin-pointed the major source of our air flow problem. It is the floor. Half of the room was constructed over a crawl space. Every inch of the addition (the second turret if you have visited Renovating the Money Pit) was constructed with out thought to insulation. At one point before the vinyl siding went up insulation was blown in, however there were no stops in the walls so all of the insulation has mushed. So anyways, the floor seems to be the source of the major heat loss (or cold drafts coming in). It has carpet & padding but it is still hard to walk on it today with socks on. I am considering removing the carpet & padding & putting down a layer of plastic sheeting then putting the carpet & padding over that. It seems to have worked in front of the door in his room.

Again I used duct tape !!! Can we survive with out it???

I am not sure we can do much about this as all short of ripping off the siding & stone work to put up a vapor barrier & then re-side. Maybe in the spring dh can go back down into the crawl space & put up some kind of barrier, we have already filled in with insulation between the floor joists.

The above picture is my "duct" tape winterizing on the windows. You can also barely make out the insulating we did last year on the outer storm windows (we filled in all visible holes with great stuff!). The issue we really have is how do we replace these windows with more efficient newer ones? We don't have a lot of money for repairs at the moment, but it wouldn't matter because 90% of the windows we need to replace are special either in shape or size. We have 2 extremely large curved windows in the north turret plus 10 smaller curved windows between both turrets. Short of having new windows made to order (does anyone still do that???) I think we have to do a complete replacement where we will have to change the size of the window opening & repair the walls in & out, sigh...

I hope that the frigid temps will end soon, I really don't like the constant reminding that I live in an old drafty house :D! $$$ flying out the cracks!

Valentine's Day & the school

So we got the "List" of Valentine's I need to send with the Prince to school...28! That includes his 13 other classmates & the rest are staff.

Yikes, guess I'd better pick them up soon, as the Prince will have to write on them all!

Plus I agreed to send candy, and what ever else I can send in for their party.

oh yeah, the bus drivers weren't on the list...that is 2 more.

so I have to help him get 30 Valentine's ready, I can feel the stress already. It isn't that I don't enjoy this time of year it is just hard to get a boy (7 or not, at least MY BOY) to sit down & put that much effort into anything. He will lose patience after about 15 minutes. Maybe I'll let him use the computer & he can design them all there, then we can just change the names :D... Ah laziness! Gotta love it.

I did find a source for some very cute Valentine's at http://www.verybestbaker.com they were under the articles section. (I'd link but the website appears to be down at the moment)

Play Millionaire for a day of fun...

Frugal Fun has an article "Play Millionaire: A Fabulous Day of Romantic Fun"

I admit it, we used to do this quite a bit. We'd drive all over to do the open house thing. We never missed a new home tour. We used to drive through the car lots when they were closed. We drive by our favorite resort/golf/ski/condo area as often as we can.

We do this evertime we enter the Home Depot! There is always an appliance or floor covering or BATH TUB that just screams I want to go home with you...but alas it can't YET! So we just talk & plan & dream about what our house will look like before we have grandkids...

This is really a great way to start conversations about what we want out of our life & where we see ourselves in the future.

I will admit that it kind of made me a house snob. Now that I know exactly what I want & need in a house, not having it is a tad frustrating... But I know that we are working on it, one project at a time!

If only I could do something to speed up the 2nd bathroom....

31 Days - Wrap up

31 days wrap up over at the Simple Dollar.

Oh my so it is already Feb 3rd... guess the Ground Hog should have clued me in to that little fact....

I feel so much better off knowing where I am financially (ok, well as much as I know!)

I am going to spend the month of Feb. reviewing the info & establishing some long range goals & a financial plan. I need to write a business plan for our business. I also need to plan for the tax return. I will be taking 10% of it & putting it somewhere safe.

I am going to think about every penny I spend in a different light though (I know the idea is to be flexible, but at the moment I don't have that ability).

Ah well it is already 8 degrees here & I am going to go sew something! SO I can focus my creative energies on something other than obsessing on our $, or lack there of...

First shopping trip of Feb. 2007

Oh boy what a trip!

I actually spent $87 at Aldi, just on stuff! I needed to restock the pantry bad, I guess!!! I did score with Moo Tubes being on Managers Special (I should have bought the case!) They were $0.79 a box marked down from $1.79. I bought 3 boxes, I hope they freeze well, but the way the kids eat them I doubt they'll be in there for too long. I also picked up a couple gallons of milk, at least one goes in the freezer, we drink about 2 gallons a week here, unless I make cookies & then we can drink 3.

We also had to pick up coal (it really would have been so much easier to have ordered 4 pallets & had it delivered~sigh).

Pay the Dish bill.

I think that pretty much did it for the spending portion of dh's pay check. I should be fine for the week as far as food goes! I am used to getting by on 75 - 100 a week on groceries & stuff. So when I run out of say cooking spray I'll buy one the next trip, etc... Well we have been running out of things lately (I haven't been replacing before we run out, like I am used to doing) so I needed this trip to get my kitchen back to functional!!!

I am going to have to get back in the habit of doing a menu plan. It's not that I need it to plan my shopping around, I really just like to have a plan for leftovers. I am a leftover person, dh is not, so I have to be creative. Chicken on Sunday leads to chicken rice casserole on Thursday...& so on.

I also had to pick up a few things to go in my Valentine's Day Swap box...shhhh!

Friday's Feast #129

My Friday's Feast

Financial Ratios

Stop Comparing your Finances with Others: 5 Financial Ratios to Keep you on Track over at Money Smart Life.

"Key Ratios
My wife and I sat down with a financial advisor a few years ago and she pointed out 5 key ratios to keep an eye on. Below I give the formula, an example calculation, and a recommended target for each ratio.

Liquidity Ratio
Formula: Liquid Assets / Monthly Expenses
Our Example: $68,070/$6,892 = 9.9
Target: 3-6 months

Housing Payment Ratio
Formula: Monthly Housing Costs / Monthly Gross Income
Our Example: $825 / $7585 = 10.88%
Target: Less than 28%

Solvency Ratio
Formula: Total Assets / Total Debt
Our Example: $265,570 / $146,654 = 1.81
Target: Greater than 1.0

Savings Ratio
Formula: Savings per Year / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $18,000 / $91,000 = 19.78%
Target: 8-25% depending on age

Debt to Income Ratio
Formula: Annual Debt Payment / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $9900 / $91,000 = 10.88%
Target: Less than or equal to 30%"


Ok: So here are mine...yikes

Liquidity Ratio
Formula: Liquid Assets / Monthly Expenses
Our Example: $400/$2000= .2
Target: 3-6 months I think that means we don't even make it pay check to pay check...hmmmm

Housing Payment Ratio
Formula: Monthly Housing Costs / Monthly Gross Income
Our Example: $1100 / $2400 = 45.83%
Target: Less than 28% YIKES! Yes I know we are in over our head with the house, but it is a really nice house & dh is under-employed at the moment, when we bought it, it wasn't this bad.

Solvency Ratio
Formula: Total Assets / Total Debt
Our Example: $150,500/ $100,000= 1.5
Target: Greater than 1.0 Yes Finally!!!

Savings Ratio
Formula: Savings per Year / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $2,000 / $28,000= 7.14.%
Target: 8-25% depending on age I know we are low, but we are hoping for a much better summer in our food business this year

Debt to Income Ratio
Formula: Annual Debt Payment / Annual Gross Income
Our Example: $8700 / $28000= 31.07%
Target: Less than or equal to 30% Well we are just over the target & 1800 of that $ is actually a business loan (since we aren't open, with no $ coming in we are making the payments)

Ok, so I have a lot of house, need to increase my income & savings, but our debt to income ratio isn't as bad as I thought it was, I'd love it to be a lot lower though!!!

Interview with MyBlogLog CEO

Interview with MyBlogLog CEO over at Top Ranking Blog.

It is a fascinating read! I love ok LOVE mybloglog.com! I have found some really great blog out there, that I might never have found otherwise.

There are a ton of blogs out there just waiting for someone to read them!!!

Happy Blogging!

Rich Woman

I am almost ready to give my final review of the book.

So far I am deep into it. I like the style of writing, however I just finished chapter 19 & all I really know is that she has a really large group of old friends & that women can & should invest... She made her own money investing in realestate, more specifically rentals. This generates cashflow, which is good. She does address the "flipping" phenomenon by pointing out that once it is sold, what ever you made (or didn't) is it, where renting gives you monthly cash flow. There are formulas for determining what is a good buy, good cash flow, etc.

Being a landlord myself (1 property, our home) I can say that only having a couple of apartments is more work than profit. We were looking for income to offset our mortgage & taxes. Except our local taxes went up $1000 since we acquired the property & our rents are barely covering our escrow. I would like to invest in at least 1-2 more apartment buildings, we are just waiting for the right one in the right area at te right time :D.

Hopefully the next few chapters of the book will give a little bit of the "how", not like I expect a diagram or anything, but some direction would be nice.