With Halloween in the air this month, perhaps it’s fitting that regular reader and disciplined dividend investor, Klaus Wentzel, sent me this outstanding case study in fighting ‘Vampire Fees’. You know, those hidden fees and billing changes that companies increasingly tack onto our routine bills? Klaus has had extraordinary success in getting into the details of his monthly bills and uncovering hundreds of dollars in … Continue reading Fight Those Vampire Fees!
As the days grow shorter, our neighborhood is starting to light up at night with Halloween decorations. I usually set up a few things about a week or 10 days before Halloween night. My “decorations” are limited to some orange lights, flicker bulbs in our outdoor fixtures, and a few Halloween blow-molds like the ones above. I have these exact three. Each are about 3-feet … Continue reading Surprising Halloween Collectibles
My son sent me this hopeful chart today. It shows how the stock market has fared following a 25% decline in the S&P 500 over the last 70 years. Of course, as they say, past performance is no predictor of future performance. Still, it is nice to see that big market drops have historically turned back to growth rather quickly. I had hoped that our … Continue reading When Will It Turn?
Wildfires in California. Hailstorms in the Midwest. Hurricane Ian in Florida & South Carolina. It’s a crazy year for home owners insurance. On top of that add in the crazy inflation in the home construction market. After two white-hot years, only now are home prices starting to slow down from higher interest rates. We just got our 2022-2023 premium statement from State Farm. We received … Continue reading Homeowners Insurance Inflation
We’ve had a new round of bad economic news, but I can’t get too excited about it, even though it seems like a pretty severe storm. I think I’ve fallen victim to “bad news fatigue” after two years of the pandemic, rising inflation & interest rates, and declining investments. Just in the last couple weeks … ⁃ The stock market erased all the gains since … Continue reading Weathering The Storm
The pictures above show the beautiful 3-bedroom condo that we booked for 11-nights in January on New Smyrna Beach, FL. It looked like a fantastic place, but it was a bit of a splurge at $391/night. Since it was right on the beach, was pet-friendly, and had a lot of room, I figured it was worth the price. I thought we could host some friends … Continue reading Fees, Fees, Fees: Damn You VRBO!
If I had only paid more attention to my own behavior, I would probably be a much better investor. I noticed on the Amazon website that it lists your annual orders under the ‘purchase history’ feature. My own use of Amazon seems to mirror their stock performance. As I jumped from just 3-5 orders a year to over 100, their stock shot from $12 a … Continue reading Amazon Explosion
The roofers are working on our house today. They started yesterday, but since it’s a pretty big roof, they think it’s going to take the until 8pm on Friday to finish up. See how big it is …?! To say, “thanks” to the hard working crew of 7, I’ve been bribing them with cold beverages during the day and doughnuts & orange juice this morning. … Continue reading This Is A Job For Doughnuts
Have you ever paid for your roof to be replaced? Ever? We haven’t. We’ve lived in houses for 30+ years and never once have we paid for a new roof. Three times the insurance company has on our behalf. Never have the roofs been more than 13 years old. The economics of home insurance don’t make any sense to me. I spoke with a lot … Continue reading Have You Ever Paid For A New Roof?
I really screwed up. I pushed my body too hard a few weeks ago – tennis (3x), softball, and biking – and by Friday morning, when I got out of bed, my back was stiff and sore. I’ve rested it for a couple weeks, but it continues to be aggravated. I’ve come to believe that our bed – now 13 years old – is part … Continue reading Most Important Furniture Purchase?
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