Money Matters - Part 15

Coming from here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1288812/

Money, saving, retirement, purchases, investing, etc. - this is the place!

New additions to the book collection - Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, The Iceman Cometh (O'Neill) and Intruder in the Dust (Faulkner).

Cool. I should be getting a check soon for 2 pieces of silver that sold in an auction in Dec.

Jeff got a roll of pre glued wood veneer strip. You use a hot iron to adhere it to the edge. WHAT a time saver!!! Amazing. I keep telling him time is money. He made his own before. The kitchen is moving more toward completion. It has been a several year project. Window trim is up and more cabinets are being made to surround the vent hood and another pantry tower(for lack of a better word) that I will use to store sewing supplies and sewing machine. anxious to show it off at the roundup/plant swap at my house in May.

yay Jan!
TIme IS money. I think I'm buying tiles today for backsplash. Sheets on mesh are a bit more than individual but will speed up a novice like me.

WHy am I so resistant to getting rid of the home landline? Really serves no purpose.

Jan, I've used both pre-glued veneer, and the old-fashioned kind that needs gluing. I never had much success with the pre-glued narrow strips for edges. I was much better with gluing larger surface areas but clamping was a bear. I need to replace the buckling rosewood veneer on the top of an antique chest I have, but it might be years before I (or my heirs) get around to it.

There used to be a place on the waterfront (in what was the run-down, seedy section near downtown Baltimore) that carried an incredible selection of both exotic hardwoods, hardwood veneers, and veneered 4 x 8 sheets. I bought marine-quality mahogany sheets from them for a boat I built, and over time, lots of other wood for small projects. Now, good veneers are hard to find (and solid wood almost impossible), at least in a place where you can see/feel/touch before selling your first-born to buy them.

Sally, I've done the small tiles on mesh... they're a great way to install decent-looking tile. Good Luck!

wow Darius, my dad took me to that wood place once, i was about fourteen so early seventies Neat place. We bought a hunk of balsa so I could try to carve a raccoon..

Well, we went to the local tile specialty place where our neighbor works, and got the individual tiles, but ON SALE, so good price, good advice, extra help if I need it, and gave some $ to local biz.

wow Darius, my dad took me to that wood place once, i was about fourteen so early seventies Neat place. We bought a hunk of balsa so I could try to carve a raccoon..

Well, we went to the local tile specialty place where our neighbor works, and got the individual tiles, but ON SALE, so good price, good advice, extra help if I need it, and gave some $ to local "small" biz.

Can you repeat that, Sally? ;)

This message was edited Jan 21, 2013 2:29 PM

Cool, Darius! We'll watch the edges he has done so far to see if there are any problems. Thanks for the info!

Yay, Sally. Glad you have a source of help if needed. I would be inclined to use the mesh myself. Supporting locals biz-priceless! Will you have it up by Friday? LOL. I am waiting to hear from DS.

((agh how did that happen??)) working with new
mac book, maybe i swooshed between pages too enthusiastically!

Will you have it up by Friday?
LOL indeed!!! First challenge to clear off counter by then!

Oh, what I'd give for a new Macbook... except the $$ I don't have! I did just replace my 6 year old 17" Mac Laptop Pro with a slightly newer one (although only 6 months newer) with one that has an Intel processor, and even at that, there's a learning curve even with my same old applications.

After spending 2 days trying to convert from the rented Comcast cable modem to my own new cable modem and the new wireless modem with NO success, I called my sister's techie friend to come and help. He's never worked on a Mac so it was an interesting experience... finally had to bring in my sister's PC so he had something familiar to work with.

The problem turned out to be Comcast, not my new equipment.

By dropping our 2 Comcast telephone lines, plus their rental of cable/tv modems and changing the TV "package", I've lowered our Comcast bill from $209/month to $95/month, and without lowering my internet speed. The cost of the 2 VOIP phones (and a year of service connection for each) that we bought will be paid for in just one month of savings from Comcast.

Plus, all TV cable companies have cheaper options for TV than they ever advertise (I think it's required by law). You just have to ask, and then persevere. Turns out we can get ALL the same channels we normally watch (channels 1-180) for $50 cheaper per month. Who knew??

Yes, I have to look into that with FIOS. I am sure I am overpaying.

THis is our first Mac product and yeah, different. DH just HAD to treat himself to it. I am still more comfortable with the PC.

Good going on the Comcast bill, Darius. I guess we should try to squeeze FIOS too.

I heard some author yesterday talking about the monopoly of cable companies, she referred mainly to Comcast. Said Koreans come here and laugh at our horrible expensive internet access.

Echoing you and Sally, Darius, Awesome wood place where I could have lingered much longer than each visit would allow. We were boatbuilding, too. Did pick up some scrap pieces of exotic woods. So cool to see the grains and colors, feel and smells were transportative and stirred many a travel and adventure dream in me! What a wide wide world.

Will have to check I to a wood place and take DH on a field trip for his birthday!!

Ha! Even the former French President is moving to England to avoid the obscene 75% tax rate. So dumb to think people who CAN move, won't.

Jan, here is a link to exotic wood in Annapolis!

http://exoticlumberinc.clickforward.com/?adid-2E343B92-B097-442c-BFA5-BE371E0325A2=1478313&kw-2E343B92-B097-442c-BFA5-BE371E0325A2=imported+wood

Woot, woot!! Thanks, coleup

Apple down 10% so far. Not far from its 52 week low. Hmmmmm...

Not like it's real money.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130128/AUTO0103/301280422

uuuunnnngggghhhhh
"Treasury noted that average cash pay was cut by more than 90 percent over the pay received before the bailouts." So these execs were soaking it up from their companies while the companies were circling the drain: nice.

"GM wanted to retain the employee and do something a little nice." YEah I want to retain my right to eat out unfast food, once in a while, and do something nice for my kids. But when I don't have the money, it can't happen.

Leave it to the gov to always have our best interests at heart.

My cousin's daughter won a 3/4 scholarship to St. John's. Of course, she want to go to Hofstra.

I can't even watch or read any news anymore, I just sit there shaking my head in disbelief

Hear the new 4% service fee merchants want to start charging customers to balance out the fee the cc companies charge them?
This really makes no sense to me
We accept Visa/MC and Discover, Amex fees are too high. but for merchant services it's a small % of the total bill, now....if I charge extra 4%, that makes the total bill higher then the merchant service fee will be higher because it is a % of the total....so the merchant isn't making the $ it's the cc company. Don't they make enough $ off late fees and interest charges...geez!!!!!!!!!!!

That explains why my gym sent a letter- credit will be charged $3 per month, so we switched to auto payments from checking.
They don't make any money from US on late fees and interest- perish the thought!
; ^)
Gimme my rewards and don't even THINK we are running a balance.

If only the homeowners line of credit had rewards---SIGH

Not allowed in NY.

Or CT. I try to pay with cash wherever I can because I know it costs the seller more and then prices have to go up to cover the fees.

Oh goody!

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/economy/279857-report-fiscal-outlook-not-improved-by-debt-deal#ixzz2JOAYHF2u

victor, i've run out of mangled letter sequences to do justice to your news links!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some small businesses really like your change , some banks charge to provide change, I was told once.

If I start using cash I'll have to start getting fifties!!!! twenties go frighteningly fast.

Think you got it bad?? You have more $ than an entire country.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-29/zimbabwes-total-cash-hand-21700

I liked the last statement in parentheses of that report. Well, I didn't really LIKE it, but you understand what I mean I hope.

It is hard to keep up with you, Victor.

Wow - GDP was negative in 4th quarter! And the most pressing issue is immigration...

Fed stimulus injected in Q4: $165 billion. GDP added in Q4: -$5 billion. Yikes.

See the news about 1 of our wonderful Senators? UGH

Got a letter saying we make too much $ so we won't be getting our homestead rebate this year....hmmmmm

Yes - same senator whose illegal alien worker's arrest was delayed until after the election.

uh huh, that would be the 1
son is doing a project on NJ and they want pictures of 1 of the Senators in it...do I have to???? UGH can't stand either 1 of them

Bargain! Hate to say told you so...

http://m.cnsnews.com/news/article/irs-cheapest-obamacare-plan-will-be-20000-family

We're already paying 18,000 a year

We went really cheap with high deductible.

Wow, Jen!

Disappointing jobs number once again. Broken record. 7.9% official unemployment rate. But...'10.8%: That's what the unemployment rate would be if the labor force participation rate was the same as in Jan. 2009.'