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Today’s mortgage payment has knocked the remaining principal on our primary mortgage down to $199,807.89. That’s right, as of today, December 1st, 2006, we are waving goodbye to the 200,000 dollar range. We bought our house in August of 2000 for $260,000 and have managed to pay off over $60,000 in mortgage debt since that … Read more

There was a great show on 20/20 tonight called “Cheap in America.” The show detailed a lot of facts about exactly who gives money to charity. The following is a list of my favorite facts: In 25 states where people give an above average percent of their income, 24 were red states in the last … Read more

Tomorrow, November 28th, the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) will publish it’s Monthly Interest Rate Survey, which documents the change in mean home price. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, (OFHEO), will utilize the information gathered by the FHFB from October 2005 until October 2006 to determine the 2007 conforming loan limit. Any mortgage … Read more

I’ve purchased most of my Christmas presents already. I’m not giving many traditional presents this year so most of my shopping hasn’t involved entering the mall. I bought savings bonds for my niece and nephew and NCAA basketball tickets for my dad and brother. I have absolutely no idea what to buy my husband but … Read more

I have a silver piggy bank my father gave me when I was little girl. To this day I still keep my spare change inside it’s belly. I was searching for a piggy bank to buy my nephew and came across this one. It helps you teach your children how to save, spend, donate and … Read more

I’ve shopped at CVS a lot over the past year and a half. Whenever I go inside to purchase subscriptions, which I’ve done many times, I inevitably wind up buying a number of other unexpected items. I usually get caught up at the magazine rack, ’cause as everyone knows, the prescription is never ready in … Read more

A comment from a reader yesterday sparked this blog entry. 2million asked: “can you shed some light on you and your husband’s occupations/levels of income? When did you both start working? How long have you owned your 1st home?” So here are a few details.I graduated in 1999, my husband, (whom I met in college), … Read more

Yesterday I posted an article about whether or not I should purchase identity theft insurance and/or pay for credit monitoring services. Knowzy, a very helpful reader, left a comment with links to a whole bunch of interesting information on the subject. Many of the links discuss things you can do to prevent identity theft. Among … Read more

CNNMoney.com has a great run through of the 25 Rules to Grow Rich By. The article discusses the best home improvements for your money, when to refinance your mortgage, how much life insurance one needs, and how much to invest in stock and company stock, just to name a few. I think my favorite rule … Read more

Do any of you currently pay for credit monitoring or identity theft insurance? The agent through which we purchase homeowner’s insurance recently suggested that we sign up for an identity theft insurance policy. I looked into the insurance and found that for $120 a year it covers up to “$25,000 for reimbursement of the many … Read more