Budget Homepage - Tech and Investment Blog

Want's it Worth?

2012-02-18T08:51:00.003-06:00

Trying to find the perfect item category to specialize in on Ebay can be difficult. I have this Japanese vase that looks like it would be a hot seller on Ebay. Unfortunately, I found about half a dozen on Ebay, listed between 5 and 10 bucks. This tells me that it's a common item. It turns out that there are lots of low priced, high quality, Japanese vases on Ebay. So, I'm going to have to keep looking to find something to specialize in.

Out of the two dozen books I posted, only two have sold. There are just way too many cheap books available. You need to have something that is in limited printing or maybe a non-fiction book with a high retail price. I've had some luck with micro-brew beer cans, because collectors can't get them in other parts of the country. But, they usually only get one or two bids. Newer video games and electronics seem to sell well. But it's hard to find a large supply of items like that, unless you go to a business foreclosure auction.

Making Money Online

2012-01-28T16:00:00.004-06:00

I found a new Make Money Online video channel that was recently added to Roku. Bryan Knowlton has created a series of training videos for anyone interested in Internet Marketing. I picked up some interesting bits of information after watching the first few. It made me realize how dedicated you have to be toward getting your web presence established and how hard you have to work at staying in the game.

You have to stay up on the latest trends and making sure that your websites are running properly. Just the other day I found an affiliate link that had gone bad and the ad had been replaced by a huge stop sign image. That probably frighten away a lot of visitors before I had a chance to fix it. It could have been on the site for a week, because it was a website that I don't update too often. Ebay and Amazon are key players in the online money making world. But, I've found that the most successful web marketers have at least one website that gets a substantial amount of traffic. That has always been my challenge. It's not easy building a website that has the potential to attract a lot of visitors that are willing to buy your product or click on your ads. I know I will need to amp up my online marketing efforts and develop some new revenue streams, if I'm ever going to be successful enough to call myself an Internet Marketing Expert.

Selling on Ebay

2012-01-22T11:46:00.002-06:00

I've started up selling on Ebay again. I had to get settled into my new location and figure out the best place to do the shipping. There is a UPS about a block away and the post office is a convenient stop on my way home from work. So far I've sold 8 items this month. I'm experimenting with books right now. It's easy to list books because if you type in the ISBN number, a picture of the book and a brief description will appear. So all you have to do is list the condition and the starting price. Once in a while the book cover won't appear. In that case, a search on Google will usually find the cover image.

Items like watches, jewelry, coins, and video games seem to be popular items. With shipping prices on the rise, the smaller items are a good choice if you are looking for items to sell. I've listed a few beer cans, but taking photos takes time, and I need to get a better camera and lighting setup for doing that. It can be disappointing when things don't sell, but there is usually a reason for that. Maybe the starting price or the shipping fee was too high. Or, maybe there was just too many other similar items that were a better deal. I hope I don't buy more than I sell, which is easy to do. There is a lot of merchandise on Ebay, so if you are not the winning bidder, stick to your budget, another chance will come along to get the item you are looking for.

Looking back on 2011

2011-12-24T12:42:00.002-06:00

As each new year approaches, I like to look back and see what was accomplished and what goals remain unfinished. In the past year I moved to another State and bought a new house. Still haven't sold the old one, so that remains a goal for the coming year.

My job as a data specialist in the electronics industry is still not without worry, as another economic downturn or company takeover could spell trouble. As they say these days, there are no guarantees that your job is safe.

I hope to migrate the Midwest Machine Shop Network website to a new domain, which will take advantage of the "Buy American" trend that is helping the economic recovery. I also need to get back to editing my girlfriends next book, so I probably won't be accepting any new web clients during the next year.

After a very turbulent investment year, I don't feel like I've made any progress. As bond fund prices dropped, the value of my portfolio went down with it. But, things seem to have recovered a bit since this summer. I've tried to chronicle some of this on my investment forum. But, that too has been a disappointment as I had to disable new members because of the bogus foreign accounts that were being added.

I've been able to get back to posting tech reviews and hope to continue doing that in 2012. This past year was definitely "the year of the smart phone". Facebook continues to dominate the social network scene, and streaming media is still having growing pains. I'm going to try and keep my eyes open for the next online trends in the coming year and report on them here.

Streaming Media Maddness

2011-12-10T09:10:00.004-06:00

As we near the end of 2011, I've been reading the news about the status of streaming media. Since Netflix decided to raise their prices on DVD rentals in July, people have been complaining and leaving the service. But, RedBox, one of their competitors, also raised their rental prices by 20% in October. On Dec 8, 2011, Verizon announced that they would be partnering with RedBox on a streaming service. Anyone who produces media is partnering with someone to create a channel for their content. This is all starting to look like a mad rush to get a piece of Netflix's streaming media pie.

The main complaint about Netflix's streaming service is that you basically can't find the latest movies in their streaming library. Their partnership with Starz will be ending soon and the fear is that this will only get worse as the competition from other providers for digital versions of the latest movies increases. I'm sure the rights to stream media is costly for Netflix and they probably decided that they needed to accelerate the transition of their customer base to streaming media. They probably didn't expect this big of a backlash, but renting DVD's by mail is not where the future is at. The problem is that as more companies try to figure out how to make money off of streaming media, it's starting to get just as expensive as a cable TV subscription.

What we want:

On demand content
One affordable subscription price for all content
Streaming media that scales to our bandwidth
Easy navigation system
Large media library

Netfix does all of this quite well. Despite the complaints of some, the performance of their streaming network is far better then anything else out there right now. As for their content library, I don't care if they don't have the latest content as long as the selection stays fresh. You are always going to pay a premium for the latest show and movies, no matter what service you have.

Xbox 360 Slim

2011-12-04T09:07:00.003-06:00

I've owned a lot of video game consoles over the years (Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Colecovision, Sega Genesis, Xbox). One of the reasons I stopped upgrading after the original Xbox came out in Nov 2001, was because the Xbox 360 had a lot of hardware issues. My original Xbox still works, but only after adding several upgrades over the past ten years.

The Xbox 360 came out in May 2005 and is still sold today, six years later. The latest version is the Xbox 360 S, which has built in wifi and a smaller case. The "slim" version came out in June 2010 and has replaced the older version. Microsoft lowered the price of the older model by $50 to clear the old stock.

The newer 360's have been redesigned to minimize the hardware problems, run cooler, and use less power, as such, the three year extended warranty has been reduced to one year. Microsoft was smart to redesign the 360 after 5 years, if only to extend it's life, while they develop the next next generation game console. Rumor has it that we won't see the next wave of game consoles until 2013 or 2014. The newest 360 games are still $60 each, but there are many older games that you can get now for $20 or less. The Xbox 360 is also expanding the number of streaming video channels they have to offer. Without the redesign and next generation consoles being two or three years away, I probably wouldn't have considered getting one.

Free Hulu on Roku?

2011-11-12T08:43:00.004-06:00

Since getting the Roku2 HD last month, I have been primarily using it to watch Netflix and some of the free tech and news channels. Crackle is the only free movie channel that has a decent variety. Unfortunately, Crackle is ad based, and the shows are frequently disrupted with advertisements for stuff I'm never going to buy.

I used to be a big fan of Hulu, but they only offer their subscription service on Roku. I already have a Netflix subscription, so more monthly payments seems to defeat the purpose of switching to Internet based content. Anyway, I found some software that will allow you to add free Hulu to your Roku. It's called PlayOn. You have to install their software on a PC in your home network, then add the PlayOn channel to your Roku device. Your PC runs a service that allows the Roku to play free Hulu and about 20 other channels. Most of the other channels are already available on Roku's channel list, but I was looking for Hulu's free content, so I thought I'd give it a try.

You need to have at least a 1.5 Mbit speed and a wired or wireless-N network for it to work. My network is wireless-G, so the movies would frequently pause or would simply refuse to play. I also didn't like the way PlayOn lists the content for their channels. Each show is in a folder style navigation system. For example Hulu movies are listed in alphabetical folders, so you have to know the title of the show you want to watch in advance. I found myself spending more time hunting around for something to watch then actually watching. PlayOn supports a long list of network devices and the concept is interesting, but the redundant content, high bandwidth requirements, and lackluster navigation system doesn't make it worth adding to your Roku.

Roku 2 Review

2011-10-19T19:57:00.006-05:00

This week I setup a Roku2 which came out in July 2011. If you are not familiar with a Roku, it's a device that lets you stream audio and video content from the Internet to a TV screen. The Roku2 is surprisingly small. As you can see from the photo, the remote is longer then the receiver. There are 3 models to choose from. I got the HD model which sells for $69 on Amazon with free shipping. All 3 models are wireless with 720p, the XD has 1080i, and the XS model adds a wired connection and enhanced remote. I decided to get the cheapest model because my 1.5 Mb Internet connection is too slow to stream 1080i video.

There is no on/off switch. They claim that you can leave it on all the time because it only uses about as much power as a night light. My wireless router is on the upper level on the opposite side of the house, and the Roku reports that the connection is good. Setup is fairly easy, although you have to make sure the device and remote are in line-of-sight to each other, or the remote won't work. You have to register on their website with a credit card before you can use the device, which I don't like, but they say no charges will apply unless you order something. There are several channels that charge fees, so you have to make sure you set a security code if you have others using the device. I had a Netflix account prior to getting the Roku2 and activating my account was fairly simple. The array of free content is enough to keep you entertained for hours. This is the perfect solution if you want to reduce your cable TV bill.

Rust-Oleum Countertop Refinishing

2011-10-07T19:38:00.007-05:00

Here is a before and after photo of the countertop I refinished with Rust-Oleum countertop paint. I didn't get the kit, which costs over $100, but settled for the solid color paint, which you can get in one quart cans. The butcher-block countertop was getting a little dated. You can see that the dark chestnut brown goes really well with the white cabinets.

This home has been on the market for 4 months and has only had 4 showings. The real estate market in North Western Wisconsin is still very bad. The statistics I have access to say that there are 11,759 homes for sale. That's a 33 month supply! The average number of showings is 14 and the average home takes 145 days to sell. This home has just reached the 120 day mark and the price has been reduced from $98,900 to $89,900. Zillow.com estimates the value of the home at $86,000. At least Zillow says that my new home is worth $15,000 more than what I paid for it.

Canterbury Park 2011

2011-09-10T20:50:00.002-05:00

This is kind of off topic for this blog, but I haven't had any new website customers or purchased any tech gadgets lately. This weekend was the last weekend of racing at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN. It's just a few miles down the road from our house, so we decided to spend the afternoon there.

This was our third time there. I don't know what the odds of winning three exacta's in a row are, but I did it on races 5, 6, and 7. For an exacta bet, you have to pick the 1st and 2nd horse in the exact order to win. I also won the exacta on race 9. There were 9 races, so picking 4 out of 9 is pretty hard to do! I was betting $5 on each bet, and each race has different odds, so the payouts varied ($45, $48, $90, $17). I basically analyzed all the information provided by the track and looked at which horses had the most money bet on them to narrow down my choices. I will have to wait until next year to see if my horse picking ability was the result of skill or luck.

Home for Sale in Eau Claire

2011-08-06T10:47:00.004-05:00

My home in Eau Claire has been on the market now since June 9th, 2011. In the past two months there have only been two showings. Recently I lowered the price from $98,900 to $94,800. This should give someone room to make a reasonable offer. Unfortunately, banks have now made it extremely difficult for people to qualify for a mortgage. I hope they come up with a better loan qualification system for home buyers before interest rates start going up again.

If selling a home isn't hard enough, someone on craigslist posted a fraudulent rental ad, listing the street address with a price of $900 per month. My Realtor received numerous calls inquiring about the ad, which neither of us had posted. It took several weeks to get the bogus ad removed because craigslist only has a link that you click for prohibited ads. You can't actually call or email someone at craigslist to report fraud. It looks like there are a lot more people interested in renting vs. buying these days and scammers are trying to take advantage of that.

Another Home

2011-06-11T15:22:00.010-05:00

Here is the latest home deal I've been working on. The one in Hudson didn't work out, but this one located in Shakopee, MN looks like it will go.

My home in Eau Claire is on the market now for $98,900. You can see the listing here: 3161 Saturn Ave. We have put a lot of work into making it look good for the next owner, so hopefully it will not sit on the market too long. The Datsun, shown in the previous post, sold on Ebay to a guy in Florida for $1200. I'm just waiting for him to schedule the pickup and for final payment.

I'm looking forward to getting my office setup at the new location. There will be lots of work to do, but the home upgrade should be nice. This home is over 1000 sq. ft. bigger then the one I have now. Three bedrooms, finished basement, gas fireplace, stainless appliances, deck, patio, and a small garden too!

280Z on Ebay

2011-06-04T11:49:00.002-05:00

I posted my 1976 280Z on Ebay this week. The starting price was set at $1200, which is below what I had it listed for on Craig's List. So far, with about 34 hours left, there are no bids, but I have received a few email questions and the ad has been viewed over 1000 times with 24 watching the ad. The problem with wining a bid for a car on Ebay is the shipping. If they live out of state, they will have to arrange for shipping, which could add 4 or 5 hundred to the price of the transaction.

The home search continues. This is a rare opportunity to buy a home, with interest rates as low as they are. Eventually the housing market will stabilize and inflation will push home prices back up. Everything goes in cycles, you just have to be in the right place at the right time. I haven't listed my current home yet, but hope to take care of that next week.

Colorful Kitchen

2011-05-29T20:47:00.010-05:00

When searching for a new home you sometimes find that people have unusual tastes. We have encountered rooms with hand painted murals, bright red or blue colored carpet and walls, but this kitchen has to be one of the most bizarre things we have seen. There must be a reason for the colors, but I haven't been able to figure it out.

If you ever wondered why they seldom post interior photos of homes that are bank owned or in foreclosure, this next photo should help explain. The outside of this home looked okay, but as you can see from this photo of the utility area, the interior is rather scary looking.

I have found that if the home has a nice looking furnace room, the rest house will most likely follow suit. Both of these homes listed for over $150k. I guess the location must be of value, because the interior certainly isn't. The home that you see in the previous post was much better looking inside then this. I was told that US Bank decided to foreclose on the property instead of allowing the owner to sell the home to me. I found many complaints online about how US Bank handles short sales, so I wasn't surprised. It's almost June and my pre-approval is due to expire, which means that I'll have to extend my apartment lease and restart the financing and home search process again. No wonder the housing market is in such bad shape.

Waiting to Close in Hudson

2011-05-10T19:20:00.005-05:00

Here is a picture of the home in Hudson that we have made an offer on. Built in 1996 this 3 bed, 3 bath, 2196 sq ft one story home, has a finished basement and sunroom. Waiting to hear back from the bank so we can close the deal and move out of our apartment. My home in Eau Claire will go on the market soon. Hopefully it won't take too long to find a buyer. We are going to start the listing at $98,900, which is about two thousand below the appraised value. I will post more info on that soon.

Still trying to find a buyer for the Datsun 280Z. It is currently listed on Craigslist.org for $1295. Now that I've decided to setup shop in Hudson, I'm going to need a reliable car that gets better gas mileage than the Trailblazer. Looking into getting a 2008 Chevy Impala to replace the 1999 Dodge Stratus. The Impala also runs on E85 fuel, which sells for $3.29 per gallon. I have to look into what kind of mileage you get with E85 compared to regular unleaded gas, and I know it's harder to find, but it might help reduce my weekly fuel bill.

Bank Owned Homes for Sale

2011-04-16T18:43:00.007-05:00

This home is typical of those that we are finding on the market in early 2011. Four bedroom, two bath, valued at $200k, listed for $150k.

There are some great deals out there, if you have the cash. Bank owned homes are still coming on the market daily. It makes me wonder where the people go after their home is taken by the bank and their credit rating is ruined? I hope I never have to find out.

I do know that my weekly gas budget has grown to $70 even with working from home two days per week. I am trying to sort through and pack 19 years worth of stuff. You don't think about all the junk you accumulate until it's time to move. It's probably a good thing to go through your stuff more often so that you can move quickly if you need to. These days, you never know where opportunity is going to take you next.

Home Search

2011-03-12T14:37:00.006-06:00

Single Family Home

Beds: 3

Baths: 1.0

Sqft: 1,052

Lot: 9,108

1-1/2 Car Garage

Heat: Forced Air

Built in 1950

New roof in 2003

Tax assessed value: $101,500

I was digging up some info on the home I purchased back in 1992 for $44,900, in preparation for putting it up for sale. It's hard to think of leaving this tiny house which has been my home for the last 19 years. The property has doubled in value over that time. That may sound like a good investment, but it actually comes out to about 4% per year, which is only slightly above the rate of inflation. If you consider property taxes, insurance, and maintenance, it's probably more like 0%.

Six months have past since I started my new job. I have recently begun telecommuting for two days each week and have found it to be only a temporary solution at best. It feels like I am more productive at work, then at home. As it stands now, I have extended my apartment lease for another three months, which hopefully will give me enough time to find a more permanent solution.

Speer-Bast Website

2011-01-15T16:16:00.007-06:00

Here is a snapshot of the Speer-Bast website. Speer-Bast is a real estate company in Hudson, WI. They are affiliated with Edina Reality, a well known company in the real estate industry. An existing website is always an interesting project, especially when the site is php with flash elements and a mysql database.

It's also interesting because I'm looking for a new home and my brother recently got into the real estate business. I suspect that the housing market will be on its way to recovery very soon. The lease on my apartment expires in March, so I will hopefully have something figured out by then. The snow we have gotten this winter has made it a challenge to travel, plus gas prices are now hovering around $3.19 per gallon. When I can, I try to buy gas in Minnesota. I found a PDQ in Eden Prairie that gives you 5 cents back per gallon, if you pay with cash. They also have a coupon this month for an additional 5 cents back, which makes the price around 15 cents less than what I would pay in Hudson.

Winter 2010

2010-12-31T12:47:00.005-06:00

Here's another winter scene from Northern Wisconsin. So far, 2010 has been one of the snowiest winter's on record. 2011 will undoubtedly see more changes as I try to decide if I should move to MN or stay in WI. Both States have long winter seasons, so it all comes down to being able to work from home.

Since I moved to Eau Claire, WI in 1983, the population has grown from 80,800 to 98,200. During the same period, the population of Hudson, WI increased from 44,500 to 82,500. If you click here, you can see that Marinette, WI is basically the same as it was 25 years ago. Home prices in Hudson are similar to those in Eau Claire, but homes in Hudson seem to stay on the market for a long time despite falling prices. Hudson is a nice city, but jobs are very hard to find, unless you are willing to travel to Minneapolis. When gas prices went into the $4 per gallon range, commuting from Hudson to Minneapolis suddenly became less attractive and we could easily go there again.

For 2011, I have started the Budget Investing Forum. My bond investing strategy took a hit during the last few months. Where I was hoping to end 2010 with at least a 5% return, it looks like it will be more like 4.3%. Still better then interest rates on CD's, but not the result that I was hoping for. My bold plan for 2011 is to rotate in and out of a few individual stocks. So, I'm hoping to share some ideas on the new investing forum.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T09:39:00.004-06:00

This photo sums up the winter of 2010... snow, snow, and more snow. During the first storm, it took 3 hours to get from work to Hudson. Since then, I have stayed overnight at a hotel twice, in order to avoid that situation. The cost of a hotel room is $65, but it is much better than sitting in traffic for 3 hours.

Christmas will be a few days off from driving this year. I've put about 10,000 miles on my vehicle since July. That doesn't sound too bad, but most of that has been in the last 3 months. I'm putting on about 520 miles per week, which adds up to 2080 miles per month. If I move to Hudson and telecommute a few days each week, by the end of next month I should be able to cut that down to 160 miles per week. That is the plan anyway, but right now, I'm just trying to get through winter like most everyone else in the upper-midwest.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-28T10:14:00.003-06:00

This photo was taken on 9/5/10 at the intersection of Deer Lake Road and Cty Rd C near Athelstane, WI. Someone was already thinking about 2011 when they placed their mark on this colorful tribute to our troops. Heading into December, we should all be thinking more about 2011. It's a little too early for me to do an end of the year wrap-up and set goals for the coming year, so I will save that for the next post. For now I'm just going to say thanks to all those that have supported me in 2010. If you work hard, good things will come your way.

JWC Electric

2010-11-13T16:13:00.003-06:00

This weekend I was adding some images to the JWC Electric website. JWC is an electrical contractor located in River Falls, WI. It's hard to find time these days to take on new clients. And, with the holiday's coming up, its only going to get worse. I have put my ebay selling career on hold too. There just hasn't been enough interest in what I'm selling lately to make it worth my time.

I was out today trying to get the oil changed on my Chevy Trailblazer. I stopped at two places and both said that there would be an hour and a half wait before they could even get to it. They said that because of the snow we had, people were coming in for new tires. I guess they make more money on tires then they do on changing oil. I will probably have to find one of those quick lube places. I've put on over 5000 miles and the change oil light hasn't come on yet. These newer vehicles are supposed to let you know when to change the oil. It's supposed to calculate the time to change oil based on how you drive. I've put on mostly highway miles, but I'd still like to get it done before it gets really cold.

Mn/DOT Traffic Cams

2010-10-16T16:21:00.005-05:00

This is the view I see on my way home from work these days. You are looking at a picture heading east on I-494 in Bloomington, MN. On the Minnesota Dept of Transportation website, you can click on cams that are positioned along the highway to get a live view of the traffic situation. For some reason, this section of I-494 is always congested. If they could designate a special lane for big trucks, or ban them all together, it would solve a lot of problems on this road.

Other than the 45 minute ride to work, the new job is going well. I've been able to pick up where I left off with this opportunity to return to work in the electronics manufacturing industry. It's also nice to have benefits and a flexible work schedule. But, it remains to be seen if I will still feel the same way once we get into the winter months.

Verizon LG Cosmos

2010-10-02T09:16:00.005-05:00

I finally got tired of my old Motorola cell phone not being able to hold a charge. I could have ordered another battery, but it's cheaper to get a new phone (if your contract is up for renewal). Other than the battery, I still liked my old phone, but it was a relic from Alltel and Verizon had made some of the features obsolete. We visited several Verizon stores to get a hands-on look at all the new phones. But, after narrowing down the options, we found the best deal on the Verizon website. I had two phones that needed to be replaced, so I also had to find one that would work for my girlfriend.

In the end, we decided to go with the LG Cosmos. The Cosmos has a slide out keyboard, which I thought would be great for text messaging. Our previous phones didn't have this feature. I was concerned about going from a folding phone to a slide out, but so far it has been an easy transition. Verizon has a ton of accessories for the Cosmos, which was also a factor in my decision. They had a special price on the "Body Glove" snap-on cover (shown in the photo) and a car charger. The phone comes with a wall/usb charger.

For the second phone, my girlfriend went with the pink hardshell snap-on cover. The pink is more red than pink. The add-on covers were easy to install, because they snap right over the existing phone casing. After logging into my account on Verizon.com, I was able to get both phones activated on my own. It took a little while to figure out the favorites list because there were no instructions and Verizon had a bunch of default favorites listed. I added basic text messaging to my account, but I'm avoiding the data service for now. The new phone should come in handy as I start my new job next week. I was out of a job for the last four weeks, so now it may be a little harder to get a hold of me. So far, the LG Cosmos has been preforming well, and hopefully it will be one less thing to worry about.

New Budget Homepage Design

2010-09-22T18:11:00.003-05:00

With all of the time on my hands now, I thought it would be a good time to update my homepage to something a little more professional looking. All of the Google and Amazon ads have been removed from the main landing pages and my logo now has a cleaner look. Snapshots of my "Budget Websites" are now on the left side and menu navigation has been moved to an area just below the banner. The "Projects" page is a catchall area for anything that I'm working on that isn't necessarily web design.

No job offers yet, but that just gives me more time to work on crazy ideas to make money. I've resumed editing on my girlfriend's second book titled "Curse of the Lost Tribe". I'm working on chapter 31 and the word count is at 51 thousand. Our target is 90 thousand words, so it is just over half done at this point. If I could only get my girlfriend to stop playing Farmville and Frontierville on Facebook long enough to do some writing! To me those games are a huge waste of time. They design them to make use of the social networking environment, so they are engineered to be extremely addictive. I may have to start sending her to Farmville Anonymous!