Browsing Tag: tips

    Miscellany

    Need Some Painting Tips?

    August 13, 2012

    paint-squareI found this article via my Zite reader, which I love, and decided to blog about it A) for the benefit of anyone who happens to be reading this, and B) for my own future reference.

    I’m not much of a painter, but I do enjoy small projects. I’d like to have the courage to do more painting, but I’m afraid my lack of knowledge and experience will lead to something Very Bad.

    So, this article was extremely helpful:

    Real Life Lessons from a First-Time Painter

    Be sure to read through the comments, too, which are filled with even more smart tips and advice for newbie painters.

    (Stock image via Shutterstock.com. Used under license.)

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    Miscellany

    Real Estate Protip #2: New Construction & Neighborhoods

    April 3, 2012

    Our new house is part of a neighborhood that’s very much still in progress. There are empty lots on both sides of us — several, in fact, to the south of us.

    This is good in some ways: We got to build on our first-choice lot with the great view, there’s a lot of open space, not much vehicle traffic, etc.

    This is not good in other ways, mainly this: There’s a ton of new construction happening around us. As someone who works from home, I’m resigning myself to the fact that my daily soundtrack for the next several months will be the sound of hammers and heavy machinery. Ugh.

    In fact, just a couple days ago, I took these photos as I noticed that there were four lots being worked on within 100 yards of our house. Yikes!

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    All of the construction also means a lot of nails on the road. On Monday I spent an hour at Les Schwab getting one of my tires repaired — it had two nails in it!

    So, the real estate protip: New neighborhoods have pros and cons.

    Miscellany

    Real Estate Protip: Closing Date

    April 2, 2012

    cari-mcgee-sold-signFrom what I understand, a lot of real estate closings happen at the end of the month. I don’t know why that is … maybe a local real estate agent could explain if that’s true and why.

    Here’s a protip from a non-real estate agent: Set your closing date for early in the month.

    Why? It’ll be a nice money-saver when it comes to making mortgage payments.

    For starters, mortgage payments are due on the 1st of each month, but every lender I’ve ever had to pay allows you a 15-day grace period. So, it makes sense to make your mortgage payment on the 15th of the month. (Let that money collect interest in your bank account for 15 extra days before you send it to their bank account.)

    Second, when you buy a new house the first mortgage payment skips a month. You don’t start paying until the start of the second month after the purchase.

    Example: When we bought our new house, our closing date was March 5th. We had not yet made the March payment on the old house. On March 5th, that loan was paid off and our loan for the new house began. But the first payment on that loan isn’t due until May 1st!

    So, by closing in early March, we managed to avoid making a mortgage payment in both March and April. That’s pretty cool.

    I don’t think that would’ve been the case if we’d closed in late February. But perhaps my wife will correct me on that. (?)

    (Come to think of it … maybe I should’ve saved this for a guest article on her blog? Oh, well.)

    Miscellany

    How I Lost 26 Pounds in 2.5 Months

    March 26, 2010

    I woke up today, stood on the scale, and good news: I reached my weight loss goal!! Woo-hoo! I’ve lost 26 pounds since January 6 and now weigh what it says on my driver’s license.

    Now, I’m no diet guru or health expert, and I’m really hesitant to write this post because it’ll look that way … but, a couple things:

    1. Whenever I mention my weight loss (including today on Twitter), people inevitably want to know how I did it.
    2. If, by sharing this, I can help even one other person lose some weight and get in better shape, it’s worth it.

    So let’s throw caution to the wind, shall we? Here’s what I did…
    Continue Reading…

    Miscellany

    How to Be the Best Hotel in Town

    March 9, 2010

    Two things that the typical hotel can and should do to be better than everyone else:

    1. Provide real towels. I don’t understand why every hotel around offers those small, barely-fits-around-your-waist towels that no one loves. It would be so easy to offer regular-sized towels.

    2. Provide real toilet paper. I also don’t get why hotels all feel that they have to offer that industrial strength stuff that’s barely softer than sandpaper. Bust out some Charmin and separate yourself from the competition.

    Why don’t hotels do this stuff? Is there some industry rule that towels need to be small and toilet paper has to be rough?