David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord
How much should your mortgage be? One school of thought says it should be as much as possible. I belong to the other school of thought. There is a proven formula for housing costs. I recommend following the formula.
The formula helps you keep your housing costs in line with your salary and with a typical lifestyle balance. The key to financial decisions is keeping a balance while living within your means.
Figuring out the best time to buy computer parts is tricky. It’s not quite like saying the best time to buy a TV is right around the Super Bowl. But there are some tips you can follow to help you find the best deals.
Good timing won’t make building a PC cheaper than buying one, but it can at least narrow the gap, if you have the patience to buy when you find a deal rather than buying all your parts in one shot.
An important financial decision we all make, especially when it comes to cars, is lease vs own. I received some poor advice on this when I was young. Since I don’t want people to repeat the same mistakes I made, let’s go over the two options and what makes more sense.
When you see a for sale ad, you may see phrases like “great for resellers” or “reseller ready” or “resellers welcome.” So what is a reseller? And why does someone selling something want to attract one?
I’ll answer those questions. And if you think you might want to be a reseller but don’t know where to start, I have some tips for that too.
Years ago, I was having lunch with a friend. “You probably don’t save much money by building a PC. I know when I build a mountain bike, I end up spending more.” His logic makes sense. But it’s worth exploring. Is it cheaper to build a PC?
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It’s not an uncommon sentiment among women to say, “All my husband cares about is money.” As a man who’s been accused of the same thing himself, I don’t speak for your husband, but I may be able to provide some insight. I know it seems like all he cares about is money, but there’s something a little deeper there.
I’ve long advocated shopping at estate sales as a way to save a lot of money. I frequently get lots of questions about them, for that reason, so I thought I’d try to share some insight. Most importantly, I’ll answer a key question: What are prices like at estate sales?
After all, it’s not uncommon to see a couple hundred people lined up in front of a house to get into an estate sale on Saturday morning. They aren’t standing in line expecting to get ripped off. Some are buying for themselves. Some buy to resell. I have some tips on finding estate sales if this sounds intriguing.
Never buy a house. Some people say that’s the best advice they’ve ever received. Depending on your personality type, or where you are in life, I get that. So let’s take a look at the pros and cons of not owning your own home.
Media mail is just about the least expensive shipping method the US Postal Service offers. But many people abuse it, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes unintentionally. So how do you get media mail rates, and more importantly, what qualifies as media mail? What is considered media mail by the USPS?
Generally speaking, for things to qualify as media mail, remember two rules. If you wouldn’t find it in a public library or university library, it probably doesn’t qualify. And if it contains advertising, even very old ads that are no longer valid, it almost certainly doesn’t qualify. If it’s a book or a sound recording with only incidental announcements, it’s OK. Anything beyond that is only OK if it meets very specific criteria.
What are thermal curtains? Thermal curtains are thick curtains with multiple layers of fabric and a layer of foam to help block the flow of heat. This helps you save energy, while also having sound dampening effects.
Thermal curtains work similarly to blackout curtains. But since their intended purposes are slightly different, a thermal curtain might have some shortcomings as a blackout curtain, and vice versa. If you want a curtain to do both, make sure it actually states that it does both. Otherwise, I recommend getting dark-colored thermal curtains. A blackout curtain may not block as much heat as you would like. Similarly, a light-colored thermal curtain might let in more light than you like.