Credit Card Debt Drops in 2011

by Ryan

According to a recent article by CNN, consumer credit card debt dropped in 2011 by 11%. With lingering high unemployment, the threat of a double dip, and stagnant wages, it seems a bit impressive to me that consumer credit card debt actually decreased as a whole. According to the article: “The average credit card balance [...]

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The 10 Ways to Become Wealthy

by Ryan

I recently finished reading the 10 Roads to Riches by Kenneth Fisher and found it refreshing in the field of personal finance books that often repeat the same mantra. Kenneth’s book takes a realistic approach and gives options on how the most effectively build wealth through ten different strategies. Insightful, accurate, and educating are a [...]

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The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me - Book Review

by Ryan

I recently took a glance over the book The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me by Richard Paul Evans. Within the first couple minutes I gathered that the book was 88 pages of common personal finance advice. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great book for those who aren’t familiar with personal finance concepts, such [...]

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Is Now the Best Time to Buy a House?

by Ryan
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Is now the best time to buy a house since the great depression? I think so, and after reading through this article I think you may also side on the fact that now is an amazing time to get into home ownership. 2012 has the potential to be the best year for buying a house [...]

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House #1 Expense Breakdown

by Ryan

Exterior -New roof -New door trim -Exterior Paint Garage -New garage build Kitchen -Cabinet additions -New Cabinet Hardware Living Room -Paint -New wood trim -Wood floor sanding - Bathroom -New drywall -Ceramic Tile -New Vanity -New Fan -Tile Grout -Subflooring -Paint -Trim -Updated Plumbing Behind Shower Wall Mechanicals -New Water Heater -New Furnace Basement -Wall [...]

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House #1 Kitchen

by Ryan

The kitchen of house #1 was pretty ugly at first sight. The lavender walls, teal carpeting, and sea green cabinet interiors were enough to make me want to vomit. Not to mention that the previous owner had animals that left a wonderful smell. Immediately before even moving in I ripped up the old teal carpeting, [...]

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Basement House #1

by Ryan

Projects Adding Insulation to the Exterior Walls - The walls didn’t have insulation, so adding this will reduce heat loss.

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Adding Insulation to the Basement of House #1

by Ryan

Today I’m adding more insulation to the basement of House #1. A friend in construction gave me extras from a site he was tearing down and would have disposed of anyways, so it worked out to my benefit. The insulation is being added to the exterior walls above the cement, but below the floor trusses. [...]

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My First House - A Fixer Upper

by Ryan

My first house is a 784 square foot, 2 bedroom, 1 bath home in a neighborhood built right after WWII. For all intensive purposes we’ll call it house #1, since there will be plenty more in the future. I purchased the house in November of 2011 for $37,000, the zestimate on the property was about [...]

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House #1 Bathroom Renovation

by Ryan

The bathroom at House #1 is tiny. The dimensions are: The bathroom was complately ripped down to the studs, the only thing that was left was the original toilet and bathtub. Before and After Photo Flickr Photo Gallery Bathroom Renovations: Step 1 - Rip out old drywall Step 2 - Update plumbing behind the shower [...]

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