Rental Property Management

Some day I am going to rent out my condo. I sure wish I could do that now. I would love to buy a house in this economy, since the prices are so good. But like everyone else, I am financially challenged. But my goal is to buy a house and rent out my condo. I shouldn't have a problem renting, since my property is in a real hot part of town. Most units in my building are sold or rented within a couple of days of listing. But of course that was then; this is now! But part of success, I think is finding a management company that can help you with the details: advertising, leasing, rentals, showings, and even evictions if necessary. You want a management company that is knowledgeable about the industry and knows how to take care of problems in a hurry.

File Extension Help

There are more and more opportunities to work at home or from your computer, wherever that may be. And because of these increased remote employment opportunities, it is important to be able to share and exchange documents and other information. I have had trouble in the past opening up documents others have sent me. This can be a problem when you are on deadline for a writing or mystery shopping assignment, and you can't open the instructions or the forms you need to fill out! A lot of times, I have to email them back and ask them to resend in a differnet format. That gets old and is a time waster. I have found a file extension site that can help with this problem. It has all kinds of good info on how to open files. When I was in school, I also received a lot of information on power point slides. Sometimes, it took me a long time to figure out how to open them. Some sites offer pps information.

The 60 Percent Solution

I read an article online today about the 60 percent solution, or how to live on 60 percent of what you make. Dare I try it? I always go over my take home pay, so how in the world could I live on 60 percent of it?

This might be a good time to try though, and I will experiment for the next few months. I am on reduced hours and pay anyway, not only because of the across-the-board pay cuts at our company, but because I am going to be working even fewer hours during the next month because I am taking off some time to study for the bar exam. I think I can make it on 60 percent of my income, or pretty close, for the next month. This is also a good time of the year for me to try it, as my really big expenses are out of the way for a while. It might turn out it has to be 80 percent or 90 percent or whatever. But if I can cut back at all, it will be worth it. I need to save money!

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/LearnToBudget/ASimplerWayToSaveThe60Solution.aspx

One Small Step: I Paid Off A Credit Card Bill!

Yes, I paid off a credit card bill. I am thrilled! It was a small one, so no biggeeee. But it is one that has dogged me for a while. A lot of stupid tax connected with this one. Missed payments every so often, so there were late fees. The balance would come down and then because of late fees or non payment, the balance would get higher. Ick. I finally did it! Now I just have five more credit card balances to tackle. Too bad they are much higher.

Bad Economy Hits Our Company

We have been spared the worst of the bad economy--we are not declaring bankruptcy or laying off a lot of employees. For that we can be grateful. But the boss yesterday said we are going to have to start doing 36 hour weeks instead of 40 hour weeks. That does hurt. Like many people, I don't have that much left over after I pay my bills, which are far too many. But I think other people are being hurt much more. There are those here that make less than I do, and they have families, and they can barely get by as it is. And now they will be losing the equivalent of 2 days pay a month. We don't know how long it will last. Hopefully not too long. The timing is actually good for me, as I need extra time to study for the bar exam. Of course, it is not good because of the smaller paycheck. But in today's economy, I think we are getting off lucky.

Effects of Debt

I am the poster child for the effects of debt. (Constantly worrying about money, robbing Peter to pay Paul, etc. ) Well, not really, I guess. There are people in much worse shape than me. My debt is annoying and keeps me from doing all that I can do. If I didn't have debt, I would actually have quite a bit of money left at the end of each month. Makes me sick to think about it. But I am not losing my house, etc., so I am not in as bad of shape as some.

But I am where I am. I don't seem to be making as much headway paying it off as I hoped, but I am not adding to my debt, and I guess that is progress of a different kind. After I pass the bar exam, I am really going to work at ways to make some extra money and to save money. I just need to make enough more that I can see some headway.

But never--through all my dumb mistakes with money have I considered bankruptcy. I never did and never will go that route. I have wanted to avoid bankruptcy at all costs. It is just the way I am. Not saying that people who declare bankruptcy are bad. It is just not for me. I wouldn't want the shame, and I do think I would feel shame. I would want to take care of the mess I created. And I wouldn't want a bankruptcy to dog me the rest of the life the way it does. If you are considering bankruptcy, click the link above to see some alternatives. The site offers great explanations of bankruptcy terms and procedures and what it would mean for your life. And it shows you how you can be debt free in five years. A much better plan in my mind.

Not As Many Mystery Shops Right Now?

I have noticed that there doesn't seem to be as many mystery shops available right now. Not sure if it is my imagination, or if it is a fact. I used to get a lot of opportunities just a short while ago, but now they seemed to have dried up a tad. Maybe it is an end-of-the year thing, or maybe more people are out of work and need to do more shops. I could use the extra money, but I need the extra time I have by not doing the shops as well. You know--studying for the bar exam and all that. Time is definitely money in that sense. Maybe it is lucky after all I am not getting shops right now.