Nowadays, people are moving less frequently. Instead, they are choosing to remodel their current home. Since it’s becoming harder to sell their homes, they can’t buy larger homes. I think it’s a smarter option, especially if you have some extra cash saved up to be able to afford it. There are actually couple things I want to do to improve my home as well. First, I want to finish my garage walls. right now, it’s barely a drywall that’s up. Also, I don’t even have a garage door opener set up either. I also want to add a deck. Everything would be just so much more convenient with a deck. Finally, I have a rough-in set up in the basement for a full bath. It’s pain and annoying to go upstairs to take care of my business when I’m already comfortable in the basement. But for me, I just don’t have enough cash saved up to justify these upgrades. But for you, it might be a different story.

But before you begin to start coughing up money for these upgrades, there are things you should consider.

1. Consider what renovations you want to improve first. Then figure out which items would provide the biggest bang for your money. For instance, if you plan on living at your current house for more than 5 more years, then kitchen remodeling usually provides the biggest return on your investment. If you’re planning to stay less than that, smaller improvements may make more sense, such as refinishing floors and upgrading your lighting.
2. If you are planning a big remodeling, figure out how you will pay for it. Will you need to borrow money? Will you need to open a HELOC account? If it’s something small and less costly, will you tap into your savings? Or did you already have some savings alotted already for this very reason?
3. Make sure you contact your home owners insurance after your upgrades and remodeling. You want to make sure you’re adequately covered. If you’re adding another bedroom, it might not be covered if you don’t inform your insurance company. Same goes for deck and other additions to the house. They might charge you more for extra coverage, but if you can afford the upgrade, you can afford the insurance.
4. Don’t upgrade for present needs, but upgrade for future needs. They may as well be identical in 5 years but most often, people tend to overlook how their priorities may change in the future. For example, if you’re planning to have more children, that may affect some of your key decisions.
5. Plan on stressing out. All projects will come with problems along the way. Rarely do any project go perfectly as planned. So, plan ahead of the potential problems and always have a backup plan. If you understand the risks of calling an audible in the middle of your project, then your stress level may be less.

I am excited about my future home upgrade projects. Unfortunately for me, I don’t currently have the resources or money to take on any of these projects. But when it finally becomes a possibility, I will definitely reflect back to this post and take my own advice.

Have you upgraded or remodeled your home lately? How did it go? I’d love to read about your experiences and the lessons you’ve learned from them.

I am a strong advocate of Netflix. I just love it. For awhile, I used blockbuster online rentals but once I switched to Netflix, I never turned back. Although Netflix already boasts over 15 million subscribers, they’re not done yet. They’re preparing themselves to tap into Canadian market and will start offering streaming only service in a few months.

Currently, due to lower profit per subscriber numbers, the Netflix stock price is declining. As of right now at 11:32 am EST, the price is down 10.66% at $106.81. I believe this might be a good time to invest in some Netflix stock. The fundamentals haven’t changed and the future still looks bright.

If you have not taken advantage of Netflix service, you can still try it out for free for two weeks. You can cancel within the two-week trial period and pay nothing. You can simply cancel the service online so you won’t have to deal with trying to come up with excuses talking to a real live representative.

I wrote about Netflix service a few times already. I have listed them here so you can refer to them easily.

Netflix Streaming Review: Save Money With Netflix
Roku Becomes Friendlier with Netflix
Use Your Wii To Stream Netflix, Save 10%
Hulu Competes With Netflix

I was fortunate enough to lock in my mortgage rate at a low 4.375%. There’s still some chance of going lower, but at this point, the chance of going up is greater than it is to go down further. But before you lock it in now, you must still be careful not to get ripped off. Yahoo Finance released an article today about some of the warnings. It’s a short article, but allow me to briefly summarize it for you.

Reliable lenders will help you as much as they can to give you the best rate as possible. But there are still some shady lenders out there and will oftentimes confuse the consumers with rate quotes, which is much different from rate lock-ins. Typical rate lock-ins take no more than a day or two, so if your lender is requesting more time, it should give you a red alert signal and stay away from this lender.

I didn’t have to worry about foul play during my refinancing process because it was through a friend who is a mortgage lender. I knew I could trust him. So, when locking in your rate, always have a documentation indicating such, instead of relying on the lender’s verbal statement.

To read the full yahoo article, you can do so here.

Stephen Strasburg is a rookie baseball player who made his major league debut couple months ago with the Washington Nationals. He has been amazing so far and his stats confirm it too. Because of his tremendous start to his career, the value of his baseball cards have been super hot, often selling for 5-digits, some going for as high as $30,000 for a single card!

Why would anyone even consider purchasing such card for such a high value? Are they die-hard fans? How can anyone be a die-hard fan of someone who just entered the league? My only guess is that these people are buying now and probably flipping them for even higher price tag for a nice hefty profit.

So, what does this have to do with trading? Oftentimes, we are taught to only buy low and sell high, that this is the only smart way of trading. I believe this statement still holds true, but it’s so hard to pick the bottom, buy the stock, and then sell it as it climbs up in price. I have personally testified to this in my previous post, Jim Joyce is Forgiven: The Worst Call Ever. So investors are doing away with this method and buying stocks high and then selling them even higher for a profit. I believe that’s what these baseball card investors are doing. It’s risky because Stephen Strasburg cards are not actually as valuable as they seem. It’s all hype and speculation. Just like stocks, if you can ride the hype and speculation of a hot stock pick, you can make a good chunk of change.

To start trading right away, open an online brokerage account with low trade commission fees. I previously wrote how you should wait to , but I rescind that statement. I fully support and suggest TradeKing as your online broker. Their commission is one of the lowest I can find at $4.95/trade.

Do you still own baseball cards you collected from years back? What’s the most valuable card you own now?

I bought my house back in August 2006. Back then my mortgage rate was at 6.75%. It was absolutely the worst timing I could possibly be in. The rates had just started to go up and the housing boom peaked in late 2006 to early 2007. Fortunately, the rates started to come down again and I was able to refinance at 5.5% in January 2008. This lowered my monthly mortgage payment from $2250 to $2020, about 10%. I recouped all the fees in less than 18 months from the money I was saving. Now, the mortgage rates are down to new record lows once again and I didn’t hesitate to jump in to refinance again. Once again, I should be able to recoup the fees in about 18 months. It might even help me increase my credit score.

When To Refinance

The rule of thumb to refinance is when the rate you are able to lock in is at least 1 full percentage (or point) less then your current rate. In my case, my current rate is 5.5% and my new rate I was able to lock in at is 4.375%, which is greater than 1 percent. Also, make sure you have at least 20% equity in your home. If not, you may be forced to buy private mortgage insurance (PMI) which can add to your monthly payments by $150 or more. There may be a way out of buying PMI if your mortgage is owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. In my case, due to the drastic drop in home prices, my initial 25% down payment has decreased to only an 8% equity. But because my mortgage is owned by Freddie Mac, I don’t need to buy PMI.

What Can You Expect When Refinancing

One thing that caught me off guard during the refinancing process few years ago was the upfront payment that was required. I was told initially that all I needed to pay were the fees associated with the refinancing, about $2900, but when I was asked to pay $6300, I was very confused. However, they explained to me that the difference I was paying are the payments I needed to pay in advance, such as 1 month interest, home owners insurance and property taxes which came out to be about $3400. Although it appears that I’m paying $3400 extra, it really is not. The money goes into your escrow account where homeowners insurance and property taxes are paid out. The one month interest you’re paying is offset by not having to make your first payment until the following month. Since I’ll need cash up front, I will probably take some cash out of my online savings account to pay for all the fees. With the money I’ll be saving every month, I can re-budget my finances which will give me some additional breathing room to start saving even more. Since I’ll be paying less interest with the new mortgage rate, I also need to look into maybe decreasing my allowances in my paycheck. I don’t want to end up owing too much money in taxes by claiming too many allowances, but I think I’ll be OK for now.

Homeowners Policy

I was able to lower my homeowners insurance due to the declining value of my home. It turned out that I was over-insured by $200,000. When they reassessed my home, my  new rate went down by over $200/yr. Don’t pay more than you have to for your homeowners insurance. Get competitive home insurance quotes now and save!

Last night during a fierce storm, my entire neighborhood went dark as I was in the process of writing my next post for this blog Money Green Life. We lost power from 8pm to about 2am. There was nothing to do except play a few games from my iPhone. While that kept me entertained for an hour or two, it was slowly becoming really hot inside the house. Without any air conditioning, it was also a struggle just to fall asleep comfortably.

Fortunately, I was able to quickly discover a few tips on my own to help me fall asleep at night when there was no power.

Open Windows Strategically

Yes, I know. This one is a no-brainer. But what people generally don’t know is that simply opening windows is not enough and will not necessarily allow outside air to flow into the house, especially when there is no breeze outside. Air in a typical space travels from higher pressure to lower pressure, just like water (Bernoulli’s Principle?). So when you consider this principle, open your windows so that windows that are located in higher elevation is directly across from windows that are located in lower elevation. This causes a natural pressure gradient ventilation through the openings of these windows.

Take A Cold Shower

Yes, this one is a no-brainer as well. A very quick way to stop sweating is to cool off, with a cold shower. Not only will you feel cooler and refreshed, you’ll feel cleaner from washing away all that sweat. Additionally, using cold water to cool off helps maintain your hot water in your hot water heater. When the power is out, the hot water heater stops heating water, but the reservoir in the tank is still hot and can still be used if needed. This hot water shouldn’t be wasted in case you might need it for something more important.

Use Ice Packs

After taking a cold shower, wrap ice packs in a cloth and place them under your arms and on your forehead. These are the warmest parts of your body and keeping them cool will help you not sweat as much as you’re trying to fall asleep. Hopefully, by the time all that ice melts away, the power will be back on and you’ll already be sleeping like a baby.

These are very common sense practices to help you keep cool at night when you have power so you can sleep comfortably. I was able to sleep well last night using these tips and when I woke up in the morning, the power was back on and it was as if nothing had happened.

What are some of your ways to keep cool when there is no air conditioning available?

Last week, I ordered my Netflix disc for Wii so I can enjoy streaming Netflix content using my Wii console. I received my disc in a matter of couple days and today, I received an email from Netflix saying that if I activate my Wii console for Netflix, I will save 10% on my next month’s bill. So if you haven’t so, go ahead and order your Wii disc from Netflix website and save 10%. 10% of $10-20 is only couple dollars, but it’s couple dollars saved for something you were gonna do anyway. If you don’t own a Wii console, you can still stream netflix onto your TV using a ROKU Media Player. Right now, as a Father’s Day promotion, you can get 10% off Roku Player. Start your free trial of Netflix today.

Netflix Soars

Netflix has been gaining even more popularity this past year since the launch of streaming videos. Their stock price has risen from $30+ per share to over $120 today. Only if I knew about this a year ago!! If you’re interested in start investing in stocks, open up a TradeKing account at and start trading right away. The commission fee for each trade is only $4.95, lower than eTrade, TDAmeritrade, and Scottrade. Scottrade is also very affordable at only $7.00 per trade.

Refer to my other Netflix posts:

Netflix Streaming Review: Save Money With Netflix
Roku Becomes Friendlier with Netflix
Hulu Competes With Netflix
Netflix Reaches 15 Million Subscribers

Just like everyone else during the housing boom last decade, I went ahead and purchased a home that I could not afford. Back then, like everyone else, trying to get a loan approved was easy with no problems at all. As a single guy, my plan was to have a couple roommates to live with me to help offset some of the monthly payments associated with owning a home, namely the mortgage. With the mortgage rate at 6.75%, my mortgage  payments was at a skyrocket high of $2,250/mo with my net monthly income barely hovering around $3,000/mo at the time. How I got approved for the loan, I still have no idea. In fact, I still curse at the bank that originally approved me for that loan. However, having two roommates in a 3-bedroom townhome definitely helped me not only offset that huge monthly cost, but also help me save a few bucks a month at the same time!

Fast forward a few years and a mortgage refinancing at 5.5%, I now make enough money to be able to afford this home, without the help of any roommates. Although I still have one roommate currently,  I can live comfortably on my own without the help of my roommate’s money. I still allow him to live with me because the money is good. It’s like having a discount on my mortgage payment.

I can do this now since I am still single. I told him that once I get married, he must move out. The money I collect from my roommate does get included into my source of income and does account for in my budgeting. I have been depositing most of my savings every month in a high-yield online savings account such as ING Direct. However, the money I will save through my roommate’s rent can no longer be accounted for when he does in fact move out in the future so I will definitely be missing that. Until then, I will be embracing the money I will be saving every month.

I have been a Netflix subscriber for over one year now and I been enjoying it practically everyday. I was previously a Blockbuster Online subscriber but after I switched, I never looked back. I live in Maryland and all of my shipments come from Gaithersburg, MD location, which is a good 45 miles away from where I live. When I mail in my DVD for return on Monday, I will receive my new movie in the mail by Wednesday. It’s ALWAYS been 2 days for me. It’s never come earlier and it’s never arrived later than 2 days. The reliability of the delivery is phenomenal without a flaw, in my experience.

Although the speedy delivery is nice, what I like the most about Netflix is the streaming capability. I have watched countless number of movies and tv shows through Netflix and the quality of these are exceptional, as long as you have high-speed internet. They’re constantly adding new shows and movies to their already vast number of categories.

The streaming part of the subscription is totally free, as long as you have a subscription membership. Their memberships start out at $8.99/mo which includes 1 dvd out at a time and unlimited streaming video. It goes as high as $23.99/mo which allows up to 4 dvds at a time. If you opt to choose a limited plan which limits to 2 rentals per month, it allows only 2 hours of streaming video. This service is only $4.99.

Not only can you watch your streaming videos online on your computer, there are so many media players that are already Netflix-ready. PlayStation 3 and Wii game consoles already provide Netflix streaming directly to your TV. Another player that’s recently been increasing in popularity is the Roku Media Player, starting at only $80. Whatever service plan or Netflix-ready media players you choose, Netflix will provide you with plenty of online entertainment, whether on your computer or big screen LED TV.

Refer to my other Netflix posts:

Roku Becomes Friendlier with Netflix
Use Your Wii To Stream Netflix, Save 10%
Hulu Competes With Netflix
Netflix Reaches 15 Million Subscribers

Whether you are a student or a parent, it is important to be a step ahead and start saving for college tuition. There’s no escaping the fact that college tuition prices are increasing. Depending on the type of college, the average tuition price has gone up over $1,000 from 2009-2010. Average tuition fees for private 4-year colleges are over $25,000 a year. That’s over $100,000 for all four years. If you’re not smart about saving for the future, you could find yourself in digging into your loose coin collection to help pay children’s college.

Upromise is an online company that was started in 2001 which focuses on providing their members with additional source of college funding contributions. Members earn rebate or contribution from grocery, gasoline, and other purchases. They also earn additional rebate or contribution when they shop online through Upromise shopping portal. It is completely free to sign up and members can start earning rebates and contributions immediately. Members can use the funds they accumulated to pay for college tuition and pay down eligible studen loans. Upromise has contributed over $450 million to their members’ college savings accounts.

When a parent or guardian opens a Upromise account, they can register their child to the account and all the monies that’s earned can be used towards college tuition. The parent can also register their credit card or debit card and grocery membership card and every time those cards are used that the specified merchant, money is earned. The monies earned may not amount to much, but over the course of 15-20 years, it might be enough to help offset some of the total college costs.

Upromise will be even more beneficial to those who enjoy shopping online. By shopping through Upromise shopping portal, you earn additional rebates when making a purchase online. Since more people are shopping online nowadays, it only makes earning that much easier.