Steve’s Blog
My Latest Rantings
I got a lot of positive response when I posted my method for purchasing a new car, which is long on legwork but short on actually spending money. I was really happy that a lot of people seemed to benefit from that, mostly because I had to figure out that process on my own through a lot of trial and error. The same thing held true about saving money and planning for retirement. The same thing held true for buying a new house. I get a lot of joy in helping people with the stuff because I am passionate about learning about it. One MASSIVE thing that I don’t understand though, is how some people can’t seem to be bothered with learning [...]
So DIY projects are kindof my thing. Sometimes, I tend to bite off a little too much. For example, I present exhibit A, our new patio floor, 13 months in the making. It all started when we visited a granite countertop place to get a quote on replacing ours and found out that they THROW AWAY the granite scraps. Worse than that, they have to pay by the pound to have someone take them away! Hmm… With nothing but our Nissan Versa, my trusty wheelbarrow, and permission from the granite place to “take as much as I wanted”, I got to work hauling these scrap granite pieces to our house. I decided to lay them out in a pattern first, then go [...]
In 2007, I walked into the lot of Brandon Honda looking for a price on a used Honda S2000. I was in love with the car, and the salesperson who saw me walk onto the lot must have sensed it. “Great car! We can get you into a used one with about 60,000 miles for around $20,000” he said cheerfully. My heart sunk. $20,000 for a car? My max budget was $15,000. When I told the salesman so, he laughed at me. No way, he said. No way I will ever find an S2000, even used, for less than 20k in decent condition. Those cars were way too popular, and way too expensive. I was out of my mind. Being laughed at [...]