Boston, Snow, Guitar Hero, Casinos, and Personal Finance links |
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My wife and I are wrapping up our trip in Boston today. Tomorrow we are on the road back to San Francisco. We had reservations to go to CBS Scene (I hear it's similar to ESPN Zone), but the 6-8 inches of snow has put those plans on ice (excuse the pun).
Yesterday, we used up the last of our Circuit City gift card to get a complete Guitar Hero set (guitar, drums, microphone, etc.) I had to think a couple of times about it because we hadn't planned on spending the nearly $200 that it costs. Even after the gift card, it was an $150 unplanned expense. We have the money, so it's not a big deal, but I still like to research such purchases more. I only know that many, many, others seem to like it and it could be good entertainment if we have guests over. There are three Tool songs - so that will be great fun. We just have to figure out how to transport it back to San Francisco.
We went to a casino on Thursday. I know it's not typically a smart use of money. I am a very conservative craps player and never lose much over the time I'm there. My wife and I gambled for 5 hours. She made $15 and I lost $15. I can't complain about that.
We are pretty happy about the cost of this trip to Boston. We used frequent flier miles that my wife got from her work travel. We rented a car for around $30 a day using military discounts. We stayed at Hansom Air Force Base for $38 a night - it's as good as places I've paid more than $100 a night for. It comes with a fridge and microwave, so breakfast was Lean Pockets from the commissary for about $1.25 a package (two breakfasts per package). So not including entertainment and gas to visit people, we spent about $500 for the two of us for the trip. I hope this doesn't come across as boasting, but I hope to illustrate how it's possible to take advantage of opportunities our situation. You may have similar situations.
Money Writers:
- Frugal Dad presents emergency funds on steroids.
- Learn how to roll over your 401(k) when you leave or lose your job - the 401k rollover at Generation X Finance.
- Money Smart Life writes common tax forms to gather for your tax return.
- The Sun's Financial Diary reports 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell to record low - chart of the day.
- My Dollar Plan asks time to refinance?
- Learn more about high interest tax free savings accounts (tfsa) at Million Dollar Journey.
- Increase credit card savings by using debit and credit cards wisely posts Digerati Life.
Other Financial Posts:
- Circuit City could provide some resale opportunities says Mighty Bargain Hunter.
- 5 Cent Nickel blogs the penalty for paying quarterly estimated taxes late.
- Consumer Commentary posts Wal-Mart: consumers have shifted fundamentally to frugality.
I was also included in these two carnivals.
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Tipd3 Responses to “Boston, Snow, Guitar Hero, Casinos, and Personal Finance links”
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What system is guitar hero for? If it’s for Xbox, we should rock out online. But the Tool songs are great. Not the three I would have put in the game, but one of the best features of the game nonetheless.
I’m trying to finish up career mode on drums this weekend while the wife is out of town. I can be as loud as I want and shake the walls that way.
do you have rock band? we have rock band and guitar hero world tour…and we like rock band better. we were slightly disappointed with guitar hero. maybe because we were so used to rock band? i dunno. but the vocals are horrible on GH…the guitar/bass has some neat features though. hopefully you like it, as it IS a great group game :)
No, we don’t have Rock Band. We didn’t really know which was better. A friend has Guitar Hero and my wife had played that.