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Holiday Sundries: Mesh Wifi, Best Investment Idea, and No Camp

July 5, 2019 by Lazy Man 4 Comments

I hope all my United States’ readers enjoyed their Independence Day holiday. The July 4th holiday is a good market for half of the year being completed. I’ll be reviewing my goals for the beginning of the year soon. I know I’m behind where I wanted to be with decluttering, but still ahead of where we’ve ever been, so that’s win.

Pell Bridge Sunset
The sunset view before the fireworks in Newport, RI

I hope to publish a financial update through the end of June in a few days. I ran some preliminary numbers while we are still waiting to receive rent checks and the numbers are looking amazing.

It’s a good thing too, because the past week was a really difficult one for us. There are some things that I can’t get into, but one of them that I can was a dog I was sitting on Rover. This puppy was kind-hearted, but it just chewed up everything. I couldn’t leave it alone for more than 5 minutes. Most of the time the dog sitting gig is great. However, not every job is perfect and this was a reminder of that.

I have serveral longer articles almost finished, but I didn’t want to get anything too deep due to the holidays. Instead, I’ll go with a few little thought nuggets.

Installing a Mesh Wifi System

I used to laugh at the idea of mesh wifi systems. I figure it just made sense to use an old router as a repeater. Maybe we have too many devices now, or maybe it’s that my recycled repeater router is 10 years old, but we’ve run into a lot of wifi problems in the house. I decided that life is too short to go through it with bad wifi. (I’ve been thinking that a lot lately.)

I did some research and it seemed to say that one product was the best. So I ended up buying a renewed/refurbished version of this Netgear Orbi RBK50 for around $200. Some mesh systems are $400, so hitting the $200 number was important to me. There’s also a new standard coming out soon, so I’ll feel better replacing a $200 system in a few years than I would if I spend $400. For now, I’ll hopefully be able to sell my old routers for $50 combined.

Unfortunately, the process of installing the Orbi requires a reboot of the cable modem. I rebooted my cable modem a few weeks ago and it took a call to my cable company’s customer support to resolve it. It turned out to just be dumb luck that it decided to work. This time my cable modem didn’t come back. It’s 6 years old, and I stored it in a drawer where it was likely overheating. I went to Amazon and bought a new one. In the meantime, I’m renting a combo router/wifi from my cable company that is terrible, but it at least gets us online.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to review the Orbi soon.

My Best Individual Investment Idea

Pell Bridge Night
A view of the same bridge at night.

In reviewing two years of stock picks it seems like my hand-picked value stocks far out-performed the market. I’m still the person who held onto oil and Twitter for years just to see it do nothing, so I don’t claim to be a stock picking wizard. I’m very much an believer in buy and hold index investing.

However, if you were to look at those articles in the past and how the stocks did, you might ask me, “What are some example stocks that are going to break out in the future?” Unfortunately, I don’t see any from the group that I track that seem particularly good. The closest I have is Kraft-Heinz (Nasdaq: KHC). It fits the model because the stock has been badly beaten (for good reason). It still pay for a very healthy 5.24% dividend, but that dividend may get cut in the future.

I think the company will figure things out and turn it around. It could be months or it could be years. I don’t think anyone’s crystal ball is perfect when it comes to picking company stocks.

If stock picking isn’t your thing, I’m planning to write something in the next week or two that will be of more interest to you. Here’s a preview: Bonds look to be a much better investment over the long term than I thought.

Keeping Kids Home During the Summer?

Joe from Retire By 40 is having a whole summer with his son. This struck me as odd as I grew up in an environment where kids went to summer camp. It was just what is done and I never gave it a second thought. When my kids were younger, I appreciated any time off I could get, because taking care of a 2-year old is much more tedious than a 7-year old. With our kids being a year apart, it was “double trouble.”

However, now that they are older and largely take care of themselves (not that they always want to), we could use the summer to do more family stuff during the week. I have largely ignored the cost of camp and let my wife handle it. However, it’s nearly $50 a day per child, so $100 for the two. The easy math shows that it is $500 for the week or $2000 for the month.

That’s a lot of money especially because it’s only 6-hour days. As soon as I drop them off, I feel like I’m picking them up again. I feel it’s important for them to have a camp experience and play with kids their own age in a fun environment that’s less structured than school. I also feel it’s important to me to still have some time to focus on work during the summer.

Maybe next year, we’ll do a 50/50 camp/home split – one week on, and one week off. There are some specialty camps that I’ve been looking at, but they are a little more money. It’s much more affordable to do 5 weeks of specialty camp and home with dad than it is to 10 weeks at general camp.

I’m coming up with this idea on the spot. I’ll have to see what my wife thinks of it.

Have yourselves a great weekend. I highly recommend Toy Story 4 if you want to beat the heat. I’ve also started the new season of Stranger Things on Netflix, but I’m sure some of you already finished it.

Filed Under: Random thoughts Tagged With: active investing, camp, technology

Are We Financially a “Lost Generation”?

September 18, 2013 by Lazy Man 18 Comments

My friend Glen Craig from Free From Broke shared an interesting article on Facebook last night. With a comment of “wow”, and former Lending Club friend Rob Garcia chiming in with “whoa”, it got my attention. The article The typical American family makes less than it did in 1989 from The Washington Post has nearly 900 comments as I write this.

I read the article and shrugged. I must be missing something.

The article compares inflation-adjusted median household incomes between now and 1989. It even gives showing all the years in between. The author states:

In 1989, the median American household made $51,681 in current dollars (the 2012 number, again, was $51,017). That means that 24 years ago, a middle class American family was making more than the a (sic) middle class family was making one year ago.

This isn’t a lost decade for economic gains for Americans. It is a lost generation.

Why should we expect to make gains on median household income on an inflation-adjusted basis? It’s like getting on a treadmill and being upset that you walked for a half hour and went nowhere. I guess according to the author this is a lost half hour and yet millions and millions of people find value in it every day.

It seems quite an over-reaction to a loss of 1% of income… or about half a percent after taxes.

The Value of Living Today

Glen on Facebook brought up and interesting point, “After reading the article I also wondered what the cost of living is compared to back then. What if we just don’t need as much money for some things as we did back then, like computers?”

My family was one of the earlier families on the block to get a personal computer (The awesome PCjr) back around 1985. Even as we upgraded to 286, 386, and 486 computational behemoths, we never had more than one computer. Today we have numerous laptops, mp3 players, and tablets. The $2000 that my family spent on a computer back then is pretty similar to the $2000 that we spend on various similar technologies today.

We can look back at what my family paid for a landline. I think it was around $40 a month and there were extra charges if you wanted to call long-distance. Today we have Ooma Telo free home phone service, but it piggybacks on a cable bill that has grown from around $20 a month to $125 a month. In addition, many people spend another $100-$110 a month on cell phones and service.

The price of cars have gone up over that time. However, when you adjust for inflation they are pretty much the same (at least through 2006 in that chart). The price hasn’t changed, but you get many more safety features, better gas mileage, increased technology, and comfort.

Lost Generation? Really?

Are we really saving money on computers nowadays? Probably not. Are we really saving money on cars? Nope. However, in both cases our money gets us exponentially more than it did back 1989.

The mere fact that an ordinary person with no journalism degree like me can write to thousands of readers and convey this article is noteworthy.

Does that sound like a “lost generation” to you? Me neither.

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: inflation, median income, technology

Amazon Kindle: Buy or Not?

November 18, 2009 by Lazy Man 17 Comments

When I first started this blog, I announced that I’d write about technology 5% of the time. Since I have written more than 700 articles at this point, I’m allow some 35 articles on technology. I think I used up a few of them with articles on my Asus EEE. As usual, with any technology article, I’ll attempt to tie it back to personal finance.

amazon-kindle.jpgYou may have already read about the Amazon Kindle. It’s yet another attempt by the technology industry to replace books. Companies have been at it for a few years, but it’s hard to replace books. They are extremely portable, require no power, and very easy on the eyes.

Before I completely disregard the Kindle, it’s worth taking a deeper look. Here are some things about the Kindle that I love:

  • Easy on My Eyes – I’ve spent a lot of time looking at computer monitors. Human eyes weren’t meant to look to at poor resolution, backlighted screens. I hate to admit it, but Mom was right about sitting to close to the TV. My eyes simply can’t tolerate the computer screen like they should. This Friday, I’m seeing a doctor about what I can do aside from the normal advice. The Kindle uses electronic ink which is not backlit in the same way – and delivers a great reading experience from all reviews I’ve seen. The 250 blogs that it has available would save my eyes considerable wear and tear.
  • Light weight – At 10.3 ounces it doesn’t weigh too much more than my Palm Treo. On a vacation last year, my wife wanted to pack a pile of books. Unfortunately, we could only take a few of them due to space/weight limitations on the airplane. If we had a Kindle we wouldn’t have had this problem.
  • Google Maps – This is an undocumented, unofficial feature of the Kindle. However it seems you can get Google Maps anywhere where Sprint has EVDO service. That’s a huge amount of area. While it’s not as good as a GPS navigation system it might be one of the best “bonuses” a product has ever offered.
  • Constant Free Internet Connection – This is the only device I’ve heard of that has free unlimited ability to connect to the Internet. Amazon has negotiated with Sprint to use their network at no charge. This means free Wikipedia almost anywhere in the US.. wow.
  • Automatically Updating Blogs – The Kindle will allow you read more than 250 blogs. One of them is my favorite sports-writer Bill Simmons. If he wrote as much as he used to this would be a huge selling point.
  • Newspapers and Magazines – Some of the most popular includes: Forbes, Fortune, Time, Reader’s Digest, NY Times, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, and Investor’s Business Daily. All are at an additional charge – not that you’d expect to get this content for free outside of a library.

Pro Summary

The Kindle might be more portable than traditional books and possibly easier on the eyes… while providing time-sensitive information.

Here are some things that I don’t like about the Kindle:

  • Existing and Future books – If you already own a book or bought it off of Amazon in the last two years, do you get a Kindle version? No. If something better comes along like an Apple iReader will your Kindle Books work on it? They may not.
  • Internet Connection limited to the US – Remember that vacation that I talked about above… it was to Aruba… The Internet connection wouldn’t work and I wouldn’t get updated blog information.
  • Blogs cost money… every month – Not only do they cost money, but there are no personal finance blogs available. I’m a content producer and I do like to get paid, so I shouldn’t be so upset by this. However, I do provide my content via an RSS feed with minimal advertising. I think Amazon should provide that option.
  • Limit Blogs Available – This is an extension of the above. There should be a simple RSS reader available – preferably something that connection to popular services like Bloglines and Google Reader.
  • Only One Person Can Read it at a Time – This seems obvious, but it is worth mentioning. To go back to the vacation example, the Kindle would have been a poor solution for us to reduce the number books we carry. We would have needed two of them so we can both read on the airplane or by the pool. That’s two Kindles, two sets of subscriptions, etc.
  • Potential Theft – I would be very nervous about leaving my Kindle in plain sight and going for a swim. Some people might quickly snap up an unprotected $350 gadget. On the other hand, people are less likely to steal a copy of Your Money or Your Life.
  • Newspapers and Magazines are also expensive – I’ve been offered a better deals than $2.99 a month for Forbes… usually about a $1 an issue.

Con Summary

Financially, there are some issues… You might end up buying the same books you already own. You might have to have a Kindle for each member for of the family. You might end up paying a lot for content that you can reader cheaper or even for free. It could get stolen where you have to buy the device again.

Buy or Don’t Buy – I’m going with don’t buy at this point… The price of $350+ and the lure of potential subscription add-ons just doesn’t seem the right value for me. If you’ve got a lot of disposable income, I can see some value in this, but I don’t think it’s really something that middle class will adopt until it hits $99 price point. The potential is definitely there for this to be big in the next five years, so keep it on the radar.

Filed Under: Technology Tip Tagged With: Amazon, Asus Eee, Kindle, technology

Asus Eee: I’m In Techno-Lust With You

June 14, 2008 by Lazy Man 15 Comments

asuseee900.jpgA year ago, I was looking for a portable computer that could allow me to blog from places like Aruba. I thought I found an acceptable solution with a PDA and bluetooth keyboard. It didn’t work quite as well as I hoped. As two pieces, you can’t put it on your lap and type. The PDA had some difficulties connecting to WIFI access points. The small screen with 640×480 resolution made web navigation, and blogging difficult. In the end, I realized I had to bring my real computer making that travel computer a poor financial decision on my part. Perhaps I should have listened to reader Khurram Farooq who said:

I would suggest you wait a bit for the announcement of the new Intel MID devices, or even the Asus EEE PC (rumored to be a full ultra portable compact PC for $200). The new generation of UMPC’s is also clocking in under $600, so I guess waiting for at least 5-6 months will pay off big.

A couple of weeks ago, I happened across the Asus Eee. It wasn’t able to get under $200, but the price ranges from $300-$500 depending on extras (mostly storage). I’ve been addicted the mini-computer. As you can see from the image it’s not much bigger than DVD case – and it weighs about 2 pounds. This is in stark contrast to my current laptop – a hulk with a 15.4″ screen and 8 pounds (not counting the huge brick of a charger). My current laptop has grown to be very slow. I should pare down some of the software, but I often find myself using a few obscure pieces every now and again. I should run fewer applications at one time, but I find that if I don’t have it open to work on right away, I’m not likely to touch it.

The Asus Eee comes in a few different flavors. The first choice to make is whether you want the original (701) or the new version coming out this May 12 (the 900). I could probably get the 701 for around $300 – possibly even $250 if I find one Craigslist. It has one huge drawback preventing me from pulling the trigger – the screen is only 800 pixels wide – too narrow for many websites including my own. I would be scrolling on almost every web page that I visit. The newer version due in May, the Asus Eee 900, solves this problem by substituting the 7″ screen with an 8.9″ 1024-wide pixel screen. This is enough for many websites – and it comes in a design that doesn’t add bulk or weight to the new model. The new model adds a lot more memory and a few other improvements – most of which I consider nice, but none near as significant as the screen. However, it comes at a price – $549 to be exact.

To confuse things even more, the computer comes in either Windows or Linux. The Linux version should perform a lot snappier, which is one of the key reasons for the purchase. However, it wouldn’t show movies from either Slingbox or Netflix like the Windows version. Lastly, Asus announced that come June it will start to use the newest Intel chip, the Atom. The Atom is highly anticipated because it runs at twice the clock speed of the current chip – while using less than one-tenth the power. It’s not known if this will be in yet another version at a higher price point, or if it will come at the $549 price of the 900, when the chip becomes available.

Over the last two or three years, I’ve become usually very good with my technology purchases. I rarely have bought something just to find it become obsolete. I also have usually found a way to get by with what I have until what I want hits a fair price point. This has worked for a first generation iPod Nano, a Roomba, an audio/video receiver, and more in the last year. However, this is one case where the technology opens changes my life… I could walk down the street to the coffee shop and blog from there so I’m not inside all day. I could use the computer only for blogging allowing me to avoid the slow-down of my current computer. I would consider using it on a plane (with the WIFI off of course), or even if we were doing some overnight camping. Or maybe it ends up like the last travel computer I got, sitting in a drawer largely doing nothing 99% of the time. Why must technology decisions be so difficult?

Yesterday, I went to Best Buy to give the original version running Windows a look in person. The keyboard is tiny to the point where I was making many typing mistakes. After about 3 minutes, I noticed I was making fewer mistakes – I think I might be able to develop the muscle memory necessary to make it a workable machine. As an aside, I wouldn’t buy the Asus Eee at Best Buy. As one of my friends says, “Best Buy is a great place to shop, but a poor place to purchase.”

After a lot of internal debate, I think I’ve come up with a plan. I will sell my aforementioned travel computer. This should net me $150 or more for the complete package. I will then look for a slightly used original 2GB Asus Eee, which I’ve believe can be had on Ebay or Craigslist for around $250 ($50 off the new price). This means that the Eee will only cost me $100 in new money. I think I can kill my technology craving for more that a few months with this plan. At that point, increased competition will push the prices down and the features up. I should be able to get do the same sell and upgrade when that time comes.

Photo Credit: Tweakers.net

Filed Under: Technology Tip Tagged With: Amazon, Asus Eee, asus eee pc, compact pc, portable computer, technology, travel computer, umpc

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