tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233566402024-03-05T01:37:10.478-08:00working for moneyPersonal finance with gritchrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-69260262035192055942017-05-10T08:31:00.000-07:002017-05-10T08:31:26.226-07:00Declutter continues......Typically my declutter sessions go in spurts. This month spring cleaning is in the air. I've slacked off on my 1000 things project. But my goal for the rest of May is to hit 200 items and be at 20% complete. An easy target if I put in a small amount of time.
The focus of my declutter will be two areas:
garage
books
These two areas provide no small abundance of items I never use. So, with chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-12985692410198947972016-11-17T12:53:00.000-08:002016-11-17T12:53:26.956-08:00Financial To Do before end of year...As the weeks left in 2016 wind down there are a few things I'd like to do.
Consolidate an old Scottrade account into main Schwab account. I already did this with old E-trade and Fidelity accounts and I appreciate having less account logins and tax statements to deal with. Makes the most sense to do this during 2016 tax year. And easy to do by faxing a few forms in to get the process rollings.
chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-36460207789646701182016-09-12T14:47:00.001-07:002016-09-12T14:47:34.187-07:00Moving away from Lending ClubJust made the first withdrawal ($49.78) from our Lending Club account. Going forward we will be making monthly withdrawals instead of reinvesting our available funds.
The past two cycles with >$25 available to reinvest, I noticed there weren't any A notes to choose from. Not one. Overall I've seen a decline in available notes and seemingly less activity with other borrowers. Of course chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-44640741993538471502016-05-17T14:58:00.001-07:002016-06-16T13:55:34.855-07:00Churning Gas Gift CardsI like snagging discount gift card promos on eBay. A great way to earn some eBay bucks and CC points or miles.
Today the perfect one showed up: Chevron/Texaco gift cards. We have summer road trips planned so I jumped at the chance to grab some discounted gas cards.
Paid $184 for two $100 gas cards for Texaco/Chevron
eBay Bucks = $3.68 refund
Citi Double Cash = $3.68 refund
Total rewards chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-43265069409515428752016-02-23T15:49:00.003-08:002016-02-23T15:49:22.384-08:00The aim for churning: free travel for 2016At the end of 2015 we spent a few days in NYC for the holiday. We scored a great hotel in midtown Manhattan that would have cost $900 for 3 nights. (Remember the fantastic 100k bonus Brit Air Visa card deals from years ago.) Luckily we had enough British Air Avios to get the room. What a deal!
With that stay we've essentially depleted the remaining Brit Ait Avios we had. And haven't had a travelchrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-37952267617441519602016-01-07T11:10:00.002-08:002016-01-07T11:10:39.838-08:00a few 2016 goalsHello 2016.
New year, new list of goals. Keeping it simple, here are a few I'm aiming at this year.
Money goals:
consolidate investment accounts
grow side-hustle money
tweak monthly retirement savings
some home improvements
CC churning for free travel
Personal goals:
declutter possessions
learn some spanish
expand home veggie garden
better weekly planning with Five to None
blog morechrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-81181997430187985352015-11-27T16:31:00.000-08:002015-12-03T11:57:45.592-08:00Resurrecting a zombie PF blog….You ever create a blog? Watch it not grow? Watch it stagnate?
Well, I have. And it's time to kick that corpse and raise the dead blog! Sure, zombies are a major interest in pop culture today. So how many zombie blogs are littered around the internet? You can either kill them …. or raise them up with a pulse. They can't do that shit on the Walking Dead.
So stand back and watch this shit happen, chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-68949038396634559892015-11-05T06:51:00.002-08:002015-11-05T06:51:24.579-08:00PF Blog posts are coming..... soon.chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-24469396724556972462013-12-26T09:13:00.000-08:002013-12-26T09:13:01.416-08:00Getting rid of excess clutter. Really going to do it this time.Like most Americans I'm awash in stuff. Lots and tons of stuff. It creeps into every corner of my life, my house. And it is no uncommon thing to do a stuff-cleanse. Sure, I've done a few of those. It doesn't work well, usually. Or at all.
But here we go again. This time it will work. Just this past week I found 4 flashlights around the house that haven't ever been used. Or maybe used once. Crazychrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-12178176372277769752013-08-02T11:23:00.002-07:002013-08-02T11:25:59.111-07:00Gingria - Cheap Cocktails to make with cheap port and ginOne lazy summer evening years ago, I discovered cheap port over ice makes a fine sangria taste-alike. I like to believe my palette has moved beyond such simple pleasures and figured to resurrect this lazy summer evening cocktail with a little gin added to the mix. Aside from fancy pre-mix cocktails found in your grocer aisle, you won't find a simpler way to make a sangria-style drink.
It won't chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-6267573521197054162013-06-28T14:26:00.003-07:002013-06-28T14:37:27.225-07:00The missing Windows Start Button returns (sort of) in Windows 8.1I've been using Win 8 for a few months now. It's been mostly fine. Frustrated at times, yes. Missing things, yes! Craving the start button, Yes!!
Well no more craving. I've loaded up the new Windows 8.1 Preview and like that the Start Button is now present.
But I didn't like that it just goes to the Start Tile Screen instead of the traditional Windows 7 window. I suppose Microsoft will hearchrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-85609350603180181432013-06-12T06:00:00.002-07:002013-06-12T06:00:46.545-07:00Fixing missing Dell D620 wireless wifi drivers with UbuntuI have an old Dell D620 that I use as a sofa surfing laptop. I've found Ubuntu works great for this purpose. I've freshly installed Ubuntu on it a few times and always have a problem with the wireless drivers not installing correctly. To fix this run these two commands from terminal:
sudo apt-get purge bcmwl-kernel-source broadcom-sta-common broadcom-sta-source (it may not see all of these)
chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-42837312376302621512013-06-11T13:25:00.001-07:002013-06-11T13:30:58.730-07:00Made in America Mac Pro by AppleI love that Apple is continuing to support US manufacturing, albeit very minimally but hey gotta start somewhere. Their new Mac Pro is quite a different take on a server. It is adding excitement by bucking two trends: manufactured offshore and tradition enclosure. Yes, in a very Apple-like way the new Mac Pro is moving rapidly away from the square corner box design. I love the look. I like the chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-73184457976774628452013-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:002013-06-03T21:58:17.555-07:00A zin with punch - Sledgehammer Zinfandel 2009Lately I've had a few bottles of zin that seemed watery and underwhelming. Deserving better I grabbed a bottle of Sledgehammer in the wine aisle hoping to break the trend.
Heavy fruit. Pepper. Deep color. Bold and lasting. Slight leather that can be easily forgotten in a zin, which I prefer. But I didn't mind it so much here -- the fruits overwhelm it. Overall this is a great glass of zin. chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-80769664008913144152013-06-02T08:05:00.001-07:002013-06-02T08:05:49.374-07:00Defeating clutter through simple actionsI started reducing kitchen clutter with one simple, effective step: jettisoning martini glasses. We had 3 sets ot 2 martini glasses. After a few years in our house we never had used them. Not even once. I thought about getting rid of one set. Then we would have reduced them by 30 percent but still be able to serve 4 martinis if occasion called. What? Who was I kidding. We never would be serving chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-74681721985313131972013-05-23T08:34:00.001-07:002013-06-11T13:28:22.604-07:00Finding CHKDSK log in Windows 7
Ever run CHKDSK and need to review the log? You'll find it in Event Viewer.
-Open Computer Management
-Expand System Tools > Event Viewer > Windows Logs
-Look in the Application log for Wininit in the source column
-Double click that entry and you'll see all the results of the CHKDSK
Click photo to see larger version:
chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-79620065357972296362013-03-22T10:42:00.000-07:002013-03-22T10:43:09.806-07:00How to disable the password expiration on Windows Server 2008If your server is non-domain joined and you are not using Active Directory the Local Security Policy controls items like password complexity rules, account lockouts, and
password expiration. To turn off password expiration you'll need admin rights and to simply edit the Local Security Policy:
Launch “Local Security Policy”: Start > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy
Expand “chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-30167973014669587452013-03-21T08:02:00.002-07:002013-03-21T08:02:44.979-07:00The bullion luster of a Silver Eagle CoinThere's something about the look of a mint silver coin that is very appealing. Not so much the shine, but the thick, creamy luster of the dull surfaces. Anytime I look at a Silver Eagle I think wow, too bad our real coins aren't made of this stuff anymore...
chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-57207652009405097202013-03-15T11:32:00.001-07:002013-03-15T11:33:43.170-07:00Microsoft Exchange Server - Using PowerShell to Share Outlook Calendar<!--[if !mso]>
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chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-91378502153407079762013-03-09T21:00:00.003-08:002013-03-09T21:00:53.216-08:00The Prefect Demitasse Espresso Cup - It's Chip ProofEver since getting a Saeco Superautomatic machine, I take at least one 2 ounce pull of espresso each morning. For years I had a set of cute ceramic demitasse cups -- I've lost the tiny saucers, but who cares about those anyway. But I've found that the cups haven't been up to the task for daily use, by me. I ding them on the sink, I ding them on the faucet. They have chipped more then twice and chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-40845094024998042922013-03-07T09:48:00.000-08:002013-03-21T05:59:22.389-07:00Dave Ramsey's Mututal Funds - Two are growth funds from American FundsRecently Dave tweeted and spoke about two of his mutual funds. I've heard him talk about "his" funds in the past but he never specifically named them. Now, for whatever reason, he has started revealing some of his funds. I suspect it has to do with people claiming that his is off the mark when recommending that people can regularly get 10-12% return year after year after year. So he is telling chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-12633270737112653492013-02-21T09:16:00.002-08:002013-02-21T09:23:08.493-08:00CC Filson Tote Bag - Tin Cloth - Made in USAYou'll be hard pressed to find a more rugged, utilitarian tote bag than the Filson Tote. Perfect as a grocery getter or for a weekend jaunt, this bag will give you a lifetime of service. I've been using mine for over 10 years and it seems like it is just getting broken in. I've used it to haul beer back from the market and to stuff a weekends worth of food for some car camping.
I'd recommend thechrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-84594552472942804772013-02-19T10:38:00.005-08:002013-03-21T05:56:13.206-07:00Make Google Chrome download PDF files by default<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-3579882586579995782013-02-06T15:29:00.000-08:002013-02-19T10:58:23.173-08:00The sad end of my favorite Blundstone 500 bootsWow, these boots were great friends for over 10 years. Wore the heck out of them. Hiked in them. Traveled in them. Took them camping. I got these as a gift from a friend that bought them on their travels in Australia.
But all good things come to a sad end. Including these #500 boots. As noted in the photos they hit their limit and blew apart while doing some DIY drywall work around the home.
Nochrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23356640.post-82091519711073894832013-02-05T10:19:00.003-08:002013-02-05T10:19:37.336-08:00Therias & L 'Econome Paring Knife - INOX steelLately my go to knife is a sweet little French paring knife. Made in Thiers France since 1819. Works perfect for a kitchen utility knife. The blade is made of European INOX carbon steel, not quite full tang. Easy to keep the blade sharp with my knife steel.
With this blade I slice veggies and meet as needed. It just feels right in my hand. You can usually find these inexpensive knives. The chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424395613173716383noreply@blogger.com1