Gas prices keep increasing

Just last week, the prices of gas dropped about 2 cents for the premium to $4.07/per gallon, but this week there was a 6 cents increase to $4.13! And we have not hit the peak summer driving season yet. I won’t be surprised if prices will be around $4.50 then. I just filled up the Camry with the mid-grade while I still had a quarter tank left. Luckily the price then was $4.01, still my receipt ended up around $55. Gas prices in the Los Angeles - California area are the worst in the nation. I cannot wait until Bush is out of the office, so that gas prices will drop. 

Loving Paramore

I love this new Tennessee punk band called Paramore and their new CD called Riot. My two favorite songs on this CD are Misery Business and Crush Crush Crush. They play it on Kroq a lot but not enough. I downloaded the songs from Itunes too, so that I can play it on my Ipod non-stop. They have played a couple of Kroq shows, but unfortunately I have missed them. If you have the chance check out their videos on MTV or YouTube. You can also view this Soundcheck live performance video from YouTube. It is a Walmart Soundcheck performance in San Jose. A must see for all Paramore fans. They do give one of the better live performances out there. The lead singer is talented Hayley Williams. Her vocals remind me a lot of Shirley Manson of Garbage. Even if you are a not a fan of punk, you will still like this group a lot. Their style stretches across all the different types of music out there. Give them a listen, and you will be hooked.

You can also order your copy of their new CD on the site below too. Check it out and get yours now.

Staying healthy

With our busy work lifestyles a lot of us neglect to stay healthy. By that I mean eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis. I have to admit I am one of these people too. After a 10 hour day at work, I find it hard to get the energy to go out and exercise.

I have been trying to change my eating habits though. I try to avoid fast food burger and fries and have been eating more salads and other healthier meals. I have switched over to diet soda to reduce my calorie intake. And I have noticed my weight going down and not fluctuating as much.

As for exercising, chasing my 2 year old around keeps me pretty in shape. He likes going out a lot, so either walking around with him or taking him to amusements parks, keep my wife and I in good shape.

Especially as we get older we should incorporate some kind of healthy diet and exercise routine. Check out the many sites on the web to help you with this.

No home buyers

On one of my prior posts I wrote about the development of a new community in the El Segundo area. To my surprise, my wife told me that construction has been stopped due to not many people purchasing the homes. This was to be a large community. It stretched almost one big city block. The model homes and the community pools and meeting areas were already built. They even had a big party to bring in the people to view these homes. We went to this and I was very impressed by the designs of the homes. But the prices were also very high too. And with the stricter mortgage policies, not many people were able to qualify for these loans.

So contruction stopped. And now sits an huge empty lot with a couple of model homes built in it. Perhaps when the market picks up again, construction will start back up again. But now it is just a sad site of the recession we are in. 

Stores going green

The way some stores hand out plastic bags, it makes you wonder where the bags will end up after being used. Most just end up in the trash and landfills. It nice to see some stores offer some incentives to go green. The first store I noticed this was at Ikea. If you want a plastic bag from them, they will charge you 5 cents. It does make you think twice about taking a bag now. No one wants to spend extra money if they do not have to, even if it is just 5 cents.

Another major store to implement an incentive program is Whole Foods. They will give you back 5 cents if you bring back your old bag to use. Their plastic bags are a little bit more durable than the ones you get at other markets. So they are good for many uses. Another supermarket doing the same thing is Ralphs.

The best thing is to just bring your own grocery bags. Most stores charge you about $1 for a reusable cloth bag. It is not bad for something you are doing to help save the earth.

Buy a new home, rent out your old one

I recently did a post on the pros and cons of Moving to a better school district. On that post, I talked about selling your house and purchasing one in a better school district. Another option instead of selling is renting out your old house. In order to do this there must be several things that you must have in order for this to work:

1. Cash flow - In an ideal renting situation, you want the rent coming in to be more than your mortgage payment. This makes things a lot easier on your personal cash flow. You will not have to fork out any of your money to cover the mortgage. My current mortgage is ~$1100. I should be able to rent out my house for about $1900-$2000. I will actually be earning $800-900 a month on it. That money can be used to cover some of the costs for my mortgage for the new house.

2. Big Down Payment - A big down will reduce the costs of a mortgage. If you are looking to buy a house that is $700K, you should be able to put down about enough so that your monthly mortgage payments are comfortable. But since their is no money made from selling your old house, this money must come from your savings, which can be difficult for many. Most medium income families, will most like have around $100k in savings. With that you will still have a $600k mortgage.  With a 30 yr 5.75% loan that is a $3500 monthly payment. And that is not including the increase in property tax as mention in my other post. You will need to be earning a lot of money to qualify for this loan.

So if you think about this situation basically only the rich can afford this option. It is the basic rule, the rich get richer. People with a lot of money saved up that can make the big downpayments or afford the high monthly mortgage payments.

Back from Vegas

We got back from Vegas Monday evening. Spending one night there is enough, especially if you have been there before. If you spend more than that you will end up both losing money and gaining weight from the buffets.

Total gas spent was about ~$90. I filled up before I went which is about $60, and I filled up before I left. I still have a half tank left. Gas was actually cheaper in Vegas.

Total for the hotel was about ~$120 at the Mandalay Bay. Booking on a weekday rate, saved at least 50% of the cost.

Total for the food spent was about $140. We had a champagne lunch buffet on our first day there with our friend that lives there ($110), and an IHOP breakfast on the morning when we left ($30).

We also did a lot of shopping. Cost is still unknown for that. I bought a pair of Nike running shoes for about $55.

Bank of America checking account $75 bonus

This past week I opened up a Bank of America checking account. I have had an account with them in the past, but I closed it due to their monthly fee. I was browsing Slickdeals.net and found they had a $75 promotion if you open a checking account with them. Also if you open it online, they will waive all the monthly fees too. All you need to do is deposit $100 and they will give you $75 in 90 days. Not a bad deal, especially if you are looking to open a bank account. The good part is they have branches everywhere.

They are also have a promotion this spring/summer for free admission to museums in your area on the first weekend of the month. Also check Slickdeals for this promotion.