http://theshoppingnazi.com Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-home/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-home/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-home/ Every home should have some basic tools. It does not matter if you live in an apartment or live in a two story house. There is always certain maintenance things that need to be done. An Apartment dweller need less tools than a home owner. Those who live on a ranch or farm need far more tools than a home owner. For this week we will be taking a some of the basic tools that allow us to be self sufficient, and keep better care of where we live. When I say self sufficient, I mean things you can do on your own. Now if you are not mechanically inclined and cannot tie you shoes, you are going to need professional help. Basic Tool Kit - There is some tools everyone should have in their home. I am talking about a hammers, slot and phillips screw drivers, measuring tape, and etc. You can get a complete set with bag for about $40 at Sears. Drain Cleaner - We all have experienced the water slowly going down the drain or not at all. There are times a plumber is needed. Most of the time the root cause of bathroom sink or bath tub clogs is hair.  The clog is usually [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/tools-for-the-home/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/housing-what-works-best/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/housing-what-works-best/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:23 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=7169 Recent data shows in the United States more than half of the nation is pay over 30% of the monthly income on shelter. Renters are writing rent checks that are at least 30% of their monthly income. Over 50% of renters use more than half of the households income just of rent. Homeowners in 2010 paid on the average 38% of their income to mortgage payments. For one reason or the other a large group of or people choose to rent over buying a home. This goes to opposite to the fact over a long period of time buying a home is the more the logical money saving option. Still a large portion of families who seek housing opt to the quick easy solution of renting. Research show the mortgage is equal to renting. After five years mortgage (not counting equity) is less than equivalent rent. The choices for type of dwelling is much larger than one who wants to buy. The home buyer is usually restricted to a house or a condo. Where the renter has several more choices. For the average renter the wide range of choice can better fit their needs. Finding the right location and square footage in a rental is relatively easy [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/housing-what-works-best/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/shopping-for-a-rental/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/shopping-for-a-rental/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:00:29 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=6331 There is no shame in renting as opposed to buying and owning. The old stereotypical mindset which says it is cheaper to buy to own over renting is has been proven to be wrong. I am not talking just about buying a home. There are times renting a cars, tools, and other items cost less than buying out right. When it came to working on my car, if I needed a specialty tool or widget, I would buy it. I would count that tool or widget as part of the cost of doing the repair myself. I didn’t take into consideration the fact I would maybe only using that specialized tool only once. What resulted was having a shed half full of tools I only used once or twice. My neighbors and friends capitalized on stupidity. When it came time for them to need some specialty tool or widget, they would come by my place and check if I had it. If I didn’t have it they would go down to the local tool rental store. Then the idea of renting a home over better than buying came to mind. I started looking at the details as to what point does buying a home over renting broke even. To get an actuate realistic number all [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/shopping-for-a-rental/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/refurbished-and-certified-are-they-a-good-buy/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/refurbished-and-certified-are-they-a-good-buy/#comments Fri, 13 May 2011 12:00:12 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=5449 On television there is this commercial where a well dress lady comes on and talks about certified pre-owned cars. Her whole pitch is that they are so like new you are getting new most people cannot tell the difference. Her closing line is, “Why pay the difference when you can’t tell the difference.” About 4 blocks down the street of the car dealership that is promoted in the commercial is a recently build dealership of just certified pre-owned cars. Instead a mixture of several makes and models, these are just Nissan’s. This raises the questions, “Are they really good as new, without paying the price of new?” I found a website that offers Apple Certified Refurbished MacBooks that boast 27% saving off of new Apple products. They say the difference is their MacBooks are sourced from recent returned or canceled orders. Each MacBook is refurbished by Apple, undergoing a stringent process where the unit is inspected, tested, and restored to original factory settings and conditions. The MacBooks are then given new stock keeping unit (skus) numbers and are sold as refurbished. All Apple Certified Refurbished MacBooks include the default cables, accessories, dvds, and manuals and carry the same 1 year limited [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/refurbished-and-certified-are-they-a-good-buy/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/10-ways-to-cut-utility-bills/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/10-ways-to-cut-utility-bills/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:00:30 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=3060 With the ever increasing gas prices, the cost everything else is on the rise. We can cut back on some things. Other things we are stuck riding the wave in ever increasing prices. We may not be able to control the unit cost of our electricity, water or sewer. However, we can control how much we use. In cutting back on the basic utilities we can help the environment as well as our bank accounts. Along with everything else our electric, gas, and water are ways to reduce our usage. I was able to compile 10 things we can do to cut our utility bill. Actually, there are more than 10 things. It was when I got start putting this list together, I kept coming up with more. At the end is a special YouTube video by two young gentlemen who added a couple ideas of their own. Seal Air Leaks – We are going from the heating to the cooling season. It does not matter if it is hot or cold outside, if there is hot air leaking out or hot air leaking in. Cracks along window and around door frames will raise utility bills. Just by investing in some caulk and weather [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/10-ways-to-cut-utility-bills/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/short-sale-failures/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/short-sale-failures/#comments Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:00:02 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=5120 I was at a coffee shop when at the check register, I looked down and saw a pile of cards that read, “Banks Suck”. I picked up one of those white cards. The words were printed with large black writing in a block type on a glossy white card stock. So I pick one up. After I set down and took a sip on my coffee, I flipped the card over and read the fine print. The first line on the back stated, “Did you know that less than 25% of Short Sales Attempts actually close.” Then in smaller print was two short paragraphs on why you should have a short sale expert process you short sale. At the bottom of the card was a phone number, email address and a website. The website was ShortSaleByDesign.com. A short sale is for those people who are struggling to pay your home loan. They may have missed a few mortgage payments. They may of have even received a foreclosure notice. What a short sale does is allows the home owner to sell their home for significantly less than the mortgage balance. Sometimes, to avoid going through the costs of foreclosure, a lender will sanction a short sale. This [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/short-sale-failures/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/mortgage-update/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/mortgage-update/#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:00:25 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=4078 We are weeks away from Christmas. I you are like me, I am thinking more about having enough money for Christmas than what is happen with mortgage. However,  for those who are still looking to buy a new home there is a few update I want to share with you. Considering everything that has happen in the past few years. Loans given out to people who should not of have gotten. Other folks who found themselves out of work facing foreclosure. Banks and loan institutions have tighten what qualifies for a home loan. Craig Ballhagen over at MyFirstBoiseHome.com wrote on his blog about how Idaho mortgage guidelines are constantly changing.  It is very important for future home buyers to take the time to be informed. The whole qualifying for a loan is broken down into 3 areas. Credit report, employment, and income/debt ratio. If you don’t fall within the guidelines in each of these three area it is time to look at how your can adjust your finances. Credit Score – The credit score is the first thing lenders will look at when applying for a home loan. Craig say, “If a home buyer has a score of less than 580, they are not [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/mortgage-update/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/winter-home-efficient/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/winter-home-efficient/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:00:34 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=4019 I don’t care where in the Northern hemisphere you live. The weather is changing. It is getting colder. This means air conditioners are use little or not at all. In a few weeks, if not already heater are starting up for the first time in months. If certain things are not done, you could be spending double or triple what you should for heating this winter. That is why I would be amiss if I did not take one day a look at way you can make your home or apartment more energy efficient for this winter. Plug the Holes - The first thing to do is walk around your home on a sunny day with light out and curtains drawn. Look for gaps around windows and doors. If you see light it is guaranteed that heat will be escape at that point. Weather stripping and door threshold stripping are great for around windows. If you are seeing light through walls then it is time to get a professional contractor involved. Do the reverse at night. Have all your lights turned on. walk around the outside of your home. If you see light coming through any place your should not, that is a potential for heat [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/winter-home-efficient/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/home-maintenace/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/home-maintenace/#comments Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:00:06 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=3897 I remember when I moved from an apartment to a my first house. I was so happy not having to be concerned about the neighbors who lived below me. I did not have to put up with their Friday and Saturday night parties. It only a couple of days in the house before the newness wore off. I was hit with a shocker. I had just traded tolerance of my neighbors for a bunch of extra chores. It was mid October when we made the move. There was no time to rest up from the move. We had got the house at a reduced price because it had needed some TLC. Winter was coming and there was a bunch of TLC needed to be done before then. At the time I had thought it was a great trade off. I would move into this house with a modest yard that needed some work. But in reality I had spent a lot of extra time and energy fixing the place up. By Spring I was ready to move back to an apartment where someone else took care of the maintenance. If certain thing are not done a beautiful and property can [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/home-maintenace/feed/ 0 http://theshoppingnazi.com/home-inspection/ http://theshoppingnazi.com/home-inspection/#comments Tue, 05 Oct 2010 13:00:09 +0000 The Shopping Nazi http://theshoppingnazi.com/?p=3818 In my opinion there are three times you should have your home inspected. I mean by a professional who does The first is before you buy. The second is 10 years after you have purchased. The third is when you are going to sell it. whenre you hire a professions and then the one you do. There are two reasons for doing a home inspection. One, to confirm the quality of the building.  Two, look for defects or problems that may not be oblivious over the course of time. Years ago, I was helping out a remodeling contractor. Over half of his work was repairing termite damage. He got his work from home owner who had their homes inspected from some other bug problem. Once the termites were killed, we would go in an repair the damage that  was done. Most of the time the repair was only a few hundred dollars. Other times the extent of the termite damage was major. It took several days and several thousands of dollars to restore the damage the termites had done. Just like our bodies need regular check up at the doctors office our homes, or any building that we own, needs a regular inspection. Ideally, [...]]]> http://theshoppingnazi.com/home-inspection/feed/ 0