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Thanks for the responses, all. Ok, I think now I get why NOT to pay off the mortgage . The worst case scenario is if big banks default and the FDIC have huge claims to pay off. Money will be still safe because, as Oldbabe points out, the claims will be made good by "running the printing...

Hate to rehash this theme again, but given the credit crisis I've been trying to find a SAFE PLACE to put my money. The only thing I can think of is to pay off my fixed 5.75% mortgage. I have enough funds in Vanguard's Treasury MM fund to do so. I'm worried about everything defaulting (see...

Browsing business week today, I came across an article telling the stories of small business owners whose businesses are in jeopardy because of their inability to obtain necessary lines of credit. These are profitable businesses whose sales are threatened or crimped because of the freeze. It got...

[ In essence, you are running a small business. You rent space from the university, pay your own utilities and pay your employees. You may get paid a subsistance wage for teaching, but you will need to bring in the bucks from the outside to be successful. You do that by selling research...

Hi Brewer: Being denied tenure means you are fired. It means you need to find a position at another institution -- very difficult when you have been effectively terminated. By contrast, being granted tenure means you go from assistant prof to associate prof. This does not mean necessarily much...

Exactly. Just read the first couple of chapters of Klein's book last night. Pummel us to the ground with "shock and awe" (stock market collapse!!! housing market collapse!!! etc etc etc) and then move in during the ensuing panic to enact a sweeping corporatist power/money grab. At least...

Nope. "Moving on" means respecting the strong pecking order that exists on these forums. Some people get to hi-jack with impunity, others don't. The former get to decide when a hi-jack is a hi-jack and when it's a useful diversion. And, most importantly, "moving on" means realizing that...

Grass can be one of the hardest things to keep alive, in the wrong spot. A nice patch of flowering azaleas or some such are tough, resistant and care-free plants. Grass needs constant tending in certain parts of the northeast (hot dry summers). Definitely needs a sprinkler system unless...

We had a similar situation in our last home -- very big tulip poplars, dead grass, rampant bamboo. We went to a local (very upscale) nursery for advice. They came to the house for $50, spent a couple of hours walking around with us. They ultimately gave us a nice sketch of the yard, with...

2-3 days a week work nets $89000 (or thereabouts...you didn't say exactly how much less than this you live on currently) for a plumber!? Ok, now I *know* I wasted far too many years pursuing higher ed degrees.... winnie

Hi Saluki-- Yes, I've been looking at Barclays too. But the yield isn't quite as tempting, especially when you look at the common stock...I'm hoping that the BCS preferred comes down a bit. Today, that looks a bit unlikely -- a large move up in all these securities :) winnie

We are domestic partners with a child. My DP inherited significant assets about 8 years ago. She shared it all and its now in a joint, family trust. I've invested those assets, returning about 8% annually on the inheritance, with a pretty conservative allocation. She doesn't have the...

Hmm. Nicely written article. Thanks for the link. The next few months will indeed be interesting. I suspect there will be better bargains yet in this asset class, and intend to try and keep some powder dry....I always tend to buy too early on the way down. winnie

Has anyone been looking/buying at these lately? OK, so I bought some Friday -- the preferred stocks of Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Bank, and ING groep. THey have current yields of between 7.8 and 8%, and yields to call of about 12%. They all qualify for the 15% dividend taax rate. Now...

Mansion? You've posted pictures in the past ... well, maybe "mansion" is a relative term winnie

Actually, I've found this not to be the case on this board. Most posters seem more self-deprecating and modest than anything else.

Most of Nords' posts--whether he starts the thread, or whether he replies to a thread--are self-aggrandizing and/or self-promoting. I agree with you completely. It takes a "newbie" to introduce a little frankness to the board...hope you stick around and that they do not run you off...

Kudos, connie! Great pics and article. It's especially inspirational given that you are single, with kids and yet able to swing ER. winnie

not relaxing...but rewarding Hi Brewer: We were left a (beautiful, waterfront) seasonal RV park (100 spaces) several years ago my my FIL. At that point, we had never a) run our own business or b) owned an rv. No-one else in the family wnanted it, so we ended up running it by default...

Ithaca? How about Ithaca, New York? college town; great schools and lots of family-oriented activities; pretty landscape; cheap real estate; within striking distance of NYC should the urge to visit a real city hit.. on the downside, it does have cold winters, though. If i ever move back...

We just had dinner with two new doctor friends who are owner-operaters at their own medical clinic in washington (though it isn't a walk-in clinic). They were both initially recruited out of medical school for a clinic which went belly-up in the same location. Business at their new clinic is...

I test-drove the new outback on the strength of its safety improvements and it felt, though solid, completely unspectacular (though several steps up in finesse from our older subaru which handles like a tractor). The lack of aggressive marketing from the sales guy was refreshing though...

The fact that they're trumpeting this kind of "success" indicates how little they have to show of real substance in terms of infilitrating terrorist plots or cells. Still, it's nice to see that the general reading public hasn't set the FBI's bar too high either and is only too ready to jump up...

Yes. "Way to go FBI"??? ??? These terrorists couldn't have got much more obvious if they'd tried. Even the FBI could stay one step ahead of this crew. As the articles states: "A plot the FBI says was foiled when the men took a video of themselves firing assault weapons to a store to have the...