Monday Household Hint: Clean tile grout
Magic Eraser works nicely to clean grout on a tiled countertop. First clean dirt and any residual grease off the tile (to degrease, spray the tile with vinegar; wipe clean and dry). Then scrub the grout lines with a dampened Magic Eraser. Finally, wipe away residue rubbed off the eraser.
To clean black mold off tile in a tub or shower surround, put some chlorine bleach in a clean spray bottle (be sure no residue of any detergent remains in the bottle!). Clean soap residue off the tiles as best as possible (vinegar will help with this, but if it’s very thick you probably will have to scrub it off with scouring powder), and then be sure all cleaning product is thoroughly rinsed away. If the bathroom has a window, open it; turn on the exhaust fan. Then spray the grout with bleach. Let it stand for some time. You may have to spray badly mildewed areas more than once to fade the black out. Use chlorine bleach only on white, as it may fade colored grout. Rinse thoroughly and dry after use.
It’s also possible to use oxygen bleach (the stuff that’s pitched as “color-safe” in the grocery store’s laundry section). ? It must be mixed with hot water to work. Combine oxygen bleach with very warm or hot tap water in a spray bottle (not so hot as to burn yourself) and apply liberally to mildewed areas. Oxygen bleach is said to be safer for colored grout, and it emits fewer noxious fumes.
To discourage regrowth of mold on tile and grout, leave the shower door or curtain open after showering. If possible, open the window after showering. Train users to wipe the tilework dry after showering. A squeegee or a microfiber cloth (hung over the top of the shower frame or curtain rod to keep it dry) works well to remove water and soap, and if used regularly minimizes bathroom cleaning labor.
It is important to avoid deposits of soap scum, hard water, and mildew by cleaning and drying the surface after EVERY shower. Once hard-water soap scum has built up, it’s difficult even for professionals to remove.
Moments of Fame
>The 146th Carnival of Personal Finance is online at Stock Trading to Go. Funny’s rumination on the state of the economy (“Don’t Worry. Be Happy!”) appears among the line-up. Some of my favorites: SVB’s amazingly thorough discussion of ways to avoid identity theft; Christian PF suggests that index funds outperform other mutual funds; Frugal Trader at Million Dollar Journey argues against upgrading your home; and Five Cent Nickel has an awesome discussion of managing asset allocation across a number of accounts.
>Flexo at Consumerism Commentary says he’s made the Big Leap to self-employment as a full-time blogger…but read all the way to the bottom of the 119th Festival of Frugality. In this line-up, SVB’s lively conversation about renting (anything!) heads the Editor’s Choice selection. P. Sycamore offers a philosophy of leftovers at She Laughs at the Days to Come and Squawk Box describes her Five Top Frugalicious Breakfasts, all of which look easy to make and good to eat. Funny’s frolic at Runamok Mall appears in this festival.
Why no ads on this site?
Funny about Money is beginning to see more visitors. Hits run from 20 to 50 a day-more right after a heavy-hitting carnival.
Apple’s iWeb, which I’m using to create this blog, accommodates Google AdSense. But for the time being, I’ve decided not to try to monetize Funny.
First, I’m not sure there’s anything to monetize. The site needs a lot more traffic to generate hits on ads.
Second, to get that traffic, I apparently have to do things that don’t work easily with iWeb. The program is not very user-friendly: all those devices that simplify and automate various bloggy functions also work to tie the user’s hands. For example, I can’t access the heading to enter the code required to get registered with Google or with Technorati! Nor, it appears, with StumbleUpon. Technorati says you can put the HTML snippet on the index page, but when I do, it’s invisible to Technorati’s spider. Breaking into the code is no easy matter. Since I’m not very techie, I suspect it may be best to leave adequate enough alone.
Third, I’m earning all I need right now to pay my bills and build savings. I don’t really need a third income stream, and even if I did, this does not look like a device that’s worth the effort. While some bloggers claim they’re earning upwards of $40,000 on their sites, they appear a) to be very technologically inclined and b) to be working at it many more hours than I can afford to spend. More typically, bloggers remark that their sites bring in $50 to $150 a month. I can earn more than that in a couple of hours of freelance editing.
Fourth, speaking of many more hours, I’m already spending too much time on blogging. Writing posts and cruising other people’s blogs is so relaxing and entertaining that I lose track of how long I’m sitting slack-jawed in front of the computer screen.
And finally, writing and playing with Funny about Money pays for itself in entertainment and stress relief.
If and when the site starts drawing more traffic, I’ll revisit the advertising question. But for the time being, Funny is ad-free: de mi casa a su casa.
A Tale from the Housing Crypt: Horrors of the real estate bubble
The house I sold four years ago is in foreclosure. The bank is considering an offer of $255,000, but the Realtor who is trying to engineer the deal thinks it has about a fifty-fifty chance of going through.
The woman who bought it from me-let’s call her La Viajera, since she seems to have journeyed to the far reaches of common sense’s solar system-paid $211,000 for the four-bedroom house in a 35-year-old centrally located neighborhood. As the bubble blew, she borrowed against make-believe equity and now owes something like $316,000 on it.
Think of that. She put about five grand down on the loan, so her total indebtedness would be around $310,000. Some bank actually lent her that much against an asset worth maybe $250,000.
If the bank gets $255,000 for it and La Viajera has to pay the agent’s fee of about $15,300, then she comes out of the transaction owing around $70,300 for nothing. For air!
Talk about a stupidity epidemic! We know La Viajera, a grown woman with a Ph.D. and a lifetime of street smarts, had some psychological problems that evidently led her to take leave of her senses. But what on earth would possess a bank officer to make an obviously worthless loan?
Oh well.
If in fact the house sells for $255,000, that represents an increase in value of about 5% a year. Not too bad, given the present doom-and-gloom atmosphere. That’s about the increase I figure for the house I’m living in. At least it’s keeping pace with inflation.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
2 Comments
Sadly, this is not unusual at all.
Someone I know very well paid $120k for her house. She now has $320k in mortgages on it. That is nota typo. She refinanced twice, and took out two separate $40k interest only loans. Suffice to say that money is not her strong suit.
The house is now worth about $220k and in foreclosure. Being a smart idiot she got the 2nd mtg (the interest only loans guy) to buy the house from the 1st mtg. It’s the only way the 2nd mtg has any hope of seeing any of his money back, and if he keeps it for awhile it will appreciate back up. It’s in a great neighborhood.
So yes, her credit is totally screwed, but she is walking away owing no money. That’s better than it couldhave been.
Saturday, March 29, 2008 – 10:05 AM
It’s to be hope that La V. walks away from this mess relatively intact, too.
While you could say she was irresponsible to live on a loan against the house and to delay getting a job as long as possible, the fact is she was suffering from psychological issues following a series of traumas that rendered her virtually nonfunctional.
The bank had no business lending a woman who had no means of support more than her collateral was worth. I lay all the blame at the feet of a financial industry whose practices had become so predatory as to be self-destructive.
Sunday, March 30, 2008 – 07:19 AM
Saturday Round-up: Sumer y-cumin’ in edition
The pool is almost warm enough to swim in (assuming you’re a polar bear). I managed to get in up to my waist, but couldn’t bring myself to take the full plunge. Another week of 90-degree days, though, and yahoo! It’ll be everyone into the drink!
My Money Blog has got a lively exchange running about whether financial considerations should play a part in the decision to euthanize a terminally ill (or maybe just a pretty sick) pet.
At Freelance Switch, Robert Janelle reflects on the cheesiness of freelance bidding sites, something I’ve had occasion to notice, too. Thanks, Robert!
Along those lines, Ramit at I Will Teach You to be Rich hosts an article by Free Money Finance proprietor FMF, who explores the best ways to make extra money. And at Millionaire Mommy Next Door, Erica Douglass reflects on a common mistake women make in starting a new business.
At Wise Bread, they’re talking about David De Franza’s speculation that Europe soon will again become an affordable travel destination for Americans. Money, Matter, and More Musings posts a rant about passport photo ripoffs and offers a clue to how to get 32 copies of an acceptable picture at a rock-bottom price.
Be This Way has an entertaining post on “saving by delusion,” a way to make yourself save, and also on the general subject of the psychology of money, Plonkee offers several excellent excuses for spending on clothes. Mrs. Micah is pleased that she and Mr. M. saved a chunk of dough on prescription drugs with YourRxCard.
Finally, J.D. at Get Rich Slowly points out the wisdom of asking after discounts and forgiveness for finance charges. A$k and ye shall re¢eive!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Not quite that warm here, but pleasant enough. 
Thanks for mentioning the post…they’re pretty exciting cards.
Side Job: Episode 2
At last! The eightieth paper is sent back to its author.
Never again will I take on 80 writing students as a side job! Particularly not online, where collecting their papers takes as much as a minute apiece and sending the things back takes as long.
No joke: I measured it. By the time you’ve gone pointedy-clickety-pointedy-clickety- pointedy-clickety-type type type type-pointedy-clickety-pointedy-clickety-pointedy-clickety to upload and send a paper to a student through BlackBoard (GDU’s online course software), you’ve spent between 40 and 60 mind-numbing seconds. So it takes almost a mind-numbing hour just to return one section’s papers.
If I hadn’t wrenched my leg, I would have had to take this week as vacation time to read the 80 papers that showered down on my head last weekend. It’s taken a good 50 hours to plod through the stuff. So the time off for the injury was a nice (in the classic sense) confluence: my boss feels sorry for me and I use time I would have had to take off anyway to read papers with my foot up. It’s occupied the entire week. I worked until 1:00 a.m. this morning, then carried my computer to the Renovation House to meet a worker and thence to the doctor’s office, and finally home again to finish grading papers, forming 15 carefully crafted groups, entering grades in Excel and online, issuing instructions, writing and posting announcements, figuring out how to make the group discussion boards work for student members, and on and on.
Well, the worst is now over: the rest of the coursework will be turned in as group papers. So, instead of 80 papers at a time, I’ll have 15 to read.
Some of these people are amazing: a Korean kid with a long string of writing awards in Asia and fresh from an internship to die for; a Chinese student who did not learn English until after high school and already writes more intelligibly than certain native speakers of our recent acquaintance; and the usual run of blue-collar kids, men, and women bootstrapping themselves into the middle class. Let’s hope they all make it.
So, here’s the PF question:
When is a side job worth it? How much extra work are you willing to take on to obtain a second stream of income, and how large does that income stream have to be to justify taking on another job?
In my case, the 14 grand GDU is paying for me to teach the equivalent of four writing sections (a full-time courseload) works out to about $860 net a paycheck. Every penny of it is going in to the Renovation Loan savings fund.
But with an adequate (not great) salary coming in from my real job, I wonder if this extra work is worthwhile. I’m setting aside $250 a month out of my regular pay for the Renovation Loan savings fund, and meanwhile I’m snowballing down the principal by about $100 to $160 a month. It certainly does accelerate the goal of accumulating enough liquid cash to pay off the loan in one swell foop, if need be. But I wonder if there’s any hurry. Since the monthly payment is not onerous, what’s the hurry to collect enough cash to pay off that loan? Should I really be beating myself up for this?
If I lost my job and the only income I had were Social Security and the proceeds from investments, I would need the teaching income to live. I can’t make ends meet on much less than I’m earning, and if I collected Social Security now, it would come to less than a third of my present income. But not having lost my job…
What say you? When is working two jobs worth the effort?
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