Tag and I moved into our new house last December. Six months later we are about 100 square feet away from finishing the installation of about 1,400 square feet of bamboo floors. That's right; it has taken us over six months to install the floors in our house (and it's still not done). It also saved us about $3,000. According to a calculator I found at Home Wyse it would have cost me about $3,000 to have someone install 1,400 square feet of bamboo flooring. I never got a quote from an installer so I don't know if that's correct, but I assume it's about right. Now that I'm basically

As the Texas summer is fast approaching, one of the things I'm worried about in my home is my electricity bill. First of all, I have a 23 year old AC unit that isn't nearly as efficient as newer models. Secondly, I have 23 year old aluminum frame windows that do very little to keep out the crazy Texas heat. While I'm just hoping the AC units survive so I don't have to replace them, I had a unique opportunity to do something about the windows. I had a company knock on my door and offer discounted windows in exchange for my home being a "marketing home". That means they are going to market

Tag and I adopted our puppy Sydney on Thursday, January 31st. Six days later she was so sick that she had to stay overnight at a veterinary hospital with an IV giving her fluids. Holy crap were we scared! Sydney went to the vet on Monday and got some heartworm medicine. On Monday night she threw up twice, which we didn't think was a big deal because vomiting was one of the side effects of the medicine. Then in the morning she wouldn't eat anything and wouldn't drink much, and she wasn't as lively as a puppy should be. Loss of appetite and lethargy were also potential side effects so w

Owning a home can be expensive. There are a lot of big purchases that can drain your bank account pretty quickly. Sometimes your spend a lot of money and it's really exciting. Other times you spend a lot of money and it's super-duper lame. I'd say $350 is a lot of money, so here are a few things I've spent $350 on so far: A fancy schmancy new stainless steel microwave (which is pretty cool) A big office desk for your two desktop monitors and printer (also pretty snazzy) A paint sprayer and 5 gallons of paint (kinda boring if you ask me) Underlayment and transition pieces for m

The following is a guest post from Tali Wee of Zillow (which just happens to be an awesome website I used frequently when buying my house!) Home renovation and remolding projects can cost a fortune, so it’s imperative for homeowners to be fully prepared from the beginning of the process to get their anticipated results. Homeowners generally plan upgrades to make their living spaces more practical or comfortable as residents. Those who are remodeling specifically to add resale value have the extra burden of identifying trends in popular demand. The steep prices of remodeling prompt homeown

The following is a guest post by Thousandaire reader Aimee McNitt, who blogs over at PersonalBudgeting.com Make no mistake, I love my stuff. My husband Scott and I have worked hard – Scott has, anyway – and stretched our budget (that's where I come in) to be able to buy the things we want. His laptop, the video game system for the children and my jewelry cost us a bundle, and we make sure we enjoy them. It's also why we can't stand the thought of someone taking our stuff while we're at the beach or on a cruise ship. It's a legitimate worry. There were nearly 2.2 million burglaries in

As a brand new home owner, I had a few projects to get done before my fiancee and I moved in. It seemed simple: get rid of popcorn ceilings, paint the walls, and put down new floors. Piece of cake! I was told that the rule of thumb is that whatever I think it will cost: triple it. However long I think it will take: triple it. Baloney! I'm not an overly optimistic person. I understand how to take realistic estimates of how long things will take and I am definitely shrewd enough financially not to underestimate. At least that's what I thought. Double Your Cost Estimate to be Safe I

My fiancee and I close on our new house in a little over a week and we had one big problem to solve this weekend: the house doesn't have a refrigerator. The current owners are taking the fridge to their new house so we needed to get some appliances and we needed to get them cheap. We also wanted to make sure to get something nice because we know this won't be our "forever" house. We expect to live her for about 5 years or so and then hope to sell for a nice profit. Everyone knows an updated kitchen (including updated appliances) is the key to raising the value of your home and selling it

I will be closing on my first house on December 4th, and I will be bringing a 20% down payment to my closing date. As someone who just paid off my student loans a few months ago, I definitely didn't just have $40k lying around. What I did have was a fairly substantial amount of money in my 401k. The only problem is an early withdrawal from a 401k means I'd be hit with taxes and penalties. If only there was a way to access the money without paying taxes or penalties... There is! A 401k Loan Gives You Access to Your Money Many companies allow employees to take a loan against the money

Based on the title of this post alone I guarantee there will be some hardcore zero debt personal finance fanatics who think I'm the dumbest person on the planet, but I'm here to take a radical position: paying interest isn't always so bad. Does paying interest suck? Absolutely. But sometimes you need to borrow and the only way to do it is to pay a little bit of interest. Let me explain. I'm Paying Interest for Cash Flow I'm closing on my house in less than a month and I need to pay for my 20% down payment plus any other closing costs. That's going to cost me tens of thousands of dollar