just to break the monotony

also titled: 'How to save money in the hobby world'

I used to go to art-film screenings a lot years ago, and saw a lot of bleh.. but a few gems now and then also, so I decided to go to a screening of this years' academy award nominated short films. I got there a smidge early, so I made a trek over to Amoeba Music and rummaged through the LaserDisc bin... WOW. Even cheaper than when I checked a year ago.. and lots of great stuff!.. all for between 1 and 2 dollars!!
I figure by estimating what these used to cost, I got about $850 worth of stuff for just around $50 .. 8>

So there ya go, kiddies... wait for a technology to fade, and then ya can really gobble up the savings... woot! (mmmmmmmm..... *slurps*... VHS, LPs and old computers.......)

when it comes to real

THIS is more 'real' in real estate than the charade of what's been happening around some listings the last few years. Snap it up! Probably could go for 65k (from comps in the area). This might be good too, but heh... "1 car garage in basement"? lol ^v^

The point is, you don't have to believe the smoke screens of real estate right now... that's a large portion of the reason we got into this housing mess! One agent actually told me, when I looked at a hovel she was selling for $600k, and I had remarked that "don't ya think it's a bit high?", she said "the market is adjusting down, and no, because it's hit bottom"). The place couldn't have been worth more than 150k or so. They'll stare you in the face and lie, causing their clients to wait and wait forever until their house sells (or go into default first), IF it sells.. all the while financially raping buyers left and right. >:|

So just look around a bit, and remember to use REAL scales and historical graphs. One wise ole fart tole me that over all his years, he's observed that housing goes up about 5 or 6 % a year, and that is the fair projection. If it's more, you're getting fleeced... if it's less, you're getting a deal. Don't get stuck in a property where you've artificially set the tax rate too high with an inflated purchase price.

Here are some examples showing a few charts of insanity.. ( behind the cut.. )