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Friday, May 25

Tying Up Lose Ends

Fresh paint and new carpet
On Tuesday we fly to Orlando for my mystery shopping/conference work trip.  I'll be gone 10 nights/11 days so I've been busy getting things in order back at the Frugal Miser's homestead.

Today I have a tenant moving into my one vacant townhouse.  It was vacant for just 25 days, a relatively quick turnaround.  Still, that's about $600 in lost rent, but on the upside I increased the rent from $625/mo. to $700/mo.

I'm also optimistic that I will receive a check in the mail from my new IRA custodian so that I can establish the business checking account I will be using to expand my real estate empire.  As I mentioned previously, I converted the majority of my IRA assets to a self-directed IRA, which gives me checkbook control over my funds and added flexibility to make the investments I feel are appropriate.

I'm forging ahead with plans to move to the Tampa/Clearwater area.  That's where I want to invest my IRA assets, so it makes sense to move there while I'm doing this.  I'm closer than ever to pulling the trigger on this major life decision.  Right now we are limiting what we buy, making an extra effort to use up what's in the house, and tackling the small repairs that would make my current home marketable to tenants.  I've been pairing down possessions, scanning documents and shredding the originals, and coming up with creative meals to use up ingredients that have been sitting in the pantry too long.  My cat went through a "climbing walls" phase so I've been patching up the scratch marks.  On the financial side, I'm pushing just a little harder to pay off some debts so that I can move with a cleaned up balance sheet.


4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks, Andy. I plan to enjoy it. I'll be earning about $750 in fees plus some nice reimbursements... that makes for a lot of fun.

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  2. Since I've started as a mystery shopper I've gotten two checks. The first for $2,400 asked me to cash it and send the money back western union. Oh not so fast. I was born at night, but not last night. Today I got a smaller one for $11.50. Good luck with your trip and may you earn a bunch of checks.

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    Replies
    1. Pat,
      I've heard about those scams but never gotten one in the mail before. You have to be careful and remember the "too good to be true" mantra. Congrats on getting your first mystery shopping check, even if it was for just $11.50. The fatter ones will come if you so desire.

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