Sleepy Summer Sunday

It's summer here in Tampa Bay and the heat is on.  Lately the middle part of the day has been too hot and humid - temperatures in the mid-90s - to be outside.  There's so much uncertainty these days that I've been spending the indoors time thinking about our future.

Financially

I want to keep reducing debt.  The focus this year has been on the last rental property mortgage.  Earlier this month I withdrew $10,000 from a savings account to make a large payment on the mortgage.  The balance is now under $40,000.  When I took out the mortgage in 2009, a 5% rate wasn't so bad.  Rates are around 3% today.  What makes it even worse is that savings rates are almost zero.

I've kept higher cash balances because of all the uncertainty, but I'm seriously thinking about paying off the mortgage soon.  It's a little scary since the meeting industry remains shut down, but then again, our income has remained high.  The Airbnb is doing as well if not better than this time last year.   I needed the security blanket that was a hefty cash balance, but am feeling better about things.  Paying off the mortgage would feel amazing!

Fun

Earlier this month we went on a quick 4 night getaway to Las Vegas.  It was so much fun.  Having been stuck at home for so long, we needed to go somewhere.  We visited Mt. Charleston for the first time and went on a 3 hour hike.  It was a great escape from the heat.  

My Second-Ever Royal Flush

Of course we did a fair amount of gambling.  I hit my second-ever Royal Flush!  The $1.25 bet turned into $1,000, which virtually paid for the trip.  

Las Vegas post-COVID-19 is a different place.  With little to do besides gamble, I think the casinos are returning to a more value-focused proposition:  parking is free once again basically everywhere.  Hotel rates were low (our 4 nights were free thanks to my Boyd B-Connected membership).  When I was booking I almost booked a room at the Bellagio.  Rates were $54/night, but with a $45 resort fee I was turned off and stuck to totally free.

New Car

Last week I bought a gently used Hyundai Elantra from Hertz.  If you haven't heard, Hertz went bankrupt recently.  Now is a great time to buy a used car!  The timing couldn't have been better:  I had planned to sell the Sonata at Carmax (Hertz only offered $1,000 for the trade).  The next day, the check engine light came on and it started driving poorly.  I thought I had it fixed, but yesterday it stopped running and I had to be towed.  In retrospect it would have been better to just sell it to Hertz!

Normalcy is Returning. I See Opportunities...

Every few years the world experiences an unusual event causing society to believe things have permanently changed.  Each of us forms our own unique perspective about these things that shapes our lives.

During my adult life these are the events I remember:

The Internet

My freshman year of college I took a creative writing class.  It was in this class that I first experienced the Internet.  There wasn't much to do online just yet, but I didn't know that then.  Dial-up Internet was all we had, and we didn't know how slow it really was.  AOL chat rooms.  The familiar "You've Got Mail" after connecting to the service.  Being able to read the news online.  Who can argue that this technology that has only been commercially viable for 25 years would change our lives in so many ways?  Today, we watch TV over the Internet, manage our finances online, and shop for groceries, all from the comfort of home.

The Dot-com Bubble

This was the first time I lost money in the stock market.  Like many other investors, I got caught up in rising prices.  I remember a story on the news about Cisco Systems becoming the most valuable company in the world.  $500 Billion market value.  I wanted in and pretty much bought at the very top.  I also bought stock in a defunct operating system and who knows what else.  From the crash I learned invaluable lessons.  I learned that you should never overpay for something.  Patient investors, and even consumers for that matter, will be rewarded... eventually.  I discovered Warren Buffett during this time.  In the grand scheme of things, the money I lost in 2000 was a cheap education that has served me well.  

9/11

A terrorist attack on our soil, killing thousands while exposing weak links in our security.  Air travel was grounded.  Stock markets closed.  We were at war.  How did this affect me?  In truth, it barely did.  You see, everyone has a unique perspective in life, and the things going on in mine ensured that 9/11 was barely more than an interesting story on the nightly news.  Not meaning to be insensitive, just pointing out how different people perceive events in their own way.  Within a few weeks of 9/11, and totally unrelated to this tragedy, my life was basically starting over.  I had gone through a traumatic experience and had a renewed hope for what was possible.  Within a year of 9/11 my home situation changed, I had a new job, I was back in school with a new major, I lost my father.  

The Housing Foreclosure Crisis and Recession 

I lost my job during this period.  That's the first thing that comes to mind.  It was somewhat related to and caused by the crisis.  This was also the peak of when I was purchasing foreclosed homes and turning them into rental properties.  I started blogging about my frugal life.  We opened a restaurant.

COVID-19

Relatively speaking, this one has affected basically everyone.  It's the first time in modern history a health scare has shut down the economy, quarantined nearly the entire world, and brought about Depression-era unemployment in a matter of weeks.

How I'm Taking Advantage of the Pandemic

We as a society are resilient.  We bounce back, even if things aren't exactly the same.  After 9/11, the way we fly changed.  But with TSA Precheck and a good knowledge of the rules, it's barely an inconvenience.  After the 2008 crisis, housing recovered. 

There are opportunities for those of us who can see beyond today. 

• In the stock market, certain sectors have been negatively affected.  I invested a significant sum of money into Vereit.  It's a stock I've owned for years, and it has been cut in half in the last few months.  The company owns single tenant properties, mostly retail.  Think Walgreens, Dollar General, and casual dining restaurants.  They don't own malls or shopping centers, which I think are going to struggle.  Sure, things are going to be rough this year.  But my money is on a recovery.  
• I am reevaluating my career.  I've been working in the meeting industry since 2012.  There are some things I like about it, but I've never been passionate about the work.  Since this industry will struggle for the foreseeable future, now's the chance to consider something else.
• I'm looking for opportunities to save money.  The rental car industry is struggling - Hertz just filed for bankruptcy.  I think used cars will be cheaper and plan to buy one soon.  If the housing market also goes down (I don't know that it will), I'd like us to move back closer to the Airbnb.  I just booked a short getaway to Las Vegas.  I'll blog later about how we're saving money.  I'm also looking at cruises.  Now's the time to book a cheap cruise!

I'm choosing to see the opportunities in our current environment, not just the problems.  How can you take advantage of the situation?

Ever Wonder Why Drug Prices are So High? Here's One Reason...

$1,176 for 2 nights!

Other than mentioning it in my monthly income reports, I rarely talk about the work I do in the meeting industry.  Sometimes I wonder why all this "meeting" is necessary.  Now, don't get me wrong:  I work hard (usually).  The hours are typically long and, being a male in a female-dominated industry, I am usually assigned to do manual labor.

While it's not restricted just to the pharmaceutical industry, the meetings I work are overwhelmingly for major pharma companies.  I'm not allowed to name names, but these are major companies you are very familiar with.

If it's any indicator of how business is done, there's a lot of overspending in the drug industry.  I believe this is one reason why drug prices are so high.

Here's An Example of the Excessive Spending

This week I am working as a Travel Director for a major pharmaceutical company for a 3 day meeting in Orlando.  The company has representatives attending a larger conference and, while there, has reserved a couple of meeting rooms to conduct business.  I am responsible for overseeing one of the two rooms, and a friend of mine is handling the other.

My Hotel Room:  $1,176.75

It's standard practice in this industry to provide lodging for Travel Directors, even if the meeting is taking place in my hometown.  I might be working from 5 in the morning until 10 at night.  There's no time to commute.  But I would be lying if I told you it was needed for this meeting.  Yes, I need a room, but there's no reason I couldn't commute 5-10 minutes from a less-expensive hotel.  I'm working from 8am-4:30pm each day, and there's no possibility of being needed after hours for anything.

My Conference Registration:  $1,555

This one seems completely unnecessary.  Yes, the company is holding meetings while a parallel convention is taking place.  But I won't be attending any of those meetings.  The company I am representing is renting two meeting rooms directly from the hotel, so I won't need a convention badge to be in those rooms.  Sure, it's nice to have a badge - that means I can eat at the meals the larger convention is providing.  But that's the only benefit.  Instead, I could easily eat from one of the resort's many restaurants and expense my meal.

Other Expenses

I am paid a day rate, plus reimbursed for my mileage.  The agency I work for is paid a fee.  The company is over-nighting me a sign for my meeting room (odd, since they knew they needed a sign at least a week before the meeting).  They are also shipping me a special tie to wear for branding purposes.

Now, multiply these costs by two since there are two of us attending.  But wait, there's more!  For my meeting room, the company will be having end of day gatherings to go over everything.  This is entirely internal - no clients to impress.  And since these meetings may go late into the night, a third Travel Director was hired to "relieve" me at 4:30 each day.  There's also an AV tech to manage the rented projector and screen as well as the cost of the room itself.

But Frugal Miser, there must be a lot of work getting done in your meeting room, right?  That's debatable.  I've been told to expect 3-4 meetings over the course of 3 days with no more than 10 people at any meeting (and most likely less than that!).  For this one event, the company is spending over $10,000 to host two small meeting rooms over a 3 day period.

Meet my NEXT Financial Goal

The plan to overhaul and streamline my finances is well underway.  Now that my student loans have been paid I will focus on paying the mortgage on my rental property.  Only one of the rental properties has a mortgage, and the interest rate is 5.125%. 

$103,000 in 2009?  Sold!

Deal of the Decade

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.  Warren Buffett

This is an exciting rental property for me for several reasons, and it is a reminder about how important it is to have some dry powder tucked away to take advantage of a deal.

1. It was 2009.  The real estate market was in crisis.  D.R. Horton decided to stop development in this neighborhood due to slow sales.  The surrounding area was growing pretty fast, the fundamentals were good, but the builder wanted out.  This house was among the last spec homes built in the neighborhood, and contracts had fallen through with three previous buyers because financing was so hard to obtain during the housing crisis.  The price for this house was cut drastically.  Basically a fire sale.  I was able to buy it and add some nice interior upgrades for $103,000.  This is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house.  To put it into perspective, I bought this exact model in a different neighborhood with fewer upgrades a year earlier for $28,000 more.
2. Now that the market has recovered, so has the area.  Another builder stepped in to buy the empty lots and is completing the build-out of the neighborhood.  A fancy grocery store and shopping center opened less than a mile away.  An apartment complex at the entrance to the neighborhood was recently purchased, and upgrades by the new owner have allowed for 20% higher rents at that complex.  Within a couple miles, dozens of retail stores and restaurants have opened.
3. After I bought the house I listed it for rent with a management company.  I immediately received an offer from a tenant but the tenant asked for a discount on the rent.  I figured I would make up the amount I was discounting by getting a tenant in the house right away, so I pulled the trigger.  Ten years later, the same tenant still lives in the house.

I am giddy every time I think about this - I've never had a tenant stick around for 10+ years.  I've steadily increased the rent, and while I still charge less than what I could get, there's huge value in keeping the same tenant (no turn costs, no vacancy costs, just a reliable rent check that is deposited into my account on time every single month).  The current rent is twice what my mortgage costs, so I'm comfortable with what I'm getting.

Time to Nix That Mortgage

With an interest rate of 5.125%, paying off the mortgage on this house is my next goal.  Today, I made a $2,000 extra payment.  I really like the feeling I get by reducing debt.  But more importantly, based on the current state of the real estate and stock markets, I sincerely feel this is the best use of my funds.  Real estate is expensive once again, and when there is a deal it is quickly bid up by professional investors with greater resources than me.  And the stock market is also pricey, especially considering we are due for a recession.  In addition to using cash flow to pay off this mortgage I am considering using some of the cash in my brokerage account.  

Paying off this mortgage offers a guaranteed 5% annual return.  That's a solid accomplishment.  Nothing to brag about, but certainly better under current market conditions.

Towards Prosperity

We're doing okay financially.  We have 10 rental properties, a six-figure stock portfolio, and we live in a mortgage-free home.  But we're not quite financially independent.  I couldn't stop working and just live off our assets.  It's time to change that.  I'm going to have fun doing so.

Having passive recurring income is the way I will reach financial independence.  I figure if I can consistently bring in $10,000 per month in passive recurring income, I will have enough to both live on and to add to the nest egg for future needs. 

Passive Recurring Income - Today

• Dividends from stock:  $1,500/month
• Fully occupied rental properties (including the ones held in my retirement LLC):  $8,200/month

At first it appears that I almost have the $10K/month I need.  The problem is, the rental properties are rarely fully occupied.  When they are, there is bound to be a tenant who is behind on rent.  Likewise, dividends can be cut, which is out of my control.  Therefore, I need a cushion above and beyond the stated $10,000 goal that guarantees I always make my monthly goal.

Passive Recurring Income - 2020

• Dividends from stock:  $2,000/month
• Rental properties:  $10,000/month

I'm giving myself less than two years to increase passive recurring income by $2,300/month.  Stay tuned.

Simple Finances

Why is it necessary to track every minute detail of my finances, down to the penny?  The big picture is this:  My net worth needs to grow so that my passive income covers my spending.

This year I will stop using Quicken.  Over the weekend I signed up for a site called Personal Finance.  It's a cloud-based tool that aggregates my finances.  I'll keep an eye on things using that site.  The plan is to build up my checking account balance so that there are always funds available to pay any bill.  As soon as I receive the bill, I pay it.  I've been using Quicken for so many years.  It's super robust, and I can find out just about anything I want to know.  But it's time to move on.  Here's the benefits:

• I have a PC dedicated just to Quicken.  I can sell it, reducing clutter.
• I'll save a little on upgrading the software every couple of years.
• Having enough liquidity means not having to postpone paying bills, transferring funds from various accounts, and remembering to log transactions all the time.

What else am I doing?  Well, to make this work, my finances need to be super-simple.  I will eliminate Prosper (P2P loans) as an investment.  As money comes in, it will be withdrawn from Prosper.  I'm going to pay off my student loans and my car.  I won't be doing this to save interest (both charge less than 2%), but instead it's to eliminate recurring monthly expenses.   Next, I'm consolidating my spending to one or two credit cards.  Lastly, I will have a single financial goal:  increase passive recurring income.  I have a couple ideas already for doing this which I will share tomorrow.

Towards Happiness...

A few weeks ago, when Bitcoin was crashing, I read an article about Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and why he sold his bitcoin.  Bitcoin has been a volatile currency, trading between $1,200 and nearly $20,000 in the past year.  Wozniak sold because he didn't want to be obsessed with the insane price swings.

"I don't want that kind of care in my life. Part of my happiness is not to have worries"

My dad unexpectedly passed away at the age of 52.  I will be 52 in 11 years.  What if that's all the time I have left on this planet?  When I look at life like this, it makes me realize that there's a lot of stupid shit I shouldn't let bother me.  And since I have struggled with anxiety all my life, I'm starting to realize that most of what I worry about isn't all that important.  So, I'm changing.  I don't want to be bothered with the stress of things that don't matter.

Tomorrow I'm going to start outlining what this means to me...

Keeping Busy! (Dallas bound)

October has been quite a busy month.  I accepted a route of 138 BP mystery shops with locations across the state.  I spent three days this week on the east coast, mostly around Melbourne down to Port St. Lucie.   The route has also taken me to Ocala and the Orlando area.  I have 48 shops left to complete the route:   16 in south Florida from Palm Beach to Homestead and the rest from The Villages through Ocala and Gainesville and north from there.  It's questionable whether this was the best use of my time.   There is a completion bonus of almost $1,000, so I have no choice now but to finish it.

In addition to mystery shopping, it's been a busy month in the meeting industry.  We worked a 5 day Tampa meeting, a 5 day Orlando meeting, and several 1 or 2 day meetings.

Today we are flying out of Orlando to Dallas for another 5 day meeting that starts tomorrow morning.  It sucks having to drive two hours to the airport, but I saved enough on the flight to make it worth it.  We worked the same meeting at the same hotel last year.  The hours are long but the work isn't too bad.

Even though I haven't had a day off in October, and have routinely put in 80+ hour workweeks, it will all be worth it in November:  Carnival offered me a "Pack and Go" cruise rate we couldn't resist.  After the hurricanes, the company reconfigured some cruise destinations, and I suspect this caused some cancellations they wanted to fill.  Including taxes and port fees, we paid $400 total for an 8 day cruise.  Even better, we are visiting all new ports this time.

With the cruise, another Vegas trip lined up for December, and the upcoming holiday season, November and December should be easier months.  The income focus will be on finishing the BP route and making Amazon deliveries.  I only have a couple of day meetings scheduled and don't expect anything larger to pop up until January.  I have a vacant townhouse and should have a second vacant property at the end of the year, so I'm not ruling out a trip to Birmingham if I can make it work.

What's In Store for August

It's been a toasty summer.  I recently switched to a different warehouse for Amazon where I deliver packages instead of groceries and restaurant meals.  There is more work available but it is physically more demanding, at least in this heat.

I have one small hospitality job this month and four gas station audits to do.  That's it.  Looks like I'll be doing rideshare and Amazon deliveries.

On the 14th we head to Fort Lauderdale on Megabus.  We fly the next day to Belize.  We're spending a week in Caye Caulker.  Since I've already paid for our room and we used points for our flights, the trip should be inexpensive.

Last but not least, I've got to put together a plan for the rental property where my tenant passed away.  Her mother was living with her and I wanted to give her some time to grieve before bringing up the fact that she can't live there without paying rent.  This was one of only two properties I manage myself, so it's going to take more hands on effort than it would if a management company was in charge.  Plus, the house is in bad shape and will need a lot of work.

That's it.  August looks to be like a slow month.  Sure, I'll be working a lot of hours.  But there aren't too many commitments pulling me in too many directions.

My Frugal Miser, Summer Edition

It may not officially be summer, but the weather in the Tampa Bay begs to differ.  In exchange for living in paradise six months out of the year, we have six months of living in an oven.  I've chosen travel as the best medicine for dealing with the ailment that is known as stifling heat.

Iceland & Amsterdam

We will kick off our summer with a frugal European tour.  Our Wow Airlines tickets were under $400 each, and we're keeping it low by traveling with backpacks that fit under the seat in front of us.  Not to worry... we are masters at washing clothes in the sink.  Besides, who wants to lug big suitcases around the subway or on foot in the Netherlands?  We're spending three nights in a two bedroom AirBnB apartment just outside Reykjavik.  Those three nights cost less than one night at a hotel in the city.  For the rest of the trip, I redeemed hotel points, so all of our lodging is free.  Our food costs will be higher than normal, and we'll have some other expenses related to tours and admission fees, but it won't be astronomical.

Surgery

After we return from Europe I have to have surgery on my sinuses.  I've had an infection that won't go away.  Since summer is our slow season for work, it makes sense to take care of this now.  Unfortunately, it does mean I had to cancel two jobs I would have worked in June.

Home Remodeling

I hired a contractor to remodel both bathrooms.  Progress in the first bathroom is well underway, and I imagine it will be finished within a week or two.  I've asked the contractor to finish the second bathroom before my surgery.  Depending on cash flow, I have some other jobs around the house I'd like to get done.  The backyard fence is falling apart, and there is a laundry list of other smaller jobs I want to get done.

Belize

If we must deal with the heat, why not do it somewhere exotic?  In August we will spend a week on a small island off the coast of Belize.  Caye Caulker is so small that there are no cars.  We will take a water taxi from the mainland, and a golf cart will carry us to where we will be staying.  We redeemed Southwest points for our flights out of Fort Lauderdale, and I snagged the cheapest tickets possible on Megabus to get from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale.  Our condo on Caye Caulker for the entire week was only $305.  I plan to do as little as possible while there!  Seriously, I'm bringing books to read and ample sunscreen.  We'll surely rent kayaks and maybe visit some Mayan Ruins, but the purpose of this trip is rejuvenation.

Finances

Lastly, I'm getting close to crossing a major threshold financially:  transitioning from paying off debt to accumulating cash.  I started this blog in 2009 when I was looking at hardcore ways to pay off the half a million dollars in debt that I had.  My goal for 2017 is to reduce debt to $150,000, which is more or less the point I am comfortable with long-term.  Towards the end of the summer, I should be able to start allocating excess cash to my E*Trade account.  I'll still be whittling away at debt, but it's going to be super exciting to start building up financial resources for our future.

It's going to be an exciting summer.  What do you have planned?

Caribbean Cruise, Among Other Things...

Secluded Cozumel Beach

January begins the peak season for meeting and convention work.  Carnival's casino division offered me a sweet deal on a cruise though, so we spent five days aboard the Carnival Paradise earlier this month before kicking off a series of meeting jobs.

Vacation

Our cruise departed from Tampa, which made it a very convenient Lyft ride to the port.  We were supposed to visit Cozumel and Grand Cayman, but the weather was too bad to tender at Grand Cayman and the captain canceled that port day.  Even so, we had a blast.  We did the Behind the Fun onboard excursion, where we got to tour the crew areas, engine control room and bridge.  We even had our photo taken with the captain.  In Cozumel we rented mopeds and drove around the island for a few hours.  It was so much fun, and the vacation was very budget-friendly because I booked the casino rate:  $100 + tax per person and a $100 onboard credit.

Work

January has been a busy month for hospitality work.  I completed two multi-day pharmaceutical programs.  Both meetings included meals, mileage reimbursement and a hotel room, so my pay was 100% profit.  Today we started another program, one I do each year.  Our hotel isn't included, but all meals are provided.  We (my partner and I, who is also working the event) booked a $35/night room.  We finish this meeting on Wednesday and start another meeting on Sunday.  

Amazon Flex has been slow.  There are too many drivers and it has been difficult to get hours.  I try every chance I get, but fortunately the hospitality work has kept me busy.  I also drove for Uber and Lyft twice this month.  On New Year's I worked about 2 hours and gave 5 rides for $187 in fares.

It's a busy time of year.  After we finish our meeting work - we have another program that ends on February 11th - we will head to Birmingham to work on an empty rental property.  No rest for the weary!

What I'm Doing in October

Life is good right now.  Other than dealing with a sinus infection.  Those suck.

Work

Having a steady source of income definitely improves my outlook on things.  This month, I've completed two hospitality jobs.  If Amazon stays steady, I won't be working as many hospitality jobs as they pay less.  We do have a job booked in Dallas for November and might have a job in Orlando depending on how much it pays.

I've been delivering for Amazon whenever I can.  Amazon limits driver's hours to 8 per day and 40 per week.  The last two weeks I've met my goal of working 40 hours at Amazon.  I gross around $30/hour including tips before expenses.

I haven't been driving for Uber or Lyft much.  When I have a gap in my Amazon schedule I sometimes turn the rideshare apps on.  Yesterday I was off from Amazon between 4:30 pm-6:30 pm.   I earned about $30 from rides in that time.  I probably will drive on Halloween night since it is so busy.  Our area has seasonal demand and things are picking up, so I might start driving more when I'm not at Amazon.

Play

We are spending the night in Orlando at the end of the month.  I bought tickets to the Sia concert and booked a room within walking distance of the Amway Center.  Since I need to work as many hours as possible this month (property taxes will be due soon), there won't be time for much recreational travel.

Travel

I thought I would need to visit Birmingham to turn over the vacant condo, but I managed to place a tenant without making that trip.  Since I now have a trustworthy handyman, I'm able to delegate any repairs that the new tenants need.  I enjoy checking on my properties, plus Birmingham was home for 35 years.  But a day there is a day I'm not working here in Florida.

Back in Business

The Google gods have granted me the continued gift of blogging.  Thanks to those of you who commented on my last post, particularly to Hawaii Planner, who provided the website where I could locate a phone number to call Google.  It took numerous phone calls, but I finally got this house in order and this website has been renewed for another year.  More importantly, I now know how to log in to Google's Admin site to update my credit card in order to avoid this fiasco in the future.

Farewell (This may be the end...)

Ever felt like you couldn't reach a live person who could help?  Well, that's me right now.  I've been getting emails from Google that this domain registration renewal failed due to nonpayment.  I would love to pay Google the $10 to renew the domain, but I can't figure out how.  My domain isn't listed anywhere when I try to log into my Google accounts.  I'm stumped.  Since the site has always just automatically renewed, I've never needed to log in to update my information.

It's been great revealing my personal finances, frugal ways and mystery shopping exploits.  However, come October 21, www.myfrugalmiser.com might disappear.

So, farewell.  I'll miss you guys.

The Week Ahead

We returned from Nashville on Thursday.  I picked up three Chevron shops on the way home with $20 bonuses on each.  That covered all the gas for the trip.  On Thursday night I worked a pharma meeting and Friday morning I drove for Uber and Lyft.  Then on Saturday I completed 31 BP audits in Ocala and Gainesville.  I was on the road from 6 AM until 11 PM, so today (Sunday) I stayed home.  We hung gutters and installed a rain barrel on the back porch, I planned my next BP route in Orlando, and we bought groceries.

Tomorrow I will drive for Uber.  Monday mornings are usually busy.  Then an oil change before I take the rental car to Orlando to work on the BP route.  I have to turn in the rental car Tuesday PM and am trying to put as many miles on it as I can.

On Saturday I am leaving for Las Vegas.  I am traveling solo this year and my flight leaves from Orlando, which was cheaper than leaving from Tampa.  The boss is letting me park my car at his house while I'm gone.  This will be my second year working the Las Vegas conference.  The client specifically requested me as the lead, so I was able to negotiate a higher salary this time.  I will be gone a full week.  Since I love Las Vegas I am really excited to be going, even though most of my time will be spent working.

Work and Play

Life is feeling especially balanced lately.  I went to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting last weekend.  Then on Monday and Tuesday I worked 8 hour shifts making Amazon deliveries.  I worked a two hour Amazon shift yesterday, did two hospitality jobs this week, and completed 8 gas station mystery shops.  Yesterday we went to see the new Tom Hanks movie, Hologram for the King.  We're going to the beach today on our scooters.  Then tomorrow we kick off a 5 day gig in Orlando.  We will stay in Kissimmee three nights at a cheap motel:  I would rather spend $35/night on a hotel than 4 hours commuting each day.  I will cap off the work-week with an 8-hour shift on Thursday at Amazon.

Why all this work?  To pay off debt, of course.  I only set three goals this year, and one of them is to reduce outstanding debt to $210,000.  This morning I was able to make an extra $4,000 principal payment against one of my mortgages.  It would be amazing if I could pay off one of my two mortgages before the end of the year.

At home, we're putting the finishing touches on the new kitchen.  I bought some storage solutions for the wall that doesn't have upper cabinets.  On one side of the window I installed stainless steel rods with hooks for hanging things.  On the other side I have open box shelving.  I'm really happy with our decision to not wrap cabinets around that wall as it keeps the kitchen from feeling boxed-in.

Work is easy when you have something to look forward to:  next Saturday we take the Megabus to Fort Lauderdale for our 8-day Caribbean cruise.  I had a casino offer that made the cruise $125+taxes per person.  That's cheaper than staying at home all week!

I'm Still Here!

View from the "office" (our backyard).

What a fabulous morning in paradise!  It's currently 70 degrees and highs are going to be in the low 80s.  I slept until 7:30 today.  Usually I am up much earlier but it felt great to just roll over and get a little extra shut-eye.  I will start Ubering today at 11 AM so it's a lazy morning of coffee drinking, reading and web-surfing.

Uber

I've been driving for Uber, but mostly on weekends.  Ever since the January rate cuts, Uber has been offering guaranteed hourly earnings.  The hurdles can be frustrating since I am required to fulfill a certain number of rides per hour to earn the guarantees.  The current guarantees require that I complete two rides per hour.  This can be tough if I get a request on the beach going to the airport, which can take more than 45 minutes.  To play the guarantee game, you want all your requests to be relatively short rides.  On days when there are no guarantees, I focus on surge rates and try to avoid accepting rides when there is no surge.  As an example, last week I caught a 4.4x surge (meaning rates were more than four times the normal rate) from Clearwater Beach to the Tampa airport.  My payout was more than $70 in less than an hour.

Kitchen Remodel

This week I finally made the decision to go with peel and stick tiles for our kitchen backsplash.  I was going to do traditional tiles but I knew this would be really hard to get right.  Cutting around electrical outlets requires some skill.  Plus, even though the drywall is brand new, there are some places where the seams are a little rough and I was worried the individual tiles wouldn't stick.  These peel and stick tiles are like big stickers and I think they will be more forgiving.  I special-ordered the tiles from Lowe's and should be able to pick them up next week. If all goes well, the kitchen will be 95% done by the end of next week.  The only remaining updates will be installing a couple shelves on the wall where the window is, painting the area we don't tile and installing a light over the sink.

Hospitality Work

March is always a decent month for meetings.  This month I had two big meetings and seven small jobs.  We have a big job the first week of April.

Leisure

In February we took a quick 3-day trip to Vegas.  It was so fast I barely remember what we did, only that I didn't lose much money.  In April I have three trips planned:  a day trip to New York for the Biglari Holdings meeting, a solo trip to Omaha at the end of the month for the Berkshire Hathaway meeting, and a week in Vegas and Phoenix.  My partner is from Phoenix so we will have a weekend there visiting family, with Vegas wrapped around the trip.  The flights were under $200 roundtrip each and all the rooms in Vegas are comped.  I also will redeem a voucher for a free car rental from Hertz from when I bought the Sonata.

So much is going on that I barely think about updating the blog.  Fortunately it's all good stuff that's keeping me from being on the blog.  

Busy week ahead

This past week has been an adjustment.  I had planned to drive for Uber, but with the surprise rate cuts my plans changed.  I gave three Uber rides and one Lyft ride this week; my earnings declined by 95%.  I tried to make the most of it though.  I hooked up the new kitchen sink including the faucet and drain lines, then I installed the new dishwasher.  This was my first dishwasher install, and it wasn't difficult at all.  Finally, I moved the mud sink to the utility room and hooked it up as well.  I figure I saved $400-$500 in labor by doing this all myself.  We went to the movies several times.  This week we saw The Forest, 13 Hours and The Hateful Eight.

In a couple hours we will drive to Orlando for the first of five days working a hospitality event.  We are helping a pharmaceutical company with a hiring event.  The work is different than other jobs we've done and I look forward to it.  We will drive home tonight and beginning Monday night we will stay in a hotel in Orlando.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, next Monday we leave for Panama.  I feel unprepared and haven't put together an itinerary yet.  We'd like to visit the Canal, the Summit Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and Panama Viejo.  It should be a blast.

Upon our return, we have six days off before the start of another program.  My partner is only working one day but I'll be working four days.  Combined, I'll be making $1,300 from both programs, which definitely eases the pain from not driving for Uber.

Speaking of Uber, there have been some driver protests in Tampa, some of which the media has picked up on.  I doubt that will make any difference in rates, but it is nice to see people fighting back against these low rates.  Tampa now has the lowest rates in the United States.  Accounting for Uber's commission and adjusting for all miles driven, not just "loaded" miles, drivers in Tampa are only paid $.24-$.26/mile.  That doesn't come close to covering the expenses of operating a car, much less provide an income for the driver.

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

I'm headed to Alabama to spend Christmas with my mom.  I'll also visit my Dad's side of the family on Christmas Day.  I am driving the 500 miles to Birmingham, but was able to find 9 mystery shops along the way to help pay for the trip.  Today I am shopping 7 Exxon gas stations.  With bonuses, I will earn $235 in fees and $42 in gas and inside purchases.  The free gas should cover my fuel for the entire trip.  I am staying at an Econo Lodge tonight ($54, paid with a gift card I bought at Winn-Dixie to earn Fuel Rewards).  Tomorrow I am shopping two Chevrolet dealerships.  I will earn $182 plus receive a free oil change and tire rotation.  All these shops are within a reasonable distance from the route I would already be taking.

While visiting Mom, I'll take her out for gourmet tacos on a mystery shop.  I'm also painting/repairing two mailboxes at my rental properties.  I'm saving $80 in labor and the work should take me less than an hour.

I plan on returning home on the 26th.  I'll spend the last week of the year doing some rideshare driving and setting my 2016 goals.

On Simplifying...

I've been working on a few things to simplify my life.  I've always been a fan of focusing on what you are good at and eliminating or delegating the rest.

Real Estate

The house I listed in March is ALMOST sold.  The buyer's lender has taken a long time to get the loan in order.  Over the weekend the buyer offered to rent my house until she buys it.  I said "yes" right away.  The buyer will pay $500 rent every two weeks, plus I was able to take the utilities out of my name.  The house should close within the next couple of weeks, but it is quite a relief to add a little income while getting my buyer fully "bought-in" on this house.  There's no backing out now as far as I can see.

The plan is to methodically sell all my Birmingham properties.  I'm not in a hurry to do this, but whenever an opportunity presents itself, this is what I will do.

Finances

Recently I closed out one of the bank accounts I had opened as a mystery shop.  I also dejunked my wallet by taking out all but a couple of my credit cards.  The ones I am not using are kept in the safe.  There's something refreshing about having a nice thin wallet.

Work

Meeting season is kicking off tomorrow.  I'll be more picky this year about the jobs we do.  There's no reason to drive to Orlando for $100 on a busy Uber day when I could earn twice that here at home.  I've been keeping copious notes on when Uber/Lyft are busy in my area.  Tuesdays and Wednesdays seem to be the slowest days for rideshare.  I will continue to refine my work schedule so that I am only working when demand is healthy.  There's nothing worse than giving someone a ride 10 miles away, only to be stuck in that area for half an hour without another fare.

Life

Back at the homestead, we still don't have a kitchen.  The base cabinets aren't level, and it's been a real struggle.  I have to focus on a solution to this ASAP.  As far as recreation goes, we've taken advantage of our Busch Gardens passes twice.  We also planned an impromptu trip to Las Vegas later in October.  I found a cheap airfare combining flights on Spirit and Frontier and decided that getting out of town would be good for us.

Things are headed in a positive direction, and this is a good time in my life.  I'm finally seeing some progress on checking off my to-do list.