Sunday, September 28, 2014

Do you ride the elevator or take the stairs?

Elevator vs. stairs
Elevator vs. stairs
I work in a 13-story building in Bellevue, WA called the Bravern and my office is on the 10th floor. Rather than taking the elevator, I take the stairs every morning. Each floor has approximately 20 steps, meaning that I climb about 200 steps every morning on the way to my desk and another 200 steps down in the evening. Not only does this healthy routine get my heart pumping in the morning, but it also helps wake me up. In a sense, it’s my coffee in the morning that gets me going. This also helps me accumulate physical activity throughout the day.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Ridiculous Ways to Save Money #3

Ridiculous money saving tips

Making money is hard, which is why saving money should be a priority.  Here are another five ridiculous money saving tips to get you on the path to saving!

1. Camp out instead of staying at a hotel
Motel 6 may be cheap, but camping is even cheaper. Five to six nights at a campsite is the equivalent of one night at a cheap hotel.  Campsites typically offer shared bathrooms and showers. Even better, drive to a remote location and pitch your tent for free- just be careful to stay away from private property and keep your food away from bears. A night under the stars sure beats an old dingy hotel room any night.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Celebrating 20 years in business... for the last 3 years

The Uptown China Restaurant celebrates 20 years in business
The restaurant business is notorious for rapid openings and just as rapid closings. TV shows like Kitchen Nightmares and Restaurant Impossible show us time and time again the difficulties of keeping a restaurant afloat. It's no wonder then that the Uptown China Restaurant in the Queen Anne Neighborhood of Seattle has made a big deal out of its 20 year celebration, one which it has been celebrating for the last 3 years as of 9/2014.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

The secret to investing at the optimal time (hint: the best time is now)

A market timing strategy that even a monkey can do
A market timing strategy that even a monkey can do
An old adage in investing is to buy low and to sell high.  It seems so simple that even a monkey could do it. Unfortunately, if it really were that simple, most of us would not be working anymore. All sorts of books promise to teach you how to time the market. One titled Market Timing for Dummies promises to teach you how to “use a wide away of market-timing tools” to help you “make money in any market”.  Despite the complexity of timing the market, one simple strategy will help you come out ahead all the time.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Sleepless in Seattle houseboat fetches over $2 million

Tom Hanks's houseboat in Sleepless in Seattle
Sleepless in Seattle houseboat
Floating near the west shore of Lake union is 2460 Westlake Ave North, better known as Sam Baldwin's houseboat in the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.