I think I hit break-even with my Boba Tea House T-shirt

I've used my T-shirt at least five times since purchasing it. The average purchase has been between $20 and $30 each.

Click here to see my original purchase explaining how it works.

Click here to view the menu in case you want to see what food and drinks they offer.

PICS: Pictures from our Living Desert trip yesterday

We went to the Living Desert for the second time this year. Even though the butterfly and hummingbird exhibit was closed, I was able to get some great pictures. Here are a few.

Save money with solar panels? Better do the numbers....

I would love to put solar panels on our house. It seems like the right thing to do, especially from an environmental perspective. Click here for a real-life example posted on ThisOldHouse.com.

Summary of money spent and payback is listed at $26,000. They say they now pay $500 per year in electricity a "75 percent" reduction, but at the bottom they save $2,000. It looks like it should actually be an 80 percent reduction (going from $2,500 to $500 vs. $2,000 to $500).

Here's the breakdown (as I see it).

SAVINGS:

Electricity Savings of $2,000 per year ($166.67 per month average). Reported break-even point 13 years ($26k/$2k/yr = 13 yrs)

COSTS:

Cost (paid in cash): $26,000

Cost (8% loan at 13 yrs): $41,901.48 in payments over 13 years ($15,901.48 in interest).

Opportunity Cost (if paid in cash) depends on investment return/debt repayment as follows:

• If carrying a credit card balance with national average of 12 percent rate, your interest savings would be 1 percent per month or $260 per month. Note: you are actually losing $60 per month by putting solar panels on the roof.
• If invested $26,000 with 8 percent return over 13 years, the "Future Value" would be $73,306.20. This is an increase of $47,306.20 or $303.24 per month. Subtract taxes depending on brackets/state rates and you may end up with around $200 per month.
• There are many mix/match combinations of the above. Other scenarios may be contributing to retirement plan with tax savings, changing the terms to more or less than 13 years.

It's okay to decide to put solar panels on your roof (even if you lose cash flow each month). Just acknowledge that as an additional cost for this project when making your final decision.

TAKE HOME POINT

The important thing is to weigh the cost (both direct and opportunity) and savings before taking the plunge.

2009 SmartMoney Broker Comparisons

SmartMoney just released their 2009 Stock Broker Comparisons. Click here for the comparison page where all the meat and potatoes are. Click here for the summary of the best and worse in each major category.

Top 5 rated overall were Etrade, Fidelity, Schwab, TradeKing, and then TDAmeritrade.

Some of these Brokers who are paired with a bank can offer some good deals on equity trades as long as you maintain a minimum combined balance. The only problem is that it applies only to equity trades. So before you consider jumping ship on your current account, look at the other commissions you might end up being charged for mutual funds, options, and bond transactions.

PIC: Calalilly in the backyard

This is one of my recent favorites. This picture was taking in my backyard. No post-production or cropping. Just how I see it. Love the colors and the contrast.

Money Magazine Article: How to get your spouse to stop overspending

I still am getting the paper version of Money Magazine for free (see previous post).

Click here for the online version at cnnmoney.com.

The author, Tyler Cowen's thought is that it is a control issue, so talking about it make your spouse less in control and will make things worse.

For us, it's the same couple of things.  Trying to make sure what we buy is more of a "need" than a "want."  Also, per my wife, she feels that her items are "small but add up" and my items are "few and far between, but much more expensive."

Okay, I opened a Facebook account

We'll call this an experiment. I currently have 6 "friends." My wife predicts I may have hundreds within the first month (or so).