home improvement on the drawing board

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I had no idea that the house my girl friend is living in now is close to 50 years old. Well, I did notice some of the features are a little outdated but 50 years old?! I wonder when was the last time she had her home refurbished.

I’m too embarrassed to ask. I know she doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on home improvement. But you know what, she brought up the topic herself the other day. Apparently she found out Home Depot coupons at Savings.com can really help her save and she just might be able to afford having some minor work done here and there for a start.

I think that’s pretty good. Times are slow, we all know that, and every little bit goes a long way. So I’d say if you can get a good deal, why not go for it? She obviously thinks that too so she’s planning. I’m not sure how soon she’ll get started on it as she has other commitments to sort out first.

She’s been feeling down lately but I’m sure she will be very happy once she gets some new fixtures and other small work done around the house.

a watch that doubles up as a fashion accessory

Have I ever mentioned I love watches? I don’t wear much jewelry, no rings, no bracelets, so my arms are pretty bare. So what do you know? My watch is my one constant piece of “jewelry” that I wear. Seriously!

And you know, I would love a watch like this jacques lemans watch right here. You know, the thing about it is that it’s almost a decorative piece in itself. It’s a watch, I know, but look at those dials. They create an interesting design that from afar, I’m sure, will have people guessing if it’s a piece of fashion jewelry.

So yeah, that’s totally something I could live with. And of course, it tells time too with a precision that is often raved about by people who’ve worn this exquisite time piece. It’s definitely something I would wear with a nice outfit, like when I go to weddings and birthday parties.

Well, I sure wouldn’t mind receiving this watch for a birthday present. I could start saving for it but then it might take me a lot longer. So hint, hint! You can find it on BlueDial.com where they have a great selection of quality watches at reasonable prices.

tune into the gold

So times are bad and not many people can actually afford to buy gold bars right out. Still that’s not to say gold and other precious metals are not good investments. In fact, they are a very stable form of investment and if you have some extra moolah stashed away under your bed, I’m told it’s a great idea to buy gold in whatever shape or form.

I’m not an investment expert but I do read and sometimes even tune in to real life people having financial conversations at the bank. You can definitely learn a lot from there, I tell ya.

free to choose

I’ve recently had to take my son to have a new pair of eyeglasses made before he goes off to college. I also asked the optician to give me a copy of the prescription. My plan was actually to enable him to order a spare pair online. I hear eyeglasses cost a fraction of the price at ZenniOptical.com.

He was pretty reluctant to part with the PD (or pupillary distance) reading though. This is the distance between the pupils of the eyes, center to center, in millimeters, and its a reading that’s needed to ensure our eyeglasses fit us.

Apparently there is a growing trend of opticians reluctant to part with your PD reading. How’s that? Could it be because they don’t want you taking your prescription to an online store to have their eyeglasses made very inexpensively?

So many opticians are either already or beginning to charge to divulge the PD. They’re entitled to charge for their eye test service, of course, but I don’t think they should hold your prescription, or your PD, to ransom. The customer should be free to choose who they wish to order their eyeglasses (and frames) from, especially if it’s from someone who can supply them at an incredibly low prices.

on the blink

Wouldn’t you know it? Barely a few days after school started, the monitor of my son’s laptop decided to go on the blink! Ya, definitely not good since he’s already on a budget and now has to go bargain hunting for a new laptop.

These days, you can’t be in college and not have access to a computer any more. So I guess he’s going to have to readjust his budget and see how he can work in the extra cost of that new laptop!

gold for the kids

As kids, I guess it will be safe to say that most of us grew up collecting stamps. For some strange reason, almost everyone I knew was an ardent stamp collector in their school days .

One of my ex-classmates later traded in his stamp collection for gold coins. What can I say? A rich kid like him would naturally be able to dabble in something that none of us can afford.

He says he’s planning to pass along his collection to his kids when they come to age. And of course, that’s a fantastic idea if ever there was one because as we all know, gold is always a good investment!