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Diary of a New Homemaker
for Monday, March 8, 2010

Odd boxes

From time to time here at TNH Central, odd boxes show up at the door, addressed to "Editor." Sometimes I know they're coming; sometimes I don't. Usually they contain books, but not today.

Today, a long thin one showed up, and inside was a HomeRight Paint Stick Kit. I vaguely remember telling a PR guy I'd give it a bash. After all, we have a kitchen to paint--oh yeah, hey! We shooed the last of the workmen out! The cabinets, flooring, countertops, they are all done! Jeffy the Hippie Contractor has only a tiny bit of mudding to do, then we get to paint! Eeek! I have to find colors now!

So the Paint Stick showed up at the right time. We've been curious as to whether these work better than just an ol' roller and tray, and I guess we'll find out. If this does work, it'll make painting the high ceilings around here really easy, almost fun. We'll keep you posted, and I'll try to get pix of the kitchen soon.

Newest Article

Boxed Wine: A Green Option for the Holidays

There are no bottles in these boxes of wine -- just wine and the plastic pouch that holds it. It's a great "green" option for holiday parties. Boxing instead of bottling wine saves half the shipping weight (and associated carbon emissions) and keeps the product fresher longer. Photo: BotaBox.

ear EarthTalk: Apparently boxed wine (instead of bottled) is becoming all the rage for environmental reasons. What are the eco-benefits of boxed wine over bottled?
--Justin J., Los Angeles, CA

With more and more wineries offering organic varieties to lower their eco-footprint, it’s no surprise that they’re looking at the environmental impacts of their packaging as well. The making of conventional glass bottles (and the corks that cap them) uses significant quantities of natural resources and generates considerable pollution. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the process of manufacturing glass not only contributes its share of greenhouse gas emissions but also generates nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and tiny particulates that can damage lung tissue when breathed in.

A Seasonal Taste:

Bring Color to Your Home

In the first few months of every New Year, most of us are thinking about change. One of the fastest, most effective and least expensive ways to change your rooms is to use color!

The color forecast for 2004 [find updates at the end of the article for 2006--L] is one everyone can appreciate...it’s all about comfort! Shades from nature, warm rich colors from exotic parts of the world, or well-worn colors are all great choices for a comfort-filled home. Here are some great ways to add color to your home, without breaking the bank!

A Taste of the Managing Money Section:

The "Bike" Mortgage

irst, the good news: John (aka JJ) got a new job yesterday. It was all very sudden. He interviewed Tuesday and they made him the offer yesterday. He'll be doing small business support at a very large Internet company, which from now on I will call the VLIC for short. And he starts Monday! And so does our health insurance! This has been the shortest period of unemployment for him that we can remember, in all our years together.

This time around, we've been unnaturally calm. One reason for this is, we're paid ahead on our mortgage. We are the equivalent of a month ahead. If we had had to, we could have skipped a house payment (probably to put that money towards COBRA health insurance) and still have been all right financially and legally.

How did we get a month ahead--us of all people? We pay our mortgage every two weeks instead of once a month. This is called a bi-weekly mortgage, known as a "bike" in the industry. (Little known fact: I used to be a mortgage loan officer, my sister was an underwriter, and my father was in the mortgage biz for his entire career in both the primary and secondary markets.)

Paying your mortgage every two weeks can save you SERIOUS money--seven years' interest on a 30-year mortgage. For instance, on a $100,000 30-year loan at 7% (that's high for current rates, but bear with me), you would normally pay interest of $139,508.90 over 30 years. Paying on a "bike" would save you $34,462.64 over the life of the loan--and you'd pay your loan off in less than 24 years.

Keep in mind that there is also the "bi-monthly" plan, which is NOT the same as a "bike." Paying twice a month, as opposed to every two weeks, reduces your total interest by only one month, instead of seven years!

Here's what About.com's financial planning guide advises to get yourself a "bike":

• Check with your lender or read the fine print of your mortgage document to make sure there's no penalty for pre-payment.
• Ask your lender how they'll treat your bi-weekly payments (apply each payment immediately to the principal or wait for the second half of the payment to arrive?).
• Whenever you include additional money in your payment, make sure you include a note that it is to be applied to the principal, not to the next month's payment.
• Check on your lender to make sure the extra payments are being applied to your principal. If you're making bi-weekly payments, it's easy to determine what your principal balance should be; just plug your mortgage amount and interest rate into Bankrate's Bi-Weekly Mortgage Payment Calculator.

It may be that paying your mortage every two weeks doesn't make financial sense for you--for instance, if you only get paid once a month. And we're with a credit union; they're giving us the benefit of the "bike" and still showing us as a month ahead. Not all financial institutions will do it that way.

Run your numbers, and see if it wouldn't be easier on your cash flow to move to a "bike" schedule. I'm betting that you'll get the same results that we did: It makes all the sense in the world.