Disneysteve's Common Cents Blog

We're back from our anniversary weekend in NYC. We had a very nice time. We actually started our celebrating early. DD got invited out Friday night for a movie and a sleepover so DW and I went out to dinner at a nice French place nearby.

Saturday morning, we drove up to NYC and got there about 11am. The show was at 2pm so we had some time to wander and have lunch. We ate at Mama Sbarro's, one of our casual favorites. They have a by-the-pound Italian buffet. After lunch, we stopped at a candy store to buy some snacks for the theater as we don't believe in paying $4/box for candy that is under $1 outside.

We saw "Avenue Q" which is a riot. Very, very funny show. If you ever get the chance, it is worth every penny. As long as you are not the type to be easily offended by sex, bad language or politically incorrect humor.

After the show, we talk a walk up to the World of Disney store on 5th Ave. They renovated a year or so ago and we hadn't been there since. From there, we headed back to the car and went to the hotel.

We stayed at the Renaissance Meadowlands which was just a few miles from the LIncoln Tunnel. It is a very nice place and we had a free night certificate from the Marriott credit card. When I checked in, I got an envelope with a card saying I was the Silver Rewards member of the day and got a free breakfast coupon, so that was a nice treat.

After we relaxed a little, we got a restaurant directory from the front desk and decided to eat at P.F. Chang's. DW had been there once but I never had. It was very good and quite reasonably priced. We got back to the room, showered, watched some tv and went to bed (it was after midnight by then).

Today, we had breakfast. I gave the waiter my coupon and he was surprised that I only had one. I explained that was all they gave me. He said he'd take care of it and he somehow came up with a 2nd one, so breakfast was totally free (though I did give him a nice tip).

On the way home, we stopped at the Jackson Premium Outlets to walk around a bit. We didn't really buy much, just a couple of little things and grabbed a bit to eat.

So all in all, a very nice weekend.

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary! We are celebrating this weekend by going to NYC. We are seeing "Avenue Q" Saturday afternoon and staying overnight at the Renaissance Hotel in the Meadowlands. We'll also do lunch and dinner in the city and spend some time wandering mid-town. We actually haven't been up there for a while so it will be nice to visit.

The best part is that most of the trip is a gift. My mom bought the theater tickets and is giving us some spending money. DW's mom also gave us a small cash gift which can go toward meals.

For the hotel stay, we used the "free" night certificate we get each year from our Marriott Visa. I put free in quotes because the card has a $65 annual fee, but the certificate more than makes up for that. A night at this hotel would normally be at least $180 + tax, so getting it for $65 total is a steal.

I posted my survey total for June and committed to doing all the surveys that come my way. I know it is only the 11th of the month but I can't wait to see my total this month. Assuming payments come in promptly, I should earn more than last month.

I don't record surveys when I do them - only when the payment comes, but I'm sure I must have done at least a dozen so far. I've already received $60 but I'm sure I've earned over $200, probably closer to $300.

I wouldn't be surprised if by month's end I hit $400 which would be great. Heck, even $200 is great. If I could do that every month it would be enough to cover our annual Disney World trip.

I'll post my total at the end of the month. I just felt like sharing midway.

DW wasn't feeling well today and just wanted to hang out at home. We did that until after lunch but I was kind of antsy and wanted to get out somewhere. I decided to take a ride to see the new Harrah's casino in Chester, PA, just outside of Philadelphia. I looked it up online and saw it is only 25 miles from our house. I also confirmed that they recently installed video blackjack, as I have no interest in throwing my money away on slot machines.

Sure enough, it was just over 24 miles and took 28 minutes door to door to get there. They have free parking which is nice as parking in Atlantic City is at least $5 (more if you don't belong to the casino's players club).

What is NOT nice is that there is no smoking ban here. Now that we are spoiled by smoke-free gambling in Atlantic City, stepping back into a smoke-filled casino was rough. I certainly won't be coming back with DW as she is far more sensitive to the smoke than I am.

Anyway, except for the smoking, it is a nice place. There are a ton of slot machines of every type in every denomination. There are also a great many video poker machines. The lower level has daily horse race simulcasting and live harness racing 4 days/week from July through December.

What I went for, though, was the video blackjack "tables". They are set up like live tables with 5 seats in semi-circle but instead of a dealer, there is a video screen with video of a real person. A 2nd video screen serves as the table top. The dealer appears to deal to each player and play proceeds as it would at a live table.

I got a seat at one table and started with $40. I played for about 20 minutes until a new player sat down next to me and lit up a cigarette. After the next hand, I was up to $80 and figured that was a good point to quit and get away from the smoke for a while.

I got a drink (they have free self-serve soda machines around the casino) and checked out the rest of the property, the restaurants and the simulcasting area.

After a while, I went back and got a seat at blackjack again where nobody was smoking. I started with $100 and just played a short time until I was at $140. At that point, I didn't want to press my luck so I cashed out.

Bottom line, I won $80 for the day! Other than having to hop right in the shower when I got home because I reeked from smoke, it was a good trip. I'm sure I'll go back sometime. One perk is that we are members of Harrah's Total Rewards club so if we ever can't get to Atlantic City for a while, I can shoot over there to keep our reward points active. You need to earn at least 1 point every 3 months to keep points from expiring. So just one more option (though it would be a much better option if they would ban the smoking).

DW got her first paycheck from the new job today. It only covered the orientation day she did last week due to when the pay period ended. Also, it was issued before the 401K enrollment got processed so a minimal amount went to the 401K but not as much as it will be in the future. Still, it is the first time either of us have had a job where the employer kicked in matching funds toward retirement so that was pretty exciting. Even though it was less than $2.00, it was $2.00 we didn't have before.

She is starting to feel a little more comfortable on the job. She actually was doing the data entry herself today which is really the only way to learn that kind of stuff. Watching someone else do it isn't the same as actually doing it.

Technically, last Monday was her first day as she went for a general orientation with about 40 other new hires, but today she actually reported for her actual job. She will be doing surgical scheduling for a multi-campus hospital system.

She was hired on a per diem basis. Today, since she had training to do, she worked 10-4 but will typically do 10-2 a few days a week, at least for the summer (due to DD's schedule). That may change once school is in session.

She said today went well. The other women in the office all seem nice. And the work doesn't seem terribly difficult. She just needs to get fully trained on the computer system and other office procedures.

So far, so good. She works 10-2 tomorrow. They're closed Wednesday for the 4th. Since she still has training to do, she offered to do 10-4 again on Thursday as I'm off early enough to pick up DD from camp. We initially thought this would be 2 days/week but at least for now, it looks like it may be 3-4 days. DW isn't thrilled about that part as she doesn't really want to work 4 days/week. We'll see how it goes. The fact that the boss (a friend of ours) is willing to pretty much let DW set her own hours is a huge plus. Not too many jobs around with that kind of flexibility.

I get invited regularly to do online medical surveys (I'm a physician). These pay well, though sometimes they are incredibly boring and tedious to do. I always go through phases where I just don't bother doing them, but then I regret it as it is basically throwing away free money.

I've been back on track lately, doing all that come my way.

For June, I received payment for 6 surveys (one or two might have actually been done in May). The total for the 6 payments was $363.00!

Why I ever pass these up I don't know. I've already done a couple of others that I haven't gotten paid for yet, including a $75 survey a few minutes ago. I just have to keep on doing them, no matter how boring they get.

I just wrote the check for the final contribution to my Roth for 2007! I finished funding DW's Roth a few weeks ago. So both now have the full $4,000 for the year. Looking forward to 2008 when the limit goes up to $5,000, meaning between us we get to put away an extra $2,000.

I posted on the boards yesterday that our escrow statement came and our monthly payment is being increased by $142.

I'm taking that as a new challenge. I want to analyze everything in our financial lives and figure out how we can make up that amount from other places. I'm rounding it off to $150/month that I want to save.

Ideas so far:
Get new auto insurance quotes.
Get new life insurance quotes.
More our brokerage account to ScotTrade (our current broker charges a quarterly account fee).
Work on trimming the grocery bill.
Bake more/buy less desserts.

In addition to saving money, increasing earnings is a tool too. I know we have a couple of small accounts scattered around that I could consolidate to our high-yield money market to boost interest earnings.

I'll update as I find savings in our budget.

DW and I are celebrating our 15th anniversary in a few weeks. My mom bought us Broadway show tickets (Avenue Q). Originally, we were only going to go up for the day. Then we decided we'd really prefer to stay over. I started looking around for a good hotel rate. Conveniently, we got a free night certificate from Marriott in the mail the other day. We get one every year on the anniversary of our credit card account. Using that, I booked a night at the Renaissance hotel at the Meadowlands, about 6 miles outside of NYC. It is a much nicer hotel than we would stay in if we were paying. The CC has a $65 annual fee, but it is well worth it for the free certificate alone, besides some other perks. The room would have been $170 plus tax if we paid for it.

Also, I booked our annual Disney World trip. We are renting a timeshare through SkyAuction. We've done that 2 previous years and really like the one resort. This year, we're paying $286 for the week, or less than $41/nite. That's a little higher than last time, but I'm certainly not complaining.

Yesterday was a great survey day. I got a check in the mail for a survey I did a couple of weeks ago. The original invite said it was for $40. When I reached the end of the survey, I was asked if I wanted to continue with additional questions for an extra $30. Duh. So yesterday, I got my check for $70.

Last night, while DW and DD watched TV, I checked my mail and had 2 new survey invites. I did them both - one for $75 and one for $150. So $225 earned rather than staring at the TV.

For those who don't follow my posts, these are medical surveys sent to doctors only, sorry.

ETA: I got another check today for $60, so even better.

My daughter graduated elementary school today. She is now officially a middle-schooler. How time flies. We stopped in to see her first grade teacher to get her yearbook signed. Jen is now taller than her. In fact, she's taller than her fifth grade teacher also (and taller than her mother). I know we haven't aged or changed over the years.

After graduation, we went into Philadelphia to Jen's favorite restaurat, a vegetarian Kosher Chinese place in Chinatown. We stuffed ourselves full of steamed vegetable buns, scallion pancakes, moo shu vegetables and more (and brought home plenty of extra for lunch tomorrow).

We're getting together with some family on Saturday to celebrate also.

My mom came over today to give me my Father's Day present. She gave me an Orka oven mitt, the really nice silicone ones. I've looked at them for years but never splurged to get one.

She also gave me a batch of her homemade pizelles. Yum.

After she left, DW said she had to give me something too. I said she could wait until tomorrow to give me my present but she said I had to have it today. Turns out it was another Orka. One oven mitt isn't enough and I was about to start dinner (eggplant parm) so she knew I'd need two.

Great Father's Day so far.

We are planning to go to Clementon Amusement Park this weekend. It is a fun little park close to our house. We go every year or so.

I know they have discount coupons at some of the fast food restaurants, but since we almost never eat fast food, I didn't know which one.

So I asked. I mentioned at work a couple of days ago that I was looking for coupons and today one of my co-workers came in with them. Subway had them. So we will save $8 on each of our 3 tickets, $24 total. That should be enough for lunch and maybe a snack. Good deal.

Our daughter went to Washington, DC with Girl Scouts today so my wife and I headed for Atlantic City. Althought my wife likes going to the casinos, it was something we could never do because of the horrendous smoking situation. Finally, AC passed a smoking ban that went into effect in April. I visited AC in late April for a convention and it was heaven. I could actually spend time in a casino without getting a headache and sore throat. So I told DW that we'd have to go down together.

So today was the day. We got down there around 10:00. We visited The Pier, the new mall at Caesar's. I was there once before but it wasn't finished yet. We also called friends of ours who were down for the weekend and arranged to have lunch with them.

Anyway, we went back to the casino. I took a seat at a blackjack table and DW went to play some slots. I played for about 25 minutes and lost nearly $200. DW lost about $25. So not a great start to the day.

Lunch was excellent. We ate at The Continental in the Pier. Our friends treated us as they had a ton of comps to use.

After lunch, we walked up to Tropicana. We both played a little video blackjack there. I lost $10 and DW won $13. That still had us down about $222.

We headed back to Caesars and played for another hour, me at blackjack and DW at video poker and blackjack. I won back the $200 I had lost earlier plus $25. DW lost $14.

So the tally found us down $11 for the day. Before heading back to the car, I checked our comp account and we had credit for free parking, so that saved us $5, meaning our day in AC ended up costing us a grand total of $6 (plus gas and tolls).

The best part is that DW agreed that with the casinos now mostly smoke-free, it is a fun place to go, so we will definitely be making this a more regular outing.

You may recall that my wife left her job of 2 years back in February. For 10 years before that, she was a SAHM raising our daughter. Although I hated to see the income go, she was no longer happy at the job and that was far more important than the money.

Anyway, she was not looking for a new job. In fact, she hadn't been looking for that one. A couple of weeks ago, she happened to be speaking to a friend at our synagogue who hadn't realized she wasn't working there anymore. My wife explained that what she really needed was a job that was part-time with hours that were flexible enough to let her be around to get our daughter to and from school, take off when there were important functions she wanted to attend and have as much vacation time as me (4 weeks) so we didn't have a problem planning our travels.

Much to my wife's surprise, the woman said, "I may have a job for you." This woman runs the surgical scheduling office for a local hospital system. She was in need of someone on a per diem basis. The schedule is flexible and could be worked around my wife's specific needs. Basically, they maintain a pool of workers who they call as needed. If you are able to work, great. If not, you can pass and they'll call someone else. Or, you can also have set hours.

My wife had to interview with the HR person, but the final decision was up to our friend. Last week, she was officially offered the job. She has to go for a physical, drug test, etc. which is scheduled for next week.

She will probably get some fixed hours, maybe 2 days/week, 4 hours/day, like 10am-2pm. Then she would also be in the pool for additional shifts, like if someone is out sick or on vacation.

I'm hoping it works out as this would be perfect for her schedule-wise. It wouldn't be much money, maybe $5,000/year, and we'd probably put all of that into a 401K, but every little bit helps.

Since Jan. 1, 2006, I have designated 17% of my gross income for savings. Every 2 weeks when I get paid, I calculate 17% of the gross, round it up to the nearest $5.00, and direct that much toward savings (split between taxable mutual funds, our IRAs, DD's 529 and extra home equity loan payments).

As of July 1st, I am increasing to 18%. I've realized in recent months that after the 17%, we still had money left over after paying all the bills and spending whatever we spent on stuff. In reality, I could probably up it to 20% and still be okay. I figure I'll do 18% for the 2nd half of 2007 and see where we end up. If we're still fine in December, I may increase it to 19% starting next January. We'll see how it goes.

We spent the day at Jersey Gardens. For those not from the area, Jersey Gardens is the largest outlet mall in New Jersey. We go there about once a year as we do get some good deals, much better than at local stores or malls. The mall occupies a plot of land about the size of Rhode Island, across the road from Newark Airport.

Anyway, I was looking at the directory while DW and DD were in one store and I couldn't help but think about why people overspend so much. There are just way too many choices of where to spend our money. Years ago, we didn't have such choice and variety. Shopping options were quite limited compared with today.

The directory of shops certainly reflects the typical differences between men and women. There are 33 women's apparel stores, 23 for kids and just 10 selling excusively men's apparel. Got feet? There are no fewer than 33 shoe stores at the mall.

For those who would argue that at least clothes and shoes are necessities to a point that we all need from time to time, the list doesn't stop there. Need some bling? Jersey Gardens has 22 jewelry stores. Want to smell better? There are 9 perfume stores with such creatively varied names as Perfume Boutique, Perfume Forever, Perfume Romance, Perfumania and the romantic French-sounding La Perfumerie. Do we really need all that? Perhaps your cell phone is on the fritz. There are 7 cell phone vendors on hand.

The choice and variations of what to buy and where to buy it, I think, just encourages people to spend more and more money on stuff they probably don't really need. And this isn't limited to clothing and accessories. The same thing is true at the grocery store. In 1970, the average grocery store carried about 9,000 items. Today, that number is well over 40,000. On one supermarket trip, I counted over 200 choices in the cereal aisle alone.

Or go to the toiletries department at Target or WalMart and see the variety of deodarants or toothpastes or shaving creams. They come in every imaginable color, style, fragrance, etc. Women, do you really care if your legs smell like mango/kiwi or strawberry/banana after you shave? Does it truly matter if your armpits evoke spring rain or summer breezes?

There was a great book a few years ago called, I think, The Paralysis of Choice, in which the author talked about how many consumers are completely overwhelmed by the options when they go shopping and are often unable to make a decision, lest they pick the wrong thing.

Oh, to return to a simpler time. Stores were smaller and more manageable. People were thinner (the overabundance of food choices is part of the problem behind the obesity epidemic). And shopping was far less stressful. Plus, shopping was done more out of need and less out of entertainment value.

I've referred to this article in a couple of posts and several people asked if they could read it. I was hesitant to post a direct link because of the personal info, full name, town, etc. So instead, I've copied it here and edited out my last name and exact location. I've also removed the source, but it was a national financial magazine geared toward those in the medical field.

Keep in mind that this article was published over 3 years ago and was written about 6 months before that, so it is nearly 4 years old. Our numbers are even better now as my student loans are gone, DD's 529 is over 21K, we are still driving the same 2 cars mentioned, our investments have nearly doubled to 390K and we now save 18-20% of income, not 13% like in the article.

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How this young doctor keeps debt at bay

Mar 5, 2004

This 39-year-old physician has school debt, a house, and a family—yet he's squirreled away more than $200,000.

Family physician Steven G. is a happy camper.
He's 39, he's paid off most of his medical school debt, and his savings are growing. He's on track to have college funds and retirement savings ready when he needs them—and that's on a salary of about $105,000.
No, you won't find the G.s shopping at Neiman Marcus. "Some doctors drive fancier cars or live in bigger houses," says G.. "We live below our means. But we don't feel deprived. We enjoy today, but we prepare for tomorrow."
G. has come a long way. He graduated medical school in 1990 with about $102,000 in medical school debt. When he married two years later, the newlyweds' joint assets totaled about $6,000. Now they're up to about $200,000, not including their house, cars, or collectibles.
G., who started practicing in 1993, is an employee in a two-doctor urban office. He and wife, Marci, 40, a homemaker, and daughter, Jennifer, 8, live in a three-bedroom colonial in New Jersey.
Other than a $10,000 gift from G.'s mother toward their down payment, Steve and Marci have built their own stash. And G. predicts he'll be set for a comfortable retirement around age 62, after paying his daughter's college education.
Determined to wipe out med school debt
G. vowed to wipe out his debts early on. In 1994, after he'd been in practice for a year, his Health Education Assistance Loans totaled about $62,000. That year, he started making extra principal payments (an additional $450 a month on top of the $225 due). Then, in 1999, he took out a home equity loan of $28,000 to pay off his car and part of his student loans. Those HEAL loans are down to about $11,000 now. The home equity loan has a $25,700 balance and 15 years left. "Once the HEAL loans are paid off, I'll have a chunk of money to put toward the home equity loan," he says. "I'll pay off all my debt way ahead of schedule."
G. also began saving early. "We started putting $50 a month via automatic deposit into our first mutual fund in 1992, and increased that amount as my income rose," he says. The account is now worth about $22,000. The G.s have since added other funds and investment accounts, IRAs, and a 529 plan. Currently, 13 percent of G.'s gross pay goes toward savings and investments. Some large financial goals are looming, and the G.s aim to be prepared. "Our daughter will have a Bat Mitzvah in about five years, which we expect will cost about $20,000," says G.. "Five years later, she'll head for college."
Rather than take a loan or charge the expenses, G. plans to save for both the Bat Mitzvah and college. "The 529 plan we started last July now has about $3,000," he says. "Once my HEAL loans are paid off, I'll redirect some of that money into the 529. I expect to have about $75,000 by the time Jennifer starts college."
The G.s do use charge cards, but refuse to carry a balance. That keeps them from spending beyond their means, and from throwing away money on interest charges. "Credit cards can be the bane of existence for many people," he says. "We can't see spending first and then paying off; we save first, and then pay for what we want."
Despite their frugality, the G.s don't neglect charitable giving. "We donate money and volunteer our time and services to our synagogue, and support our local public television station and my undergraduate college," he says. They also donate old clothes, toys, books, and household items to Purple Heart Veterans, Goodwill, and other causes.
Taking frugality as a way of life
What's G.'s secret? Attitude.
"We are not into status items, and we're not upgrade happy; once we buy something we stay with it," he says. "But we don't feel like we're sacrificing. Marci and I enjoy our lifestyle."
The G.s will buy top quality items that are important to them. "We both love to cook, so we have Calphalon pots and pans, and KitchenAid appliances," he says. "We also have an extensive collection of Walt Disney memorabilia, and have spent thousands of dollars on it over the years. They're obviously not necessities. For things we don't consider a big deal, we buy something functional," he adds.
Take cars, for instance. The G.s own two that they bought used: a 1998 Toyota Camry LE and a 2000 Toyota Sienna LE minivan. "The Camry was a dealer demo, and had 11,000 miles on it when we bought it," he said. "I plan to keep it for another five to seven years." The minivan was two years old when they bought it last year.
"Our living room has had the same old furniture and IKEA bookshelves for the past 10 years, interspersed with some new pieces," he says. "Our house is nice, but it's not a mansion." The G.s intend to stay in their current home, although they may remodel or add on to create more space.
Finding bargains and getting the best prices also help the G.s' saving campaign. "We shop carefully," he says. "We buy some food items at Target because they're cheaper than at the supermarket. We'll pick up things at yard sales or thrift shops. Especially when my daughter was young. Why pay full price for overalls that she'll wear for three months, when you can get them for $1 at a thrift shop?"
The G.s take out novels from the library rather than buy them at bookstores, although they purchase reference books new. The family usually eats at home. "We prepare most meals from scratch. It's healthier and cheaper than dining out." And the G.s don't pay for any household help.
Vacations also reflect the G.s' stretch-your-dollar philosophy. They spend at least one week a year in Disney World, "but we stay at a $39-a-night motel two miles from the park, rather than on-site, where it could cost several times as much," he says. This year, they spent another week in Massachusetts. "We stayed at a Marriott using Rewards Points earned on our charge card."
But they also splurged. "One weekend last year, for our anniversary, we stayed at a luxury hotel in New York, ate at fancy restaurants, and went to a Broadway show," says G..
Steve and Marci have a crucial advantage: They have similar attitudes toward saving. "There's no way we could have accomplished what we did if one of us was a spender and the other a saver," he says. "We can't think of a single instance where either one of us wanted to blow money on something ridiculous and had to be talked out of it."
No financial advisers need apply
The G.s don't use a financial adviser. "We got a financial analysis done twice—in 1996 and in 2001—by our insurance broker," says G.. "The most recent one showed a very small projected shortfall for our anticipated retirement needs. But we identified the factors that will correct that gap in the near future. It mainly involved repaying my student loans and having that money for additional investing.
"I'm proud to say that our broker was quite impressed," adds G.. "In fact, he ended up telling me that I was overinsured, and he actually reduced my life insurance coverage by $250,000. It's not often you hear an insurance salesman telling you to buy less insurance!"
While the market slump of the past few years zapped G., he's not sweating. "The market correction had a big impact on paper, since we keep about 80 percent of our portfolio in equities," says G.. "But that decline came after a huge run-up, so we're still way ahead of where we started, and the recent recovery has erased much of the paper losses."
Thanks to the G.s' philosophy, they're certain they'll be comfortable later in life. "We figure that it will be much easier to live a modest lifestyle after retirement because we're not living extravagantly today," says Steve. "We hope to live at least as well, if not better—more travel, theater, fine dining. We want to enjoy retirement, not spend it struggling to get by on a tiny nest egg."
 

Where their money goes

2002 Total income $105,000
Adjustments
Income taxes $27,100
Property taxes 4,600
Pre-tax contributions to savings and investments 0

Total adjustments $31,700

Total spendable income: $73,300
Expenditures
Housing (including mortgage payments utilities, and maintenance) $16,000
Loan and debt repayment 7,000
After-tax contributions to savings and investments 14,400
Food and dining out 5,000
Insurance (Life and disability) 5,900
Autos (gas, repairs, insurance) 5,500
Vacations 6,000
Hobbies and entertainment 2,000
Medical and dental expenses 3,500
Clothing 1,800
Charitable contributions and gifts 3,500
Miscellaneous 2,700

Total expenditures $73,300
 

1. Know the odds - The casino, or house, has a mathematical advantage in every game played in a casino, but that edge is not the same for every game, or even every bet within a given game. In a game like Keno, the house edge is 25-30%, meaning for every $100 you wager, the house can expect to win $25-$30. On the other end of the scale are the Craps and Blackjack tables where the house edge is just 0.6% and 0.8% respectively. So compared to that Keno game, at the Craps table, for every $100 you wager, the house can expect to win just $0.60. Where do Slot Machines fall? It depends, but isn't good in any case. The house edge on slots varies from about 3% to 25% depending on the machine. The worst table game odds can be found at the roulette table where the house edge is 5.25% (with double zeros).

2. Learn the game - The odds I just discussed apply only to players who are utilizing perfect strategy. An untrained blackjack player gives the casino more like a 20% edge, instead of the 0.8% edge from a knowledgeable player. There are numerous websites and books at your local library or bookstore where you can study the games (craps or blackjack hopefully) and learn basic strategy to maximize your odds and minimize the house advantage. There are also many online casinos where you can play for free to practice your skills before setting foot in a real casino wagering real money.

3. Establish your limits - Other than learning the game, the most important things to decide before you start playing are how much you are willing to lose and at what point you will stop if you are winning. Many people do the first one and forget to do the second. As a result, when they are doing well and find themselves ahead, they don't stop playing. Instead, they keep on wagering and, inevitably, end up losing money when they could have walked away ahead had they set, and stuck to, a winning limit, not just a losing limit.

4. Get a Player's Club card - On your first visit to a casino, stop at the Promotions desk and sign up for their Player's Club. It goes by a different name at every casino. You will get a card with a magnetic strip. You then insert that card in any slot or video poker machine or hand it to the pit boss at any table game. Your play will be monitored and recorded and you will earn points toward comps, or complimentary gifts. Comps can range from free parking in the casino garage to free meals to major stuff like TVs, stereos or free vacations. Contrary to common belief (I was surprised to learn this myself) but comps are not reserved only for the high rollers. After just my 2nd trip to one casino this year, wagering just $300 each trip (and winning several hundred one of those times) I received offers for free hotel stays at that location. It definitely pays to get the card and to stay loyal to one casino (or family of casinos).

5. Gambling is entertainment, not investing - Since this is a personal finance site, I should point this out. Money that you take to the casino should come out of your Entertainment budget or envelope. This should be money that isn't needed for anything important like rent or college or retirement. If you win, you can certainly put some extra money toward those things. If you lose, however, you don't want to come up short where it really matters.

Go and play and have fun and GOOD LUCK!

Top 10 Reasons for an Annual Physical

“I feel fine.”
“I only go to the doctor when I’m sick.”
“Doctors only recommend physicals to make more money.”

People have all kinds of excuses for not getting regular check-ups. Here are 10 reasons why you should. For the record, I’m a board certified family practice physician in practice for 14 years.

1. High blood pressure: Often called “the silent killer”, high blood pressure usually causes no symptoms at all but greatly increases your risk of having a heart attack, a stroke, kidney damage and other serious health problems. Millions of people have high blood pressure and don’t know it until something bad happens. Seeing your doctor annually and getting your BP checked can identify the problem before it harms you.

2. Diabetes: Like high blood pressure, high blood sugar can have no symptoms until it is severe, but will still be damaging your body even though you can’t feel it. An annual sugar test can identify this hidden disease. This is especially important if you have a family history of diabetes or you are overweight. Women who had elevated sugar during pregnancy are also at higher risk of developing diabetes later in life and should be regularly screened.

3. Cholesterol: Same story. No symptoms. Unless you get a simple blood test, you don’t know your cholesterol is high and hard at work clogging your arteries and setting you up for a heart attack or stroke.

4. Cancer screening: Many common cancers can be checked for with simple tests as part of your annual physical. In the office, we can screen for breast, colon, skin, cervical and prostate cancers by exam, blood test, Pap smear and sending you for a mammogram. Patients 50 and older should also get a colonoscopy.

5. Vision: It never fails to amaze me how many patients come for physicals and can barely read the eye chart. I wonder how many auto accidents are due to drivers who just can’t see what is happening around them.

6. Vaccines: You aren’t all done with shots once you turn 5 years old. Adults need shots, too. Tetanus boosters, flu shots, pneumonia vaccines, pertussis boosters, hepatitis B, etc. This is particularly important if you are planning any foreign travel, but even if you aren’t. Speaking of travel, you should always check with your doctor well in advance of a trip to see if any special vaccines are needed (typhoid, yellow fever, malaria medication, etc.).

7. Obesity: Many people never step on a scale outside of their doctor’s office. As a result, a lot of folks seem truly surprised when they come in, get weighed, and see how many pounds they’ve gained. Often, just seeing that number motivates them to make some changes, start eating better and get back to their exercise routine. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to discuss their weight and make suggestions about how to address it.

8. Smoking: Studies have shown that patients whose doctors counsel them to quit are more likely to quit. If you smoke, hopefully your doctor will raise the subject during your annual exam and talk to you about quitting. There are various methods to help you quit that your doctor can prescribe if you are ready and willing to make a quitting attempt.

9. Thyroid disease: This is a common problem, particularly in women. There are symptoms, but many of them are very general and people attribute them to other things: fatigue, weight gain, dry skin, changes in the menstrual cycle. This is another case where a simple blood test can identify the true cause of those symptoms and your doctor can prescribe medication to correct the problem.

10. Anemia: Again, something like thyroid disease that has symptoms that people often attribute to something else. Fatigue, decreased exercise endurance, headaches – all things that many of us feel from time to time. That annual blood test can determine if the underlying cause is a low blood count. If so, your doctor can work with you to find out why you are anemic. The cause could be something simple and benign or something much more serious. Catching it early could make a big difference in the outcome.

We had our garage sale today. The weather forecast was iffy but wrong and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

We woke at 5am to start setting up. First sale was at 6:50am and we were pretty busy almost the entire morning. We started packing up just after 2:00pm because we were pretty much done and the weather was starting to turn. We didn't want it to start raining while everything was still out.

Our goal for this sale was to get rid of stuff, not make big bucks. With that in mind, it was very successful. We sold lots of stuff, including some larger items that were taking up a lot of space in our garage. Usually, we are much firmer on our pricing but this time we took almost any offer on things.

Total for the day was about $250. We spent $30 for the newspaper ad so netted about $220. Not a lot of money considering the amount of work involved, but we're satisfied and, like I said, we were more focused on freeing up garage space which we did nicely.

I registered for ebay on May 15, 1997, 10 years ago today.

My first sale was a pre-opening commemorative guide to Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park which I think went for about $17.00. My most recent sale was 2 days ago for a lot of 50 promotional pens for $15.50 to a woman in England. Along the way, I've logged sales to every state and most major countries.

My best month I had sales of just over $2,600. My best year I had sales of over $13,000.

For a few months in 2000, I did ebay full-time after leaving my old job.

At my peak, I was running 100 active auctions at all times. Back then, auctions ran for 10 days and I would list 10 new items every day.

I currently sell pretty casually, 16 listings in the last 60 days, and that was after a very extended period of not selling at all. I just started back recently, but I'm looking forward to many more years of active selling.

I just e-mailed the ad for our garage sale next Saturday to our local paper. I brought up the old signs from the basement and just need to change the date on them.

All the stuff we will be selling is already packed up and ready to go in the garage. In fact, we have tons more stuff than we can possibly put out in one day. My plan is to have this sale and then have another at the beginning of September. Anything that doesn't sell next week goes to Goodwill, NOT back into the garage. It is time to clear this stuff out once and for all, one way or another.

Now we just have to hope for good weather.

Nothing beats using ebay to sell stuff that you've gotten for free. No complaints about fees and commissions when anything you earn is pure profit.

I recently had 2 auctions close for a total of $28.02. And I've got 2 active auctions for identical items that are up to $14.21 so far. That's at least $42.23 (minus fees) just for keeping my eyes open to opportunity and taking advantage of the situation.

The best part is that what I'm selling is something that I have ongoing access to, though in lesser quantities. Even so, I can accumulate enough items every month or so to put up another auction. Even $30/month is $360/year for doing basically nothing. That sounds good to me.

Sometimes it is the simple things that excite us.

About a year ago, my daughter accidentally swung the front storm door open a bit too far and stretched the hinges out of place. Ever since then, the door wasn't quite right but we hardly ever use it as we enter through our garage, so I never did anything about it.

Then a couple of weeks ago one of the spring closers broke. Now the door really wasn't right as it was hanging down a bit and not flush with the frame. To close it, you had to lift up on the handle to get it back in the frame.

Well, I finally went to Home Depot and bought a new closer. That fixed one problem but not the hinge problem. I was able to fix that with a hammer and a nail punch to tap the hinge plate back into shape.

Now the door is good as new and it cost me all of $10.50. And I had been procrastinating because I really thought the door was trashed and I'd have to replace it for a few hundred dollars. Wasn't I pleasantly surprised?

We took the plunge and bought DD her first cell phone. We've been researching it for a few weeks. We checked the prepaid options but finally decided to add a line to our Cingular/ATT family plan. On the surface, the prepaid option looked cheaper. However, with her on our plan, calls she makes to our cell phones (or us to hers) are free. Also, any friends she calls who are on the Cingular/ATT network would also be free.

We never use all of our plan minutes and, in fact, have about 4,000 rollover minutes stored. So even if, with her, we now use all of our plan minutes, we've still got a cushion of rollover minutes so we wouldn't generate any additional charges.

We did opt for the phone insurance for now until she gets used to carrying and caring for the phone.

Of course, while we were there, DW started looking at all the nice new phones. Her phone is almost 3 years old. I upgraded last year after losing my phone. The clerk said she was eligible for a free upgrade - just had to pay for the new phone. She looked at the options and liked one that was $29.99. We decided that would be her Mother's Day gift. She's been wanting a new phone for quite a while. We rarely splurge like that or upgrade things that are still working okay, so it was actually a hard decision, but she's happy to have a nice new phone with more modern features.

My last auctions of the month just ended. We didn't quite make our goal of $200 in sales for the month. Our total was $188.23 for 8 items. April was a bit off because of Passover, Spring Break and the fact that I was out of town for 3 days last week so I didn't list auctions to end during those times.

That makes the grand total $296.71 for March and April since I started selling again. I'm going to shoot for $200 again in May.

I'm back home from AC. I ended up pretty much breaking even on my blackjack time, which was fine with me.

One thing that did me in (as is true of most gamblers) was not quitting when I was ahead. Most people go to the casino with a set amount they are willing to lose, but they don't set a limit on how much they can win. It sounds kind of counter-intuitive to put a cap on your winnings, but if you are going to gamble, you need to set an end point. Otherwise, you just keep playing and playing and odds are you will eventually give back your winnings.

So how do you pick a stopping point? With our investments, we're all pretty satisfied if we earn 10% in a year. But somehow sitting at the blackjack table, earning 10% in 10 minutes doesn't seem satisfactory at all. I mean, if I sit down with $100, I'm just not going to get up and leave when I am up to $110.

My general rule (which I didn't always stick to this week) is to quit when I've doubled my money. After my losing sessions on Wednesday, though, I stuck to it on Thursday and Friday and that's how I got back to even for the trip. There is just some brain defect that makes you want to keep playing when you are doing well rather than taking your winnings and walking away. Oh well, hopefully next time I won't let greed get the better of me.

I got a nice surprise today. I got an envelope from Charles Schwab, where I have one of my IRA accounts. I could see through the window that it said "Pilgrim & Baxter" which I thought was a little odd because I sold my Pilgrim fund shares a couple of years ago.

I opened the envelope to find a check for $95.70 for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Fair Fund Distribution. Apparently, this is a fund established by the SEC to compensate investors whose accounts were affected by some trading irregularities (market timing) that went on in the '98-'01 period and my account qualified.

I just need to look into any tax implications from this payment, but I'm sure my accountant will be able to figure that out. All I know is I've got $95.70 I didn't have when I woke up this morning.