The Story of Stuff. Lighten your load and fill your wallet

Recession prompts Americans to embrace the simple life

"...Pastor Eric Dykstra, of Crossing Church, in Elk River, Minnesota, read a book by Julie Morgenstern, called Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life, then found a blog by Dave Bruno of San Diego called the "100 Thing Challenge" where he encourages people to pare down their personal possessions to only 100 items. Bruno says he reduced his own possessions to fewer than that.
Dykstra started to encouraged the members of his church to follow Bruno's example, and people began donating a lot to charity, including boats, furniture and snow blowers, until they had filled a warehouse. He, himself, went from five suits to one, and from a dozen ties to two.

The Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, Oregon offers "voluntary simplicity" courses and enrollment is up 50% in the past year. A 20-minute film called The Story of Stuff has been shown in hundreds of schools and been seen by 6.6 million people online since December 2007. The film shows the environmental costs of consumerism. Websites on living close to nature are also getting more traffic.

People are freeing themselves from the notion that owning a lot of stuff equals happiness..."
article source - USA today

Norton's comment: Yes, this is true. three years ago I moved from a nin room house to a two bedroom apartment. It has taken me three years to whittle down my possessions to fit. Antique dealers, yard sales, Craigslist, Uncle Henrys, donations etc. And I still will try out the 100 items challenge. I have NO regrets! It is a real lightening of pschological and physical load...and financial!

100 THINGS CHALLENGE - CLICK HERE

A break for those "underwater" on their loans!

You may still be able to refinance to advantage

By Inman News, Wednesday, July 1, 2009.
Homeowners who are up to 125 percent underwater will be allowed to refinance under the Obama administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program if they are current on their payments and their loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
The federal regulator overseeing Fannie and Freddie has boosted the program's loan-to-value (LTV) ceiling from 105 percent to 125 percent to allow more homeowners to take advantage of lower mortgage rates. more..."

Norton's comment: So if you are underwater on your condo but your payments to your loan co. are current, then you may be getting a break here on your cashflowl. check it out!

Budgeting & Debt Management

Budgeting & Debt Management
Start with a spending plan

How to make a spending plan
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
In today's environment, a budget is the very tonic many households need. It doesn't have to be painful if you understand one salient fact: You control your budget; it doesn't control you.
Build your budget
Peer behind the financial curtain - Fidelity
MORE.............

Norton's comment: I have found the FREE site www.mint.com as most useful to automate, categorize and compare actual to budget amounts. It is all free and you can setup to send you an email notice when you are over-budget or your bank balance gets too low. TRY MINT.COM

Mortgage rates may fall again

Mortgage window shopping: Fidelity: "Mortgage window shopping
BY Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
Rates have been volatile, but get ready -- they may fall again.

Copyright © 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MarketWatch — 06/18/09 CHICAGO (MarketWatch)
After a recent spike seen in mortgage rates, some consumers are wondering whether they've missed their chance to refinance into an ultra-low rate.
Fear not: While the conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a daily average of 5.81% last Thursday, it averaged 5.53% on Tuesday, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a publisher of consumer loan information. And it's possible that rates could continue to fall.

'Predicting interest rates is like predicting who is going to win the World Series in January,' said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. That said, he calls the recent spike 'somewhat of an aberration,' and expects rates will continue to drift down.
Why the recent run-up in rates? Over the past month or two, 'the economic skies have brightened somewhat,' Gumbinger said in an email, and the threat of 'trillion-dollar budget deficits for the foreseeable future, the potential for significant inflation, and few clues as to how the government might extricate itself from intrusions into markets' created a landscape that was not appealing to investors.

But now, rates are retreating partly because inflation doesn't seem as immediate a threat as investors feared, Cecala said. In his opinion, nothing fundamentally has changed in the economy over recent weeks to warrant the rate rise, yet he expects volatility through the remainder of the year as investors debate the economy's health. ..."

HARBORPLACE NEWSLETTER - JUNE 2009

ANNOUNCING: A COMMUNITY SITE!!!
Please use this site for new information, comments, suggestions, etc. Moderator-Norton West, will do his best to get you answers. Check regularly for updates on condo info. CAFÉ 73, a Saturday a.m. is back in business at Unit 73. Hours: (9:00- 10:30 a.m.) Approximately 20 people have stopped by since April, 2009 to meet others, share ideas, and get updates. We also held a YARD SALE on June 15, 2009. Meeting new neighbors has been very beneficial for everyone involved. Please stop by!!!

CAFÉ 73 - Reopens by request
(or hopefully CAFÉ AT SOMEONE ELSE’s Unit) will continue. Stop by, meet the neighbors and build our community. Please support the website as well.

RECYCLING NOW AVAILABLE This is across from Maine Paint Service on Cottage St. Please use it instead of stuffing cardboard, paper and such recyclables into our dumpster. This will save us all on trash disposal expenses that are part of our condo fees.

CONDO BOARD NEWS
The Board is open to the idea of using residents on committees. The first committee to form is the Rules and Regulations Committee, but other are needed. Please contact Stephen DiNocco with your area of interest.

AUGUST BOARD MEETING
This starts the budget process that ends with an approved budget in November.

THE ANNUAL MEETING IS IN DECEMBER!
For year 2010, we will need 4 NEW BOARD MEMBERS! We need a QUORUM of condo owners- like 60 people or their proxies- to come and get involved. Please consider joining the Board.

For more information or to submit ideas for the next July newsletter: Contact Norton West, board member at hfnorton@gmail.com, on the site, or by phone 207 239-0200. ANNOUNCING: A COMMUNITY SITE!!! COMMUNITY NEWS YOU CAN USE. http://harborplace-community.blogspot.com/

Most Walkable Neighbohoods in the USA

We are on Top! Our score is 80 out of 100 (click for map)How It Works Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking. What does my score mean? Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score: 90–100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car. 70–89 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car. 50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car. 25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must. 0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

HarborPlace Yard Sale

Today, June 12, was our Harbor Place Yard Sale, in the morning. Paul brought some tables from the Eagle's Club (and returned them) which was nice, and there were colorful balloons marking the locations. About ten people set up tables. Some items were popular--some not. The air conditioner went fast. The ski boots went nowhere fast. Electronics, DVDs, CDs, and books, did well. It as a beautiful June morning and fun to hang out with the neighbors and get to know each other a little. Everyone got a little bit of sunburn! I had hoped to meet some of our board members. I've been here a year and still don't know who they are. It would be nice to meet the folks who are taking care of us! Alice #111