Buying an Affordable Sewing Machine for Crafting
I’ve been exploring other crafts lately, mostly sewing and decorating T-shirts. Hand sewing a crocheted item onto a T-shirt can be time-consuming. As a result I’ve been looking at sewing machines. I have no prior experience with them.
I’m naturally (or unnaturally) analytical when it comes to spending money. With bigger expenses, I rely on decision-helping spreadsheets. Down one column goes a list of sewing machines I’m considering. Across the top are the features I’m looking for. This includes everything from price to the weight of the sewing machine (will you be hauling it to classes?) and from automatic threader to whether it can handle thicker fabrics. One article I read said there are about 248 models from about nine recognized manufacturers. No wonder my head is spinning.
I started with Sewing Machine Ratings.com and focused on machines rated above the score of 90. I also listed how many folks rated the machine. That exercise showed me that most crafters don’t like to invest a lot of money in sewing machines, so those brands with the most reviews are the cheapest models, i.e. Brother and Singer. The better quality and more expensive machines, i.e. Janome and Juki, had at the most 30 reviews/comments. The latter two brands are considered medium in terms of overall quality and are often available only through dealers. The purchase price through a dealer often includes classes and a place to go to trade up or to get other equipment or gadgets for the machines.
For … Read more
Why Investing in Real Estate Made Me a Millionaire and Investing in Stocks Didn’t
Martin, our money man and main investing partner, emailed us last night and said simply “I’ve pretty much lost it all”. We’d been shopping for a commercial property to buy to diversify our investments. Martin was once again partner with us on the deal we found, assuming he was comfortable with the numbers.
At least he was planning to before the markets crashed and Martin lost his six figure down payment! Now, sitting on pennies (o.k., not quite, but definitely not enough to make a down payment on a million dollar industrial property), Martin is probably really wondering what so many other people do, “Is real estate a much better investment than stocks?”
My answer is always a resounding “It depends” or “Diversification is best”… but if you change the question and ask me where my money is invested, 90% of my money and my net worth resides in real estate (even excluding my current home).
And yes, I am young – I’m in my early thirties! I am also a millionaire and it’s all thanks to real estate. It’s not to say that stocks won’t make you rich, Warren Buffet is one extreme example of the wealth that can be created through stocks, but I like real estate because:
- You Can Kick It! Real estate is tangible. You can drive by a property and tell your friends or family that it is your property. You can also check up on how it’s doing. That is not as easy if
Fed Rate Cuts – Will They Help Stocks?
Last month, the Fed took a drastic step to cut rate twice by a total of 125 basis points. And with a drop of 225 basis points since last fall, what does this say about likely stock returns? Let’s look at the historical data.
Since 1950, the Fed cut more than 200 basis points 11 times in attempts to simulate a faltering economy. Economists believe it takes six months for the rate cuts to take effect which should last for as long as three years. Therefore I examined the one- and three-year returns of the S&P 500 Index and the Fama/French Small Cap Value benchmark portfolio for each rate-cut period.
After cuts of 200+ basis points, the average one-year return for the S&P 500 was 13.5% with two negative-return periods. The average three-year returns for the S&P 500 was 31.8% with one negative-return period.
However, the Fama/French Small Cap Value benchmark portfolio fared better. The one-year average return is 34.5% with no negative returns. The three-year average return was 100.5% with just one negative-return period.
… Read more
Periods of rate cuts S&P500 S/V* S&P500 S/V*
of 200bp or more 1y ret 1y ret 3y ret 3y ret
Oct 1957 - Mar 1958 32% 64% 55% 106%
Apr 1960 - Jan 1961 11% 23% 25% 47%
Apr 1970 - Nov 1970 8% 12% 10% -1%
Jul 1974 - Oct 1974 21% 34% 25% 149%
Apr 1980 - May 1980 -19% 46% 46% 175%
Jan 1981 - Feb 1981 -14% 10% 20% 131%
Jun
Why is Slot Machine Gambling Considered “The Crack Cocaine” of Gambling Addiction?
Why is slot machine gambling so addictive? Why is it coined the “crack cocaine of addiction”? Why is slot machine gambling considered to be the MOST addictive form of gambling that exists today?
I will try to answer these questions in this article. The questions are quite significant, and the answers can help to explain why so many people have gotten hooked on the “slots”, “pokies”, and “fruit machines”.
Slot machines use what is known to psychological behaviorists as “intermittent reinforcement” Basically, what this means is that a winning hand on a slot machine only happens sometimes.
This type of reinforcement is known to be very powerful because an individual is only rewarded at certain intervals. This can create an addictive reaction , resulting obsession quite easily. When you reward only sometimes., it is sure to create an obsessive reaction.
In addition, studies have shown that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays an important role in developing a gambling addiction. Dopamine is known as the “feel good” chemical. The illusions of patterns in slot machines, and the intermittent winning spins create a rush of dopamine in the brain that makes people desire continued play.
You have probably heard in the past that gambling addicts are “addicted to the action”and not really as interested in winning money like they may think they are. This is because the dopamine rush is so powerful and pleasurable, that the action of gambling becomes euphoric in its’ own right. It is a means it itself rather than … Read more
5 Good reasons Why Cryptocurrency Is So Preferred
Over the earlier couple of yrs, cryptocurrency has been a very hot subject across the globe. Most individuals are now familiar with cryptocurrency, specially Bitcoin. As a make a difference of simple fact, Bitcoin is on major of the checklist of cryptocurrencies. If you have no thought why the cryptocurrency is mounting in popularity all over the world, you are on the correct web site. In this posting, we are likely to explore 5 reasons why this new kind of currency is so common. Go through on to uncover out more.
1. Low transaction charges
The lower transaction charge is a person of the primary motives why cryptocurrency has been increasing in worth more than the past number of many years. No matter what kind of standard payment process you go for, you will have to fork out a significant transaction cost.
On the other hand, if you go for cryptocurrency for creating payments, you will have to pay back minimum amount transaction service fees. Consequently, it would make sense to use this new form of forex for producing payments on line for your wished-for items and solutions.
2. No federal government regulation
A different sound rationale why a large amount of individuals have confidence in cryptocurrencies is that they are not regulated by any govt. As a result, the worth of the currency remains steady irrespective of the authorities of a distinct nation.
Also, some investors want to defend their wealth, which is why they invest in cryptocurrencies. In … Read more
How to Spy on a Computer Without Anyone Knowing
If you need to know how to spy on a computer, I’ll tell you right now that it’s with software. But not all are created equal… some can spy on certain activities, but not everything. What’s more is that most do not do so invisibly – and this is the key thing here. Invisibility and stealth are paramount to the success of monitoring computer activities no matter the reasons. Why?
For example, this is not how to spy on a computer; if you’re trying to keep an eye on your kid while he’s online to make sure he doesn’t go off on some crazy bestiality porn site, it would do nothing if there’s some blinking fireball of an icon pulsating in the system task bar. He’ll clearly know he’s being watched, and go off to a friend’s house to check out some porn on his friend’s computer.
Obviously, that is not how to spy on a computer at all. In order to do so effectively, you absolutely positively need stealth. You need to be invisible, or it just ain’t happening, period. For this reason, when you seek out some software to monitor computer activities, it’s got to run silently and invisibly… like the types used by businesses who keep tabs on whether their employees are indeed working, or stealing account information and client files for their own ends. These software programs record everything, every detail, instant message, every keystroke, and hides them on secret invisible files that then get discretely … Read more