Okay, never had it done, but have been very interested in trying it. I think I will have to wait because I am going to have a baby in 6 weeeks. Not sure if you can wax while pregnant?! (Or as pregnant as I am anyways...) Now here is a question for you... I am all confused on what I should do for the delivery of the baby, as far as "down there" grooming goes. I can't even see down there anymore, a bit scared to use a razor right now...considering consulting DH, but not sure if I trust him using a razor down there either!!! LOL! Maybe NOW is the time for a wax!? Suggestions?

We have been saving for this for 5 years. We are going ahead with the kitchen remodel and addition (garage, porch & laundry room). The aim has always been to have a nice space for the least cost. The initial cabinet estimate from Kennebec was more than $60K. I am happy with the cabinetmaker we will be using for about $25K. The design was changed to save money. For example, no glass doors on the wall cabinets. They are more expensive because the finish of the interior of the cabinet. I've designed several cabinets with punched tin (similar to a pie safe) and will do the punched tin myself. By not replacing appliances (needed it at least once since we bought them-the cooktop has been an induction hot plate for 18 months) we have saved enough to get nice appliances, but there will be no built-in or CD refrigerator, no paneled appliances, one oven rather than DOs and a cooktop rather than a gorgeous range. I have not chosen most finishes (countertop, floor, ceiling) yet. I am waiting to see how the budget holds up. Since this is our retirement home, it is worth the expense to do it now rather than waiting. We live quite frugally and will need to for a long time after this project is finished. We are fortunate that DH has a secure job (yes, I am sure). DS is graduating from college this spring and has an assistantship for grad school-yea! All our cars are at least 5 years old, paid for and hopefully have another 4-5 years use in them. This forum has been a tremendous help with design and keeping costs down. I am very thankful!

I bought a condo before getting married. I bought my first condo (2bed/2bath) with the intention of getting a roommate to help with the mortgage. When we married, my husband already had a house, so I moved into the house, and we turned the condo into a rental. We had about $100 per month negative cash flow in the beginning. Many years prior to that, my then single husband bought a house in a suburb. Hated it, and bought another in the city and turned the suburban house into a rental. But, he remodeled the new house, ran out of money, rented out the house and he himself rented a small room to save money.... When he finally moved back into the newly remodeled home, he had many roommates to help with the finances. When we were first married, we built a mother in law apartment in the basement and rented that out. That helped with our expenses. We did not ask her to leave until my son was 2 years old. We then reclaimed the basement for ourselves. (You asked for stories and sacrifices...) We now have enough cash flow so not having rental income for a few months is not a big deal. This gives us the luxury of picking "good" tenants. We only pick tenants who are professionals with good jobs and stellar credit and rental record. The longest we have had vacant rental is about 3 months. We are also in an urban environment where many young professionals cannot afford to buy due to the housing price. Most houses in a suburban subdivision do not make a good rental, unless you can make the rent 1/3 or less than the monthly mortgage of buying the property. (now days, that may not be true because of the downpayment requirements have gone up for buying a home...) Like most everything else in real estate, it's location, location, location that determines the rentability, the amount of rent, the type of tenant etc. We have never needed to go to section 8 route. My condo is very close to the University and Medical school. We almost always have medical residents as tenants(currently dental student and the working spouse). We don't rent to undergrads. They have "no income" and do not qualify in our minds. Our suburban house is near many tech firms in the area, and we tend to get techies with well paying jobs living in the house. melle sacto, not only do you need to have enough money to get through prolonged vacancy, you need to be able to deal with unforseen emergencies quickly. These rentals are your investments. You don't want to do anything to devalue that investment. For example, we had a leak in a very old bathroom. We decided that it was a good time to update the bathroom rather than "patch" fix the bathroom when the tenants moved out. The tenants move out when they want to not when you have the money to fix the bathroom. Like any other business, you need to have available capital when you need it. In order to rent the property quickly, you need to make it look fresh with regular painting, yard maintenance, deep cleaning, etc etc. The most recent tenant turn over uncovered very old sliding glass doors that were not closing property due to age and settling etc. It was noticeable enough and would have detracted from the house from the potential tenants point of view. Again, we had to spend a few thousand $ to get them replaced. This is a regular part of being a landlord. We will probably get one more rental, either a duplex or a quadplex. (our next door neighbor probably has 10 houses/buildings or more) Anything larger than that, we are not willing to manage ourselves. We call trades people for just about everything that needs to be done. It is not worth doing it ourselves at this point. Initially, you will have to do everything yourselves, ie painting, yard work, cleaning, etc. If you and your husband are handy, you will spend less money versus calling someone in. Again, this is not on your schedule but the house's schedule. My brother has a dulplex that he rents out and also the house my parents willed to him. He too had to spend money when things happen. (both of our rentals needed new blower for the furnace this last winter.) We just laugh when these things happen.... Unlike calliope, I consider the risk I take with the rentals as a controlled risk. I actually think it is much less of risk than money I put in the stock market. However, a rental has little potential for huge growth as would in some stocks. To be a successful landlord, you also need to learn your market. In some markets, it is not a feasible business model. For example, I would not buy a rental in a rural area with high unemployment. But I would buy a rental in an urban environment with a large number of transient well paid professionals. Rental properties are a part of our entire portfolio along with other more and less risky things.

My last hazard was during what I foolishly thought was a one week project with husbandÂbuilding concrete/stuccoed columns with lights on each side of a wide driveway to accommodate two large tall arched double gates. Long story short, beware of HomeDepotÂs floor help doing a "Run Forest Run" to the other side of the store when they see a woman with a trolley headed to the concrete and block section. Months of pain, tests, meds, sciatica, herniated disk, Arthritis attack and prolonged exposure to supplies trigged my fibromyalgia. But, everything turned out beautiful!!! Next is the kitchen and IÂm dreading the DIY work but this is the only way we can get everything on the "DO" listÂI hope I survive.