Do you want a simple way to get cheap real estate? Offer less. This is the oldest and simplest negotiating ploy of real estate investing. Everybody knows this technique, at least in it's crudest versions, but most are afraid to use it. Why? Well, it can b...

I was doing research for my web site, on ways to save money. Checking other web sites and discussion forums, I found that the cheapskates are hitting new - and funnier - lows. Choosing a spouse according to how frugal he or she is, and reusing the plastic...

The importance of finding motivated sellers is stressed by almost every real estate guru out there. Of course it is ideal if you can find that seller who just wants to get rid of his property no matter what - and fast! All sellers have their own motivatio...

You may be familiar with the gross rent multiplier. This simple formula for determining the value of rental real estate has been around for ages. The first book I read on investing in real estate advised me to "never buy a property with a GRM of more than...

An offer to purchase is a legally binding document, not just a casual negotiating tool. The moment the seller of the real estate signs your offer, you are obligated to live up to its exact language. Since you can write the offer how you want to, why not i...

What are alternative lifestyles and why would they require alternative housing? To answer the first part it is easiest to give examples. Then the answer to the second part becomes self evident. One winter we were camping in our conversion van at a hot ...

Of course you can save money on groceries by using coupons. Below is an explanation of how to best do that. Don't want to clip coupons? Me neither, and there are other ways to save. Those can be found here as well. Coupons usually only save you money i...

A fixer upper home seemed like a good investment, but we had little experience. We had bought, fixed and sold a home in Montana for a profit, and completed the project in only a few months. However, we were new to the Tucson area, and didn't quite have a ...

Treasure hunting begins at home. People regularly find famous old books and valuable antiques in their attics, so get up there and look. One couple tore open their walls while remodeling, and found them insulated with thousands of old and valuable movie p...

Our neighbor Jose doesn't speak much English, which makes it tough to live here in northern Michigan. Despite that, he made a profit of over $30,000 last year selling cars out of his front yard. It's true that he's a mechanic, and that helps, but it isn't...

You have credit card debt, and you wan to pay it off as quickly as you can. We will assume that you are going to stop creating more debt. You have changed your ways. You also understand that paying credit card balances with a consolidation loan or rolling...

When you think of treasure hunting, maybe gold coins and precious stones come to mind, but it doesn't end there. You can start in your own attic to see what treasures you find. Then you can check out some of the more unusual ways to go treasure hunting. ...

Which ones can be money making hobbies? A friend made a life-sized cow out of plywood once. He painted it, put it in the yard, and people started asking if he would sell it. He soon had a waiting list of customers for his plywood cows. With a profit of ab...

Ready to start playing with your money? Not interested in complicated businesses or boring bank C.D.'s? Here are some methods that aren't quite a business because you can do them once, or just when you feel like it. Start small and the risk is small. L...

Part 3 Still more discoveries from the recent studies in behavioral economics: Over-Valuing "Mine" People consistently place a higher value on things they own, even if their "ownership" is temporary. The research is interesting, and I often saw t...