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WormGod
03/26/2012, 07:26 AM
That time again. Uncle Scam is writing us checks (hopefully not taking them!) for a small % of what we gave him all year and putting tiny smiles on our faces. So, what did you do with it or what are your plans?

Me....

Kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom renovations. Girlfriend moved in and since the housing market sucks for sellers, we decided to renovate instead of taking the loss on the market

Kitchen - Hardwood floors, all new paint and trim, kitchen appliances and furniture, lighting fixtures

Bathrooms - Porcelain tile flooring, new paint and trim, deep bathtubs, Victorian sinks, 1 piece toilets, lighting fixtures, large Victorian mirrors, nickel plated faucets, etc

Bedrooms (us and the boys) - new bedroom furniture, wall mount lcds, paint and trim, window dressing

Still considering going hardwood throughout the whole house, but we will have to wait and see. Some other rooms and locations we want to work on ( like the garage, which I have AMAZING plans for!). SO far, it's been about 90% DIY, with the help of an awesome contractor buddy of hers who helps for a modest fee in his spare time. Fun but hard work.

Also, a couple other toys I managed with the savings and returns....

Got into R/Cs again.... the g/f isnt so keen, but the boys love it. Bought and built the Grasshopper and Hornet for the boys. Good starter cars.

http://www.radiocontrolmodelexperts.com/images/The%20Grasshopper%20-%20Kit.jpg

http://fwd.channel5.com/upload/0839/4143/hornet_size_10.jpg

My babies. Tons of fun and hopped up like you wouldn't believe....

http://www.kyosho.com/common/image.php?id=116784

http://www.tamiyausa.com/images/product/250/58391/header_58391.jpg

And finally, my nasty *** modded crawler....

http://www.junfac.com/shop/images/r1_stealth_10.jpg

Then finally, some new 30rd Magpul clips for my AR15 and a new replacement JL Audio sub amp for the VX.
JAMAS
03/26/2012, 11:00 AM
Sounds like you need to modify your w-4. If the government is refunding enough money to cover all of that, they are taking WAY too much out of each pay check.
nfpgasmask
03/26/2012, 11:10 AM
Broke just about even this year, as per usual. But, I got my bonus and bought tickets to Japan again. :) Yup, to the land of the rising sun we return in the fall.

:cool!: Bart
tom4bren
03/26/2012, 11:32 AM
Just a new central unit for the house:(
Triathlete
03/26/2012, 11:33 AM
I owe :(
WormGod
03/26/2012, 01:54 PM
Nah, all legit. This is a combined effort of mine and the g/f's returns, and since she works for a contractor, all of our supplies are at discount. You would be surprised at how much we save that way, and by doing most of it ourselves. More than 50%. ;)
JAMAS
03/26/2012, 01:58 PM
Nah, all legit. This is a combined effort of mine and the g/f's returns, and since she works for a contractor, all of our supplies are at discount. You would be surprised at how much we save that way, and by doing most of it ourselves. More than 50%. ;)

Impressive
FlyingV77
03/26/2012, 06:57 PM
they still make the grasshopper and hornet? almost got one of them back in the day, then i stumbled across my Traxxas TRX-1 still have it, minus the body. now im driving my HPI Baja 5b
WormGod
03/27/2012, 07:06 AM
they still make the grasshopper and hornet? almost got one of them back in the day, then i stumbled across my Traxxas TRX-1 still have it, minus the body. now im driving my HPI Baja 5b

Sure do. They even just re-released the Frog and the Toyota Bruiser. The Bruiser is a beauty, but at roughly $600 just for the car, no can do. I personally am a Tamiya head, and think my next runner might be the Avante. Nasty little bugger with a ton of room for upgrades. My nephew races these things "professionally" and is sponsored by Traxxas. He has more damned gear than you can shake a stick at. Sadly, much of it is not compatible with my gear. Tis a shame. :(

Jamas, it's still a gamble. Putting all this time/work/money into a house that lost $150k of it's value in the last 5 years is pretty insane, especially since we would like to move to a larger home as soon as we can. But, I refuse to take a huge loss on some buyer's low bid offer, so I am waiting it out and just making it as comfortable as possible for our duration there. As long as we can remain happy in it for now, it works for me. :)

Oh, forgot to add, the g/f got me some Louis Black tickets as well. SHow in Sept in DC, just before election time.... should be a HOOT!
JAMAS
03/27/2012, 08:06 AM
Jamas, it's still a gamble. Putting all this time/work/money into a house that lost $150k of it's value in the last 5 years is pretty insane, especially since we would like to move to a larger home as soon as we can. But, I refuse to take a huge loss on some buyer's low bid offer, so I am waiting it out and just making it as comfortable as possible for our duration there. As long as we can remain happy in it for now, it works for me. :)


Smart idea to wait it out.
Cobrajet
03/30/2012, 01:43 PM
Not much of a return this year, but better than paying like last year. Took a loss on my rental property in Georgia since it was empty for 5 months and needed a LOT if TLC to get it presentable for renting. I'm afraid I'll be owing next year since I'm now getting rental income. WooHoo!

But, I did have enough left to buy a new iPAD (first Apple appliance for me) and a Sling adapter so I can watch my Dish programming on the road. The rest is sitting in savings for the day the movie producer (for the movie project I helped fund) calls me up to be an extra! Hoping to talk him into letting the VX have a part, too!

FWIW, I've still got the first two RC cars I built while stationed in Okinawa in 1987! I was able to get the old batteries juiced up enough to run one of them around about 5 years ago. I bought one to race, and after the second race we had a big drought on the island and they wouldn't let us water the track, so it was shut down! I never even learned how to steer the damned thing!