Category: Business

TV Show: Hawaii Life – four more episodes!

~ K ~ 4 Comments
Ah, a piece of paradise!
Ah, a piece of paradise!

The new TV season of the show “Hawaii Life” has started and we have been catching up with old episodes.  The last four episodes (we have watched) have featured two property searches on the Big Island and two property searches on Kauai.  You’ll be pleased to know, I watched these from the comfort of my couch with the gas fireplace blasting!  Ah, warmth.

The four episodes I watched this time around and their price range:

Living Off the Big Island (up to $500K)

From Boston to the Big Island (up to $300K)

Boogie Boarding on Kauai ($600-800K)

Single Mother Shops on Kauai ($400-600K)

The Big Island appears to be a little more affordable than Kauai, Maui, and Oahu.  At least the properties that were shown appeared to be more affordable.

The lower price range houses (under $300K) are fixer uppers.  Some are just update issues but all appear to be livable.  Nothing a few hundred thousand dollars of remodeling couldn’t fix.

Townhouses and condos might have HOA fees as much $511 per month (as we saw in the Boogie Boarding episode).  To be fair, we have condos here in Seattle with crazy high monthly maintenance dues and fees as well.

Much like the southern United States, you also get to deal with bugs and termites.  Home inspections are very important in everything state but in Hawaii, you might run into mold in greater numbers because of the high humidity.  But hold on, the various islands and the location where you are on that island can also influence the mold situation.  Recently, my friend moved from one part of Kauai to another and he ran into the mold issue.

He has lived on Kauai all his life and he has never had to deal with mold.  He moved from a drier area to a wetter area.  More dampness equals more potential for mold.  The house might not have mold in the actual structure but your clothes boxed up and stuck in storage might get a moldy smell to them.  Good airflow is one of the keys to fighting mold.

On a side note: I’m really beginning to hate the show’s tagline “You don’t have to be rich to live in Hawaii; you just have to want it.”  One reason is that whenever the real estate brokers say it, they just look like some stoner surfer dudes.  Forced smiles on their faces.  Oh please.

The “Hawaii Life” show is also just a 22 minute long sales show.  Whoever thought up this reality show was a genius for turning a sales show into a reality show.  It is always the same real estate company and guess what it is called? “Hawaii Life”!  Surprised, huh?

And on an ending note, this is my 200th post!  Yeah me!  I get a gold star!

Kevin’s Summer Camp of Practical Life Skills

~ K ~ 1 Comment

Never Too Early for Summer Camp Plans….Welcome to Kevin’s Summer Camp of Practical Life Skills!

Why not learn life skills?
Why not learn life skills?

I’ve decided to offer a summer camp at my house next summer.  Most of the summer camps work to improve the children but lack a real sense of accomplishment for the participants.  The projects the kids bring home are pretty drawings and bracelets made of cheap plastic beads.  Yet are the kids learning anything that prepares them for real life?  In my opinion, most bead projects are total waste of time because there are millions of underpaid kids in China doing that kind of work in a quarter amount of the time and for a tenth of the wage.

It is simple economics, your kids should be learning skills that can make them money or save them money.  Is a bead bracelet project really going to help them in real life?

Now some summer camps are fun.  Soccer camp, swim camp, basketball game; these are all camps that your child might actually enjoy and benefit from.

But as a parent, you also need to benefit from your child attending summer camp.  At my summer camp, I plan to offer such great classes such as House Painting, Deck Restoration & Refinishing, Pond Building & Maintenance, Building a Hot Tub, Yard Maintenance, and Window Replacement & Enhancement.

From my informal survey of fathers, this seems like a worthy endeavor.  Imagine your children learning valuable home improvement skills and hands on job skills that will ensure future job employment.  The kids will be able to bring home these skills and you (as a parent or even a grandparent) will benefit.  Imagine your kids painting your house, all by themselves, at a faction of the cost of a professional painting company.  For a small summer camp investment in your children, you can save thousands of dollars by having your children paint your house.  It is a win-win situation.

Is anything better than investing in children’s future?  The children of this world are our future; why not make sure they learn something that benefits their parents and themselves?

I’m currently working on the cost and length of training.  But really, does this knowledge come cheaply?  Wouldn’t you pay a few dollars for this training?  Definitely a bargain at any price, I assure you.  If you are interested in Kevin’s Summer Camp of Practical Life Skills, please make sure to leave your comments and ideas below.

Don’t forget to share this post with your friends, family, and fellow parents; I need the business and more blog followers!

 

Another Fun Trip to the Post Office

~ K ~ 5 Comments
Please, only 300 pieces of mail at one time!

The other day I was lucky enough to enjoy being stuck behind a woman putting 300 outgoing pieces of mail in the drive through mail box at my local post office.  I was delighted further as she did this while talking on her cell phone and used only one hand to accomplish a two handed task.  Very talented, indeed!

I think she merely forgot that there was a line of cars was behind her.  Maybe it was her day to “try” to be a better human being.

And who am I to complain?  My measly six pieces of mail were in no hurry to be placed in the mail box.  My cell phone sat in its resting spot, lonely and sad I wasn’t using it.  I should defer to her great abundance of common sense when it comes to mailing out numerous handfuls of letters.  Who would actually park their car and carry one box of 300 letters of mail into the post office?  Clearly, a moron like me who has nothing better to do!  That is probably why I wouldn’t follow my own worthless advice when it comes to mailing out some letters.

However, I know I need to be more patience in my dealings with the general public.  I sat in my car, allowed her to finish her task (without honking my horn), and she moved on.  I then mailed my letters and proceeded to be got behind her again as she sat waiting to make her turn out of the mail drop off lane.

Hmm, which way is she going to turn?  Maybe she told the person she was talking to on the phone because I didn’t have a clue.  But wait, her turn signal comes on and she is turning left.  Yes! Left at the worst possible time of the day!  Excellent!  We shall never get out of here!  And with her attention split between driving and chatting on her cell phone, this should take close to FOREVER to make the left turn.

A good five minutes later, she makes her left turn somewhat safely and we make our right turn.  Another fun trip to the post office is over with.

Hawaii Life TV Show: Honolulu

~ K ~ 2 Comments

A few of you might remember that my parents still live on Kauai and I went to high school on Kauai.  I like Kauai and am enjoying the TV show “Hawaii Life”.  The show is most likely produced by the real estate company “Hawaii Life” because they make Hawaii look awesome.  On the flip side, “Dog the Bounty Hunter” shows the meth heads, wife beaters, and bond jumping thugs of Honolulu in such a positive light.

The most recent episode of “Hawaii Life” was about a couple that lived on Oahu looking for a condo in downtown Honolulu.  The couple was recently married and living with her parents but looking to move out.  Ideally, they wanted to live in downtown Honolulu since it was close to his job.

I have a few friends that live on the island of Oahu so this particular episode was interesting to me.  As a father, I would prefer to live in a house with my family rather than a condo with no yard.  As a married couple (with no kids), I could go with a condo living and a nice view to enjoy.  No lawn to mow?  No bushes to trim?  No leaves to rake?  Where do I sign up?

As long as I have access to some good grocery stores and can go for a walk, I’m happy.  Throw in some good golf courses, some sandy beaches, and a library, I’m good to go.

When you live in Western Washington, you see about 220 days of cloudy gray skies a year.  On the eastern side of the great state of Washington, that ratio of cloudy weather to sunny days flip flops to 200+ days of sun.  Sure, winters are colder with actually freezing temperatures and the chance of snow and ice, but there is sun and blue skies.

Am I complaining about wet Seattle again?  Yes, I am.  I live here and I can complain…it’s a great combination.

Back to the show “Hawaii Life”….the couple picked a nice condo, the real estate agent made a good commission, and everyone is happy.  Except me, sitting here in wet Seattle, with the temperatures in the 40’s and raining.  Life is perfect and you should move here to Seattle.  We could hang out and be friends in person (versus you reading my blog and wishing you could talk with me in person).

The parents must have been really delighted to finally get their daughter and their son-in-law out of their house.  I’m sure they wanted to take care of their daughter and husband forever….

Excuse Me, can I be retired now?

~ K ~ 3 Comments

It’s a rainy Wednesday here in Kent, Washington and that is normal.  No sunshine for the likes of us to cheer us up.  Luckily, I am a pretty upbeat person despite my sarcastic nature and attitude.  In my day to day job as a seasoned school photographer, I deal with teachers, parents, and kids.  Most of the time, I have a great time with all three parties.  I can’t complain about my job besides the fact I actually have to leave my house.

Yesterday evening, one of our Girl Scout cookie clients (Quick Business Tip: always call your customer’s clients…it sounds like you care about them versus just viewing them as a paycheck.  An example: lawyers have clients and Wal-Mart has customers…we’ll get into lawyers in another post) came to pick up his cookies.  He asked how business was going and I told him it was good but I’d rather be retired.  He chuckled because it is oblivious I’m totally hilarious all the time (and it’s my story so I can say how funny I am).  Anyway, I also mentioned I can always use more business (who doesn’t want more business and more money?).

However, the sticking point to my business growth plan is that I’m currently too comfortable and lazy.  I like my level of business but would like more income without doing more marketing for more clients.  Some people love the thrill of the sales call and getting new accounts, I’m not one of them.  I’m an introvert in an extrovert’s career (school photography).

Now, I can be an extrovert when I need to be.  I can put on my big boy pants and get things done.

What I really want to do is stay home (in jeans and T-shirts; I’m not much of a track suit type of guy) and do nothing.  Well, I would do something.  I enjoy reading and blogging but those too activities aren’t making me too much money.  I like to be with my family and take vacations.

Basically, my dream job is to be a lottery winner (oh, you can’t win if you don’t play) thus I wouldn’t have to worry about working and money.  I want to be retired.  I’d sit around drinking a refreshing beverage and reading a book (or working on a novel) at my oak desk in my office.

Let’s be clear, it is an office and not a man cave.  A man cave would paint a picture of a comfortable leather couch, a flat screen TV, and some of my favorite sport teams’ logos all over the place, with a well stocked fridge to boot!  My office is a nice 12×16 (foot) building separate from my home.  It has internet, electricity, and heat.  If it had a bathroom I could be out here for hours.  It isn’t a man cave because I work here; I can’t relax like in a man cave but at least it is a quiet place for me to work in.

Needless to say, I’m still working and living life: Go Team Kevin!

 

Thanks for wasting another few minutes of your life to read my blog.  Make my life that more exciting by commenting below or pushing the “like” button below the post.

 

 

 

 

The Latest News: The Economy Still Sucks!

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Is it my turn to complain?

Today I was on the U.S. News and World Reports website and learned that Seattle ranks Number 2 in the Top Ten Cities with Debt.  Yes, this is a wonderful way for me to get more depressed about the state of the U.S. economy.  Sure, Number 2 is pretty good but I always like it better as Number 1.  On a side note: Seattle’s traffic is only the 9th worst in the nation (and we tied…tied with Philadelphia…we didn’t beat them…we tied).  However, we did move up one spot from last year!  Oh yeah!  When can we be Number 1 in worst traffic?

One could say that I like to find the negative in things.  I would much rather prefer to say that I am a realist and that I enjoy reading (and learning) so that I can complain more.  Why be uninformed?

How can I not be depressed with today’s economy?  Washington State has a $1 billion budget shortfall that it needs to make up for.  Reuter’s reports that Fitch Ratings might lower Washington State’s credit rating which in turn will cause the interest rate for money Washington State borrows to cost more and when Washington State issues bonds the interest rate it must pay out will be higher.

Getting back to the issue at hand, we see that the debt was defined as average debt per person (excluding home mortgages).  Sadly, this was written back in 2010 so I have to wonder if it is better or worse now that we are in 2013.  And I would like to say that while the government says the recession of 2007 is over, it really feels like it is still here in 2013.

Here’s a list of the top ten most indebted cities:

Denver

Seattle

Dallas

Phoenix

Atlanta

Portland, OR

Baltimore

Washington, DC

Houston

Philadelphia

Other bad news: The nation’s unemployment is 7.9%.  According to the Washington State’s website, in 2011 it was 8.9% (while Washington State was at 9.2%) http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/planning/wtp/datalibrary/Economy/UnemploymentbyCounty.htm

 

Strangely, the Washington State website didn’t have 2012 numbers but I found that The Seattle Times had our unemployment rate for December 2012 at 7.6%. http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020144459_apwawashjobless1stldwritethru.html

On a much brighter note I learned that Lynsi Torres is the 30-year-old owner and president of In-N-Out Burger and is worth a reported billion dollars.  Sure, I won’t meet her or even marry her but I can now sleep better knowing she is out there with her 3rd husband and a fabulous fortune.

As always, your comments are welcome!

 

No One Takes My Advice….and For Good Reason!

~ K ~ Leave a comment

I noticed that a lot of people don’t heed advice when it is offered to them.  Clearly, my Blog of Worthless Advice would be much more successful if people would really look at themselves and see what terrible mental shape they are in.  It is quite sad that people don’t following their passion and becoming better people.

In my quest to offer the best worthless advice available, I am constantly reading advice columns, advice blogs, and interest resources like The Onion.

However, Cyndi (my imaginary stalker) and my Mom (my other reader) know that my Worthless Advice Blog is merely a creative outlet for my weird sense of humor.  Sadly, some of the articles and blogs I read actually think that their blogs offer helpful advice.  My 10 year old daughter offers better advice.

I saw one article entitled “Bad Parenting? Parents Should Avoid Bad Parenting Mistakes.”  Really?  You think parents should avoid bad parenting mistakes?  You don’t think I should embrace them and strive to be a bad parent?  I get most of my parenting advice from http://www.reallybadparentingadvice.com/.

In my heart, I know that others could be greatly helped by reading my blog.  The world is in sad shape, you losers really need to be saved from your stupid lives.  With unemployment at 8.2% in Washington State in October 2012, you think more people would be searching for Worthless Advice to better their lives (and find a job!).  On a brighter note, Washington State unemployment dropped from 8.5% in September 2012.

See how I’m improving your life already?  I offer my extremely correct opinion mixed in with a few useful facts to help increase your knowledge about unemployment in Washington State.

Updating your Life with Worthless Advice: Career Changes

~ K ~ 2 Comments

Every once in while, I think I should switch careers and do something else besides photography.  Then I realize that I don’t any transferable job skills. Rather quickly, I give up that line of thinking.  Oh no, you might be telling yourself…Kevin is giving up on his dreams?

Hold on now, let’s have a reality check.  Currently, most of my time is devoted to avoiding work, watching TV, reading about “making money online”, and taking naps.  Sometimes, I do manage to do a little photography work and get paid, but those days are few and far between.

I do a fair amount of daydreaming and thinking that I want a regular 40 hour a week job with benefits.  A few of my friends laugh at this idea (or they maybe laugh at me actually working a 40 hour week).  But it isn’t the idea of having to work 40 hours a week that appeals to me (who wants to work at all?), it is the appeal of the wonderful world of benefits: medical, dental, vision, a pension plan, a 401k plan, etc.

Again, I then realize that these are great things but the chances of me getting an easy job with great benefits is pretty darn slim.  Heck, our unemployment rate in Washington State is currently at 8.6%.  According to Cyndi (my imaginary stalker), I’m a highly desirable individual with marketable job skills that just needs to get out there and give it the good old college try.  But then you know how Cyndi and my mother like to build me up with positive affirmations!  They both agree that I’m wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Light Rail rider/passenger

Bus rider/passenger

Blogger (everyone is doing it and none of them are being read)

TV watcher

Novel reader

Internet surfer

Talk Show Host

Advice Columnist (Worthless Advice Columnist might be easier for me)

Motivational Speaker (some would say Demotivational Speaker)

Novelist/Writer

Reality Show Star!

Hiker/Wanderer

Hmm, upon further review, this list really isn’t that good.  But again, I don’t have any real job skills so producing a blog worth reading is a bit hard.  But let’s face it, this is a list of things I like to do.  And all the motivational speakers tell you to follow your heart (I learned that on the Oprah Winfrey Network OWN so it must be true!).

Now some of you might say that my list is a cop out of facing the reality of a harsh world; that I really haven’t thought of what I really want to do in life.  The harsh truth is that all I want to do is sit around the house, read a good book, do a little travelling, eat out a lot, and not have to worry about money.  Yes, I’m avoiding the harsh realities of my career change by living in today’s harsh responsibilities of my life.  Oh boo hoo.

Really, what I should do is build up my blog readership writing about making money online offering worthless advice.  Clearly, that would make my everyday responsibilities lessen to such a degree that I would be able to make that career change.  I could blog about my amazing transformation from no name blogger to internet sensation (making hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars online).  My career is set.  Bring on the money!

How I became a New York Times Bestseller author!

~ K ~ 2 Comments

If you really want to be depressed, do a little research into making that creative career switch.  As my imaginary stalker Cyndi and you both know, I have a dream of writing that next New York Times Bestselling novel that will make me rich!  Oh yeah! I’ll be jet setting around the country in first class (sweet!) and wearing a tweed jacket, reading passages from my latest work to adoring fans, sipping an Americano and chuckling at my good fortune.

I got into this research mode with a stop this afternoon at the local grocery store. I noticed they had some brand new books for sale on a display table near the checkout stand.  As I flipped through a few pages of the novels, I wondered how much money the author would receive from this hardcover book.  Since it wasn’t a genre I had any interest in, I made a mental note to look up the author when I got home (which I since have forgotten the author’s name and the book’s title).  Oh well.  I decided to see what an author might expect to sell their first novel for (in terms of advances) and how many copies the first book might actually sell.  Was it ten thousand books?  Twenty thousand copies?

Yikes!  What a wake up call.  It might be as low as 500 books!  I know that everyone wants to write a novel and become a published author.  I didn’t know the pay was so bad.  I looked around at a few blogs and some people commented that they wrote because they love to write.  Bravo for them!  That is fine as a hobby but not as a career.  Some comments even alluded to the fact they would make more money flipping burgers at the local fast food restaurant than as an author writing for a whole year.

I have nothing against writing as a hobby.  However, if it is something I’m really passionate about and I want to make a living at it, then I do want to get paid more than the average burger flipper.  Call me greedy for chasing the dollar but my family does like to live in a nice house and have food on their dinner plates.

Sure, I could say “Follow my heart and the money will follow”.  A better piece of advice would be to write that novel in my spare time, try to sell it, and don’t quit your day job.  We all know that no one has spare time; it would be an evening and weekend endeavor.  I don’t mind doing that as a hobby but it sure would be nice to get paid if I am doing a part time job on the side.

Writing isn’t easy.  Characters and plots take time.  You have to develop a story, write a rough draft, and edit it.

Am I whining too much?  Sure.  I’m entitled to do a little whining.  Like everyone else, I want it to be easy.  I know it won’t be easy but it might be enjoyable.

I just hoped that by investing that amount of time into a project, it would at least spin off some additional income I could invest with.  Maybe build up my retirement that much faster.  Being 40 and having a stock market crash and real estate crash knock me down a bit, it would like nice to have an extra income stream to rely on.  A business that I only had to work on a few hours a week yet would spin off some nice cash flow.  Maybe a blog about fairy tales?  Because this is what this blog entry seems to be about!

As always, your comments, concerns, and suggestions are always welcome!

Google Yourself! Who comes up #1?

~ K ~ Leave a comment

Since my blog (Kevin’s Blog of Worthless Advice) skyrocketed to Number 9 under the search of “worthless advice” in Google, I thought I’d better check the term “Kevin Hellriegel”.  Just to be fair to myself and my imaginary stalker Cyndi, everyone and their cat Mr. Mittens “Googles” themselves to see what pops up under their name and how bad the results are.  I luckily come up with good results because I’m really just totally awesome.

Well most of it is good except for the fact instead of my photography business coming up as Number 1, my sarcastic blog of worthless advice comes up as Number 1.

That could be a problem because I can be a bit of a rude sarcastic writer on my blog.  I wouldn’t want someone to think ill of me.  Who am I kidding?  People think ill of each other all the time.  They just like to pretend they aren’t mean.

My worthless advice for today: To get to a Number 1 Google rank is to narrow your search to be super specific.  Unless your name is “Joe Smith” and you live in a cave without any internet presence, you should appear on Google’s ranking fairly high.  When you search “Kevin Hellriegel”, I come up as Number 1.  See, isn’t that some awesome worthless advice?  I bet you wished I could come in and doing some marketing for your worthless brand, don’t you?