FREE BOOKS FROM AMAZON!

Monday I downloaded the Kindle app for my Ipod Touch.  So far it is working great!  I've downloaded some of the free books from Amazon.com, much easier to do than downloading books to my ereader.  This time I've picked out some classics from H.G. Wells.  Although I've seen most of the movies based on his books, I hadn't actually read too many of them.  So far the writing is superb!  I'll also be able to pick up some of the newer investment books for a fraction of the the printed copies.  (#401) 

I SURVIVED THE BLIZZARD OF 2011

Just finished digging a path from my garage to the street, which was no small task given the blizzard we experienced over the past two days.  Didn't want to miss another day of work, so I took it on myself to dig out the garage entrance and a path to the street.  Probably a good 25 or 30 feet, so I guess the workouts are doing me some good after my heart attack.  I'm a little tired and have some body aches, but otherwise feel pretty good.

Tuesday's rally in the stock market was good to see, but I'll be looking to pick up shares during dips in the market.  While I'm in the rebuilding stage of my portfolio, I'll be concentrating on increasing stakes in quality stocks and avoid more speculative issues.  Will most likely add more to AT&T, Philip Morris and my drug stocks like Bristol Myers and Merck. 

For February I'll be concentrating on my tax returns for 2010.  I should get a small refund, which I plan on putting to work in a good dividend paying stock.  Want to build cash flow as rapidly as possible to help cover any future medical costs related to follow visits with my cardiologist. 

My new computer equipment is great!!!  Glad I went with used equipment.  It's super fast and I got a great deal buying off of Ebay.  My computer and monitor cost a grand total of $208, much less expensive than new and it's way more than adequate for my current needs.  I'm sure I'll more than get my moneys worth by the time I need to upgrade again.

Still loving the ipod touch!  Now I understand why Apple has done so well, although I'll probably never own shares directly.  They have some great products and the quality can't be beat.  I'll definitely consider purchasing an ipad when my laptop finally craps out. 

ELECTRONICS SHOPPING SPREE!

I have to admit, one of my big weaknesses when it comes to spending money, is my fascination with electronic gadgets.  I love computers, the new android pads and now ipods.  Yes, that's ipods, plural.  I resisted buying an ipod for years, thinking I'd never really get any use out of it, after all, my Palm Pilot has about 2 years worth of dust on it now, but boy was I wrong.  I finally bought a 6th generation 120 gb Ipod classic and have enjoyed it tremendously.  It's probably the best $50 I've spent on entertainment for as long as I can remember.  I was so pleased with it and the amount of use I've gotten out of it, I decided to buy a used 2nd generation 32 gb Ipod touch.  Picked one up for a bargain price of $169 and can't wait to try it out.  It arrives tomorrow, so I'll happily be busy figuring out how it works when I pick it up at the post office after work.

Also decided to buy a newer computer.  I've wanted to switch from my Dell Optiplex to a Hewlett Packard desktop for a while now, but have been putting it off to save some money.  Recently came across a great deal online.  While it's still a Windows XP Pro desktop, it's equipped with a 3gb dual core processor and 2 gb ram, so it should run circles around my old Optiplex.  The hard drive is only 80 gb, which is small by todays' standards, but more than adequate for my purposes.  At any rate, I plan to pick up one of the newer external terabyte drives sometime soon, so onboard storage won't be such an issue.  Also got a 23 inch HP wide screen flat panel monitor for $119 to go with my new tower.  I've had no problems with Windows XP Pro and my laptop has Windows Vista, which has also worked well for me, so I'm not in any real hurry to upgrade to Windows 7. 

So, even though I finally gave in and spent some money on electronics I think I've come out quite well price wise.  For a grand total of $576 I bought an HP desktop computer with 23 inch flat panel monitor, an Android tablet, an Ipod classic, an Ipod touch and accessories for both Ipods.  That's a lot of equipment for less than $600.  To make it an even better deal, I sold my Optiplex tower for $120 and still have my 19 inch flat panel monitor, which I'm sure I can sell for an additional $50.  By the time all is said and done, I'll have gotten all the updated equipment for $406.  Not bad for a couple days online shopping.