Winter 2010

Here's another winter scene from Northern Wisconsin. So far, 2010 has been one of the snowiest winter's on record. 2011 will undoubtedly see more changes as I try to decide if I should move to MN or stay in WI. Both States have long winter seasons, so it all comes down to being able to work from home.

Since I moved to Eau Claire, WI in 1983, the population has grown from 80,800 to 98,200. During the same period, the population of Hudson, WI increased from 44,500 to 82,500. If you click here, you can see that Marinette, WI is basically the same as it was 25 years ago. Home prices in Hudson are similar to those in Eau Claire, but homes in Hudson seem to stay on the market for a long time despite falling prices. Hudson is a nice city, but jobs are very hard to find, unless you are willing to travel to Minneapolis. When gas prices went into the $4 per gallon range, commuting from Hudson to Minneapolis suddenly became less attractive and we could easily go there again.

For 2011, I have started the Budget Investing Forum. My bond investing strategy took a hit during the last few months. Where I was hoping to end 2010 with at least a 5% return, it looks like it will be more like 4.3%. Still better then interest rates on CD's, but not the result that I was hoping for. My bold plan for 2011 is to rotate in and out of a few individual stocks. So, I'm hoping to share some ideas on the new investing forum.