As a couple of readers pointed out, it’s been quite a while since I updated you all on my progress with Prosper. Overall, while I am pleased with the return I’ve been getting, I’m not spending a lot of time with the site.

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The weather here has been so nice the last few days, I’ve been taking the opportunity to get some work done outside.

Sunday, I serviced the tractor for the winter. Changed the antifreeze, oil and filter, cleaned the fuel filter (I still smell like diesel…) and lubed everything including the loader and 3 point hitch. I hate working in the cold so the weather the last few days was perfect.

Yesterday I took some time out to take a walk through the property and started cleaning out the gutters. Hopefully I can finish that job in time for the trees to fill them back up again…

I’ve got a couple of hot projects at work that are also taking up a lot of time. So I haven’t had as much time to work on the site as I’d like. I am working on a couple of projects as well as part one of an article on credit cards. I hope to have it posted today or tomorrow.

This morning CPI-U (the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers) for September came out at 202.9. This is a 1.55% increase from March of 2006. While this doesn’t predict what the new fixed rate component will be on November 1 we can at least measure the variable (inflation-based) portion of the new I Bond rate.

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Our house in Michigan sits empty (aside from a bed and TV I left there for my visits for work.) It is on the market and priced competitively with other properties in the area but the housing market in and around Detroit is very slow at the moment. Between the Big-3 laying off workers and salaries stagnating or falling there just isn’t a lot of demand for housing. Many people are leaving the area as well (as we have) which has had the effect of increasing the supply of real-estate on the market. To top it off, foreclosures are at double the rate of the nation as a whole so banks are dumping these homes on the market as well, at much lower than previous market value.

We’ve had several people interested, but nobody with enough money to buy the place, or even justify a showing. It’s a great property and I know it is just a matter of time before it sells, but uncertainty is something I’ve never liked. I’d also like to have the cash to put into stocks as I think we’re on the verge of a very good market for the next year or two.

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Whew…

I had thought that once we’d moved into the new house that things would calm down and I’d be able to write. I’ve really missed tending this blog, more than I’ve had time to realize in the past few weeks. Anyway, I’m back and hopefully for good. There are still some things going to that will pull me away but I should at least be able to get back on schedule.

So, first things first, an update on where we’re at. I will likely post more detailed news on many of the topics below, when I do I’ll link to them from within this entry.

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