stella

im trying to cut our budget back as much as possible... the car payment is our second biggest expense right now, so i was wondering if i could do something about it.

we are about $1000 upside down on our loan after 16 months of payments. we owe $18660 and its blue book is about $17700. our payments are right at $400 a month, but we have started sending $450. we still have right at 5 years to pay on the car, or another $24000.

we dont have much going on savings-wise to be able to put another down payment on a different car, but we are not opposed to trading in for a used car.

i just dont know what the smartest option would be. do we just hunker down and pay off the car as fast as we can or should we trade it in for a decent used car with a lower price and lower monthly payment that we could be done with in 2-3 years instead of 5?

our car (08 toyota rav4) has less than 10,000 miles on it and i suspect that it will last us quite a while. its a good family car, im okay with the mpg it gets, and it has pretty low emissions, which is also important to me. i dont want to trade it in for something that will be a blight on the ozone. its in excellent condition except some ****** scratched the poo out of it on one side, its about a 2 foot long scratch (i almost puked when i saw it) and it has rust in it. there are about 3-4 other tiny tiny tiny dings in one of the doors that i never noticed until we had the opportunity to wash it this spring, they look to be a little rusty, too. but other than those things, its in great condition.

its something i could see us driving for quite a while to come and toyotas are good cars... thats why im having such a problem making a decision. of course if i could do it all over we would have just bought a used car at the beginning, but you cant go back in time, so now i need to figure out our best option.

now that ive rambled on for so long, hopefully someone will be able to give me an answer and explanation (?)

thanks in advance!

ok, im looking for work here because i dont understand how to get the answer. i keep running into a variable that i cannot figure out and it is ruining all the work i had up until that point.

problem:

a cd is made such that it is 53mm from the edge of the center hole to the edge of the disc. find the radius of the hole if 1.36% of the disc is removed in making the hole.

and then it has a figure of a typical cd. the words (1.36% of orig. disc) are shown with an arrow pointing to the hole in the center and there is a partial radius (missing the radius of the hole) that says 53mm

i have the basics, area of a circle = pi * r^2

53mm + x = radius (if x = radius of center hole)

so area of the entire disc = pi * (53 + x)^2

and 1.36% of the area = pi * x^2

but no matter how i work it out i keep getting impossible numbers.

thanks in advance for the help :)

(actually, thanks from my husband who is up at 1am, though he has work and school tomorrow, working this all out. im not a very good tutor, unfortunately and i want to help any way i can.)

ok, im looking for work here because i dont understand how to get the answer. i keep running into a variable that i cannot figure out and it is ruining all the work i had up until that point.

problem:

a cd is made such that it is 53mm from the edge of the center hole to the edge of the disc. find the radius of the hole if 1.36% of the disc is removed in making the hole.

and then it has a figure of a typical cd. the words (1.36% of orig. disc) are shown with an arrow pointing to the hole in the center and there is a partial radius (missing the radius of the hole) that says 53mm

i have the basics, area of a circle = pi * r^2

53mm + x = radius (if x = radius of center hole)

so area of the entire disc = pi * (53 + x)^2

and 1.36% of the area = pi * x^2

but no matter how i work it out i keep getting impossible numbers.

thanks in advance for the help :)

(actually, thanks from my husband who is up at 1am, though he has work and school tomorrow, working this all out. im not a very good tutor, unfortunately and i want to help any way i can.)

an ambulance averaged 36 mph going to an accident and 48 mph on its return to the hospital. if the total time for the round trip was 40 minutes including 5 minutes at the accident, how far from the hospital was the accident?

im looking for this to be fully worked out. the chapter im working on is about quadratic equations. im getting an answer without using any equation at all, just mentally working it out, but i would like to see the equations that would make this whole thing work. (im getting that the accident was 25 miles from the hospital)

a very similar problem right before it used d=rt (distance= rate x time) so ive been trying to work it all out and im not able to check my answer and have it work out.

thanks in advance for your help!

an ambulance averaged 36 mph going to an accident and 48 mph on its return to the hospital. if the total time for the round trip was 40 minutes including 5 minutes at the accident, how far from the hospital was the accident?

im looking for this to be fully worked out. the chapter im working on is about quadratic equations. im getting an answer without using any equation at all, just mentally working it out, but i would like to see the equations that would make this whole thing work. (im getting that the accident was 25 miles from the hospital)

a very similar problem right before it used d=rt (distance= rate x time) so ive been trying to work it all out and im not able to check my answer and have it work out.

thanks in advance for your help!

i dont need just the answer, but the work shown...

solve for X

Z^2 [ 1 - (X/2a) ] = k

thx

im living in a rental right now and we have a finished basement with two rooms, but no alternate exit. there are stairs up into our kitchen and that is it.

basically im looking for ways to add another exit (a storm door or whatever, stairs, a ladder, anything) so that it is safe for us to actually use the bedrooms that are downstairs. we dont use them now in case something happened with the furnace (located in a room behind the stairs) if the stairs are gone, then all hope of getting out of there is gone.

what kind of basement renovations are available to increase the safety of someone who wanted to sleep down there?

thanks!

converting meters squared into centimeters squared... is it 1m^2 = 100cm^2 or am i missing a step?

as far as i can tell, its coming from this little black box that is sitting atop an air conditioner (window unit, but the box isnt attached to the ac), and it is annoying the pi$$ out of me. i have no idea what the thing could be. it seems to be set off at random times... hubby and i are taking guesses at something to do with repelling dogs, birds, insects.... or maybe its some sort of crazy burglar system that just makes peoples heads explode if they get too close to the house.

so anyhow, anyone know what the h-e-double-ell it could be?

im considering taking a bat to it some night, but im worried about the head-exploding thing. not sure im willing to die to get this m-effer to stop making that noise.

i think the lyrics had something like "its been a good day" or something like that in it? it was for one of the guys... cant quite remember who, and it was in the last couple episodes.

sorry i cant be more clear

i have been trying to eat organic as often as possible, but of course cost is keeping me from doing it all the time.

one of the big items on my list is greens.... i eat a lot of kale and collard greens.

anyhow, most lists ive found online about the 10 best foods to buy organic or however its phrased, often include lettuce. since lettuce is a leafy green, im wondering if all leafy greens should be bought organic?

if anyone has any resources to help, that would be great. guesses are um, less... great. :)

the difference is small in the short term (maybe save like $10/week) but it adds up quickly.

thanks

my husband and i are stumped right now and any constructive advice is really appreciated.

we recently made a huge move for my husband's job. "we" being myself, my husband and our 2 year old son. we have been talking about ttc sometime this year, but we also have other things to work around.

when my son was born, my husband had just started college. we went through a year and a half seeing very little of him. after he got his first degree we moved with the intent of him finishing his schooling. now that we are here, he has found an awesome college that goes 3 nights a week, 6 hours per night.

that is where the conflict is in our minds. we want so badly to have another child, but we also want to be able to provide better for our family. monetarily we are fine. we have a large house and plenty of resources. our dilemma is in having a child while my husband is going to school. it was hard before. has anyone had the same thing happen?

ill add more info in a second.

thanks

i know i wasnt sexually abused. but ive forgotten almost all of my life... im in my early 20's now, and i cant remember anything before i was 12-13, and that is incredibly shady. i remember being 16 really well, but that was incredibly traumatic for me, so it makes sense i would remember most of it.

but aside from that... i dont really remember. i know what i was doing, to a certain extent. going to school, doing homework... but my mind is blank on names, places, events.

how normal is that? part of me thinks im weird, another part of me thinks im totallyy normal.

which is it?

oregon = oregonian

california = californian

alaska = alaskan

what is vermonts???

im thinking about taking a class to learn how to reupholster a couch and chair set we just bought. beautiful style, sturdy frame, just AWFUL looking old upholstery.

if anyone has done upholstery before, please let me know... do i have to have that special thick fabric, or can i choose any run of the mill fabric to use on my furniture?

i would do a slipcover, but they are wingback and have some nice wood work on them, so would it be possible for me to get some fabric and make a slipcover around the woodwork? like pinning and sewing over the existing fabrics? that might end up being easier...

I'm moving to Essex Junction, VT (or close.. Burlington or something) and just want to know basically whats good around there...

parks, restaurants, places to live (places not to live) and general things like that.

Early 20's married couple with 2 year old child. Not into the college party scene, but not recluses, either. We like to go out, have fun.

What's good in Vermont?

or anywhere close to there...

best prices, equipment, and staff? (please, not staph)

so, i cant find a bally, 24 hour fitness, or golds in vermont.

just wondering what is the equivalent of those in vermont. im moving there in a few weeks, and i want to make sure and have my gym in place beforehand.

im looking for a nice gym, creepy guys at a minimum... woman friendly! but guy friendly, too. (hubbys gotta work out too!)

something with cardio machines, strength training machines, free weights, and classes like zumba, yoga, and pilates.

please and thank you!

i live in oregon right now, never been further east than the las vegas airport for 20 minutes...

and i just found out im relocating to minnesota (around minneapolis) in just over a month!!!

what are the best places to live near minneapolis (we want to be within a 30 minute commute)

we have one son, turning 2 this winter, and would like to have more children soon. where are some family-friendly places?

what is the weather like? from what ive heard it is cold constantly and snows like crazy all the time. any truth to this??

um, basically any information, websites, anything would be great!!

thanks!!!

there are about 4 of them that wont turn anymore and one that has completely fallen off the set.

im moving out of my apartment in a couple weeks, and i would like to avoid paying $45 per blind.

the one that has fallen, it didnt just break off the rack. the top part of it has a hole... where the plastic attachment goes through (sound familiar? i hope!) and it broke, so i think we are stuck paying for that one.

but the others... i hope we can fix.

they are still able to attach to the track, but when we twist the cord to make them turn, they wont. something has happened with the gears.

my main questions... can i fix them without bothering with buying anything? can i buy the little attachment pieces and fix it?

what can i do?!?

thanks!