We're done with the herringbone. This is the border on top of the running bond on the walls that he's having a problem with (figuring out how to cut it at - you guessed it - the crease again). He got one side and I can't figure out why he couldn't figure out the other side except that he's screwing with me. I really don't get it. I also bit my tongue until it bled but after the third question today that was basically "help me figure out how to lay tile" I "slipped" and told him that I can't explain to him how to do his job and the only way I could figure it out is to get up there and mess with it and just do it. I told him to go take a lunch break while I did that and he said he doesn't take lunch and grabbed his stuff and stormed out. I don't think the herringbone messed him up per se - I was explicit about that from the beginning and he was okay with it. At this point I think he was just asking me every stupid question to make some kind of a point, like "okay smart@ss, you figured out the ceiling, now figure THIS out." I really TRIED to be patient but I just wasn't seeing the problems he was seeing. It sounded like he was making a mountain out of every molehill he could possibly find. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to walk out on the job when it was obvious that he wasn't going to get done in one day like he wanted to. I really don't know. I don't get people sometimes. There is so little left, I'm wondering if I can work with my contractor to finish it up. He's done some tile before, he's just slow and this job was just too big and complicated for him. At this point so little is left i can't imagine any real tile guy coming in to do it. Part of me wants to do it myself but after how hard it was to do the part I did do, there is no way DH is going to allow a repeat of that. I think grouting it all will be a bigger deal than setting the rest of the tile.

Carol, I found your post a few weeks ago on a search. For some reason, I keep thinking about your questions and the advice you got, and I finally decided to log on and comment. Here are a few comments about your post: 1) You make a good point about being able to get better returns with mutual funds over a MM. 2-3% is very achievable. On the other hand, it is also quite possible to lose 2-3% - or more- with mutual funds. This is the trade-off between risk and reward that is inherent in investing. Typically fixed income investments, such as MM, T-bills, and government bonds are called "risk free" investments. Equities, such as stocks, and stock mutual funds are typically considered to be riskier. In general, the "riskier" the investment, the higher the rate of return. 2) You mentioned investing in a mutual fund. Another aspect of risk/reward is diversification. Again, in general funds that are spread among several different investments are at lower risk (Dont put all your eggs in one basket). Taking this a step further, risk is reduced more by making sure the different investments are sufficiently diverse. Some examples of diversity would be bonds vs. stocks, growth stocks vs. value stocks, US stocks vs. foreign stocks, etc. 3) Everybody has a different risk tolerance. Your husband seems to be very risk averse. You seem to be more risk tolerant. The level of risk is a personal decision that both of you must feel comfortable with. 4) I would like to suggest that you visit a website called www.ifa.com. This is a company of investment advisors that specialize in mutual funds by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). IÂm not suggesting you use DFA at this time. What I am suggesting is that you and your husband take the risk survey that IFA has on their website. It is free, and you donÂt have to sign up or give them your E-mail address. The risk survey is about 20 questions. The results give you an idea where you are on the risk taking spectrum. Based on the results, IFA will suggest one of 20 different portfolios that fit in with your risk tolerance. Again, I wouldnÂt necessarily suggest those portfolios for you, but they will give you a general idea of the types of investments that would be consistent with the level of risk you and your husband would like to take. I may make a few people angry, but I need to comment about the advice you have been given: First, the good advice. 1) I agree with much of what jkom51 says in the first reply. Although you probably donÂt need a CFP, it wonÂt hurt as long as you can find a good one. 2) Chisue suggested treasuries and CDs. These can be good alternatives to MM, but you should research the advantages and differences. 3) Great advice f lphacat. American Funds are "load funds". That means when you buy them, a salesman gets a commission, usually about 5.25%. If you invest $400,000, you will LOSE $21,000 immediately. The big problem with this is that there are "no load" funds out there that will do just as good if not better, and you can get them for about $30 per fund. If you have 10 funds, that would be $300 verses $21,000. Too often an advisor who is recommending a load fund has his best interests at heart instead of yours. I wouldnÂt even consider load funds if I were you. 4) Alphacat also suggested DFA funds. He is correct; almost any DFA fund runs rings around American. They are all no load and have much lower annual fees as well. On a $400,000 investment, the difference in ER between DFA and American can run $4000 per year. With compounding, this is about $60,000 over 10 years that you are giving up. 5) The absolute best advice you got was f lphacat when he recommended you go to www.fundadvice.com. Go there and read every article, especially this one (sorry, I canÂt get the link to work, so I just copied the whole address) http://www.fundadvice.com/articles/buy-hold/the-ultimate-buy-and-hold-strategy.html. Paul Merriman gives great advice to folks. He is also a financial advisor who you might want to consider. I think he will work on a percentage of assets or I know he will give advice on a per hour basis (around $200/hr). This may be your best option. For about $400 you can get some really first rate advice on how best to invest. For disclosure purposes, I donÂt invest with Merriman, but I do read his site quite often. Also, for disclosure, all my IRA assets are invested in DFA funds. Now for the bad advice: 1) The average investor has absolutely no business investing in individual stocks. If you put your money in 10 mutual funds you are invested in 10,000 stocks. Now if one of your stocks goes bankrupt, would you rather lose $40,000 ($400,000/10 stocks) or $4 ($400,000/10,000 stocks). This goes back to diversification. You just canÂt minimize the risk enough with individual stocks. 2) DonÂt bother going to Morningstar.com, or Forbes, or Money . Frankly I consider most of what they put out to be financial ography. They are trying to entice and tempt you with the "hot" stock, the " " stock, the investment that will make you filthy rich. But if you go back and look at last yearÂs "hottie" chances are it is a dog this year. For now, read everything you can at fundadvice.com. Another good site is www.diehards.org. That is a forum primarily by index investors. Go there and post the same message you put on this web, and you will get some fantastic advice (much better than I can give you). Just a few more comments. 1) The best portfolio for you and your husband will probably be one that includes MM, bond funds, and stock funds. Again, your risk tolerance will determine the best portfolio for you. 2) One more article at fundadvice.com is this one. http://www.fundadvice.com/portfolio.html Merriman provides several suggested portfolios with different fund families such as Vanguard and Fidelity. Most of these funds are index funds. Some are managed funds, but all are no load with low fees. 3) Many people prefer index funds. These funds track an index such as the S&P 500 or others. They typically have lower fees than managed funds and studies show that managed fund usually underperform index funds over the long term. You can get a good explanation of this at fundadvice.com 4) You asked for a few good funds. Several are listed in the site referenced in #2 above. 5) Good luck with your investment . Jeff

I'm sorry that I've caused such a stir. I know that when traditional gender roles are challenged that all sorts of feelings come out about it. Honestly, it works for some but I think for the vast majority, it's too hard to get past the traditional role of what I am supposed to do as a woman and what he's supposed to do as a man. I feel like it's my job to clean some even though he's home all day. I feel like it's also my job to care for my kids when I'm home from work. I'm a VERY driven person and I always have been. He's not but when we were dating he put himself out there like he was. It was almost a little smoke and mirrors but we all do that when we are dating a little bit, I know this. I don't exactly know how I'm going to broach the subject of putting some of my kids child support away for them. I know he's going to be really upset when I tell him that's what I want now that he is working. After all, he has the same opportunity to go after BM but he chooses not too. She lives on the other side of the country from us (she moved right after we got married), never sees the kids and never calls them. It's really sad. DH says he's just lucky to have his kids out of the deal and that he's not willing to go after her for support b/c he fears losing the kids. I know his thinking is very backward (he'd never lose those kids to a deadbeat mother like she is) but I can't tell him that he must take that chance b/c what if by some twist of fate, he does lose them. So therein lies my problem with that whole mess. But - I do think that I should be able to do whatever I please with my children's child support. I fought hard for that support with my ex and just b/c he makes good money and I didn't have kids with a loser (like BM) my kids should have the benefits of that support to themselves. Am I wrong to feel that way? Is that a bad way of thinking and will it ultimately divide our family? G-d, some days I just hate being in a stepfamily. It's so so hard. Harder than I ever thought it would be. The Brady Bunch can go suck an egg. ROFL!

Hi, everyone! I am a granite fabricator in the Charlotte, NC area. So, so to speak, I don't have a dog in this fight. I see that there is much misunderstanding from consumers about granite countertops. The biggest issue I see is that your fabricator is not educating you about stone and the process. There are a lot of hacks out there. Please be careful! DON'T ASK FOR REFERENCES! You'll get his sister, his cousin and his best friend. Ask for a list of his last 10-15 jobs. Call them. Ask them when their install took place and what was they're impression of the company and the quality of their work. If the job wasn't recent, he's giving you only people that he knows liked him. Does the fabricator have a showroom to show the quality of his work? Look at the seam work. Does he use a 'french seam?' This is a seam that will have a small cut at a 45% angle (usually about 1 1/2' long) and then a straight cut back to the wall.This is an indication of precut Chinese granite. It will give a square corner on the front edge. Run away from this. Proper inside corners are curved indicating they are from slab. Are they selling 2cm granite? We consider this an inferior product. You must pick your slab. Your fabricator should be with you to help choose. They should give you advise on a good slab or a bad one. The stone warehouse wholesaler really just wants to sell you anything. You should be able to place your template. Your fabricator will help you maximize the usage of the stone slab so you don't pay extra. I know that there is a lot of questions. If you would like to know any answers, I would be glad to help. You can reach me through our website or at 39dollargranite@gmail.com.