Featured Rule of Thumb                 Surprise Me! 2135 Storage DESIGNING A CLOSET Women have three times as many clothes as men, but they need only twice as much hanging space. Men's clothes take up more space per hanger. Bob Horton, consultant and writer, Largo, Florida Current Rating: 5.2 out of 10 based on 15 reviews Comments (0) You must login to Rate.

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5277 Automobiles
BUYING A CAR
A Good rules of thumb when negotiating the price of a car: The markup of a vehicle can be determined by its MSRP. For cars under 20,000 a rule of thumb is 10%. For every $5000 increment in price over that add 1.5-2% to the mark up. ex. Car costs $20,000 mark up = 10% or $2000 Car is $25,000 mark up = 11.5% or $2,750 Mark-up determines how much movement the dealer has on price. Also, remember that the markup is the profit a dealership makes, so be fair. Most salespeople work on a commission based on the profit and will be ok with 25 - 40% off the markup, depending on the vehicle
Jason Gowler, Ex-Car Salesman, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA
(3) Contributions from this contributor since (2011-03-04)
Current Rating: 5.3 out of 10 based on 6 reviews
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5275 Animals
OCTOPUS SQUISHINESS
An octopus can fit through any opening large enough for its beak.
Zachary Critchley, Student of anthropology and archaeology, Franklin & Marshall College, Clinton, CT, USA
(1) Contributions from this contributor since (2011-03-03)
Current Rating: 7 out of 10 based on 9 reviews
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5274 Books
TRACKING YOUR BOOK SALES ON AMAZON
A general rule of thumb (first proposed by Morris Leventhal of FonerBooks) is to note your rank twice a week for four weeks, then divide by 8. This will show your "average" Amazon sales rank réplique montres Rolex. Checking any more than that is really meaningless, since these ranks can change on an hourly basis. You'll find that titles that sit within the top 5,000 do not usually fluctuate by more than 20% (and Amazon is trying to contain even this level of fluctuation). Titles in the 10-20,000 range may jump or drop by as much 50 or 60%. Titles under the 50,000 mark will swing wildly.
Joseph Bauer, Master Carpenter, Indian Hills, Ohio, USA
(41) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-01-08)
Current Rating: 3.6 out of 10 based on 6 reviews
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5273 Fuel
PREDICTING GASOLINE PRICES
A $10 increase in the cost of a barrel of oil means a twenty-five cent increase in the cost of gasoline at the pumps (in the USA.)
Joseph Bauer, Master Carpenter, Indian Hills, Ohio, USA
(41) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-01-08)
Current Rating: 6 out of 10 based on 9 reviews
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5270 House and Home
PAY YOUR MORTGAGE DOWN FASTER AND SAVE.
Pay your mortgage down faster by opening a HELOC @ 6% or more. Print out your loan amortization, add the interest for the next 5 payments and divide that by how much you paid on the principal during that time; it will probably come out to 20% or 30% or more. Better to pay 20+% or 6%?
Dick Gehring, Consultant, NY
(56) Contributions from this contributor since (2008-05-27)
Current Rating: 4 out of 10 based on 7 reviews
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5267 Restaurants
RESTAURANTS IN AIRPORTS
The best restaurants at a large airport are usually in the international terminal. If you have a lengthy layover, you might as well walk over there and check it out.
Matthew Butterick, writer
(71) Contributions from this contributor since (2011-01-08)
Current Rating: 6.7 out of 10 based on 8 reviews
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5265 Restaurants
RESTAURANT PARKING LOTS
If the parking lot is full, the restaurant is operating over capacity. Eat somewhere else.
Matthew Butterick, writer
(71) Contributions from this contributor since (2011-01-08)
Current Rating: 3.2 out of 10 based on 7 reviews
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5264 Restaurants
RESTAURANTS THAT ARE OPEN 24 HOURS
Avoid restaurants that are open 24 hours. The food is overpriced, because the restaurant has to pay a 24-hour staff. Also, most restaurants get a thorough daily cleaning while they're closed. When does a 24-hour restaurant get cleaned? Ick.
Matthew Butterick, writer
(71) Contributions from this contributor since (2011-01-08)
Current Rating: 2.5 out of 10 based on 8 reviews
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