Blog Archive: February 2021

Kobuleti Beach, Georgia

26 February, 2021 | Tourism objects | 19 seen

Kobuleti is a town in Adjara, western Georgia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea

Finally got some free time to edit some unprocessed files.
More to come. Taken with DJI Mavic Mini drone, August 2020
Music by Scott Holmes - Driven to Success
 

Minimum Wages in European Union 2021

23 February, 2021 | Macroeconomics | 58 seen

In 2021 there were 21 out of 27 European Union member states with an official minimum wage set by the government.

Turns out this is already the eighth (#8) article about minimum wages in European Union featured on the blog. To keep it up, here is the raw data for minimum wages across European Union in 2021.

Update: Minimum Wages in European Union 2022

Please don't judge too hard, data are taken from this article on Wikipedia, and applied some basic calculations for yearly growth.

The minimum wage in European Union member countries

Data source: List of European countries by minimum wage

It should be noted: The calculations are based on the assumption of a 40-hour working week and a 52-week year, with the exceptions of France (35 hours), Belgium (38 hours), Ireland (39 hours), and Germany (39.1 hours). Most of the minimum wages are fixed at a monthly rate, but there are countries where the minimum wage is fixed at an hourly rate or weekly rate.

As it already happened for the previous years, there are no changes in the country with the highest and lowest minimum wage. Luxembourg as usual ranks #1 with more than EUR 2,000 gross minimum wage in 2020, while Bulgaria takes the last spot with minimum wage EUR 332 Making a gap between the highest and lowest salary in European Union 6.63 times. 

Minimum wage map in European Union 2021

When visualizing data on the map, its' clearly visible that higher minimum wages are set in the Western European countries, despite the higher growth rates are found in Eastern European countries.

Embūte Nature Park 4K. Ancient Curonian Land. Latvia . DJI MAVIC AIR 2

19 February, 2021 | Tourism objects | 8 seen

Made a quick drone video from Embūte, quite an awesome ancient land of Curonians. Got a feeling some old Curonian might come out of the woods with a wooden sword and ...

If you happen to be in this area - make sure to visit this place. One of our favorites now

• Music by Scott Holmes: The Edge of Nowhere
• Taken December 13, 2020

Vilgāle Flat: Scrapping Textured Walls / Preparing for Electricity Wiring

18 February, 2021 | Home Remodeling | 10 seen

It has been already the second week since renovation works are in full swing at our Vilgāle flat.

This week contractors have removed chalk and other texture from the walls and have started preparing walls and ceilings for wiring. Just like in the previous week - I was absent from the works and spent our days in Jūrmala

Master Bedroom Under construction

Looks much happier than I saw this room the first time

Nothing fancy planned here - king-size bed, flat-screen TV, some cabinets, and a closet

Living room

Another flat-screen TV here, a coach, bookshelf, and toddler's bed

Bathroom

A free-standing bath, shower, WC, and a sink, nothing fancy.

for the next week it's planned to finish the wiring and plaster the walls, and hopefully build a frame for drywall ceiling

Cost so far:

• Water plumbing: EUR 60
• Sadales Tīkls: EUR 60
• Electrician: EUR 155
• Architect: EUR 800
• Removing walls and floor: EUR 750
• Chalk removing, / wiring: EUR 500

TOTAL: EUR 2,325

Camping Vērbeļnieki

16 February, 2021 | Hotel reviews | 14 seen

Guesthouse and camping "Vērbeļnieki" is located on the road Klaipeda - Liepāja, 6 km from the city of Liepāja in Nīca parish (Latvia)

We discovered this place by accident, during a random driving around in the area at the start of February 2021.

As I had equipped with my DJI Mavic AIr 2 drone I decided to capture some nice golden hour photo here

Kids playground at Vērbeļnieki

Our toddler girl was very excited

Golden hour sunset near Vērbeļneki

Place bit reminds me of the Shekhveteli beach near the Black Sea (Georgia)

Vērbeļnieki complex from a drone flight

Top 16 Best Selling Intel Core i9 32 GB RAM Laptops

15 February, 2021 | Laptop Reviews | 170 seen

Intel Core i9 laptops are not rare in 2021, nor laptops with 32 GB RAM memory

Best suited for business professionals and demanding gamers, here is the list with the top 16 best selling Intel Core i0 32 GB RAM laptops on Amazon

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on the Amazon site, I will earn an affiliate income at no cost to you. Prices for laptops listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product  Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer to the product page on Amazon.

MSI GE66 Raider Dragonshield 10SFS-426 Limited Edition 15.6" Full HD 300Hz VR-Ready Gaming Notebook Computer, Intel Core i9-10980HK 2.4GHz, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB

• 15.6" FHD, Anti-Glare Wide View Angle 300Hz 3ms | NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070 Super 8G GDDR6
• Core i9-10980HK 2.4 - 5.3GHz Killer Wi-Fi6 AX1650 (2*2 ax)
• 1TB NVMe SSD 32GB (16G*2) DDR4 3200MHz 2 Sockets; Max Memory 64GB
• USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C *1 USB3.2 Gen2x2 Type C *1 USB 3.2 Gen1 *2; USB 3.2 Gen2*1 Steel Series per-Key RGB with Anti-Ghost key+ silver lining 1080p FHD Webcam
• GE66 Dragonshield Edition Giftbox: include Mouse Pad, Gaming Mouse, Dragonshield Spaceship and Concept Collection

List price: [amazon B08JGLVCJD listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 15 G532LWS Gaming and Entertainment Laptop (Intel i9-10980HK 8-Core, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super, 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080), Wifi, Bluetooth, Win 10 Pro) with Hub

• Seal is opened for Hardware/Software upgrade only to enhance performance. 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 300Hz Refresh Rate Display; Wi-Fi 6 AX201 Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, Ethernet LAN (RJ-45), No Webcam, Backlit Keyboard
• 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK 2.40GHz Processor (upto 5.3 GHz, 16MB Cache, 8-Cores) ; NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super 8GB GDDR6 Graphics
• 32GB DDR4 SODIMM RAM; 280W Power Supply, 4-Cell 66 WHr Battery; Black Color
• 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD; 3 USB 3.2 Gen1, 1 HDMI, USB 3.2 Type-C Gen2, Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack., Windows 10 Pro-64, 1 Year Manufacturer warranty from GreatPriceTech (Professionally upgraded by GreatPriceTech)

List price: [amazon B08KYBRC7N listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

MSI WS75 10TK-468 Workstation Laptop (Intel i9-10980HK 8-Core, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000, 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080), Fingerprint, WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam, 1xHDMI, Win 10 Pro) with Hub

• Seal is opened for Hardware/Software upgrade only to enhance performance. 17.3" Full HD (1920x1080) 144Hz Refresh Rate Display; Wi-Fi 6 AX201 Wifi, Bluetooth 5.0, Ethernet LAN (RJ-45), 720p HD Webcam, Fingerprint Security System, Backlit Keyboard
• 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK 2.40GHz Processor (upto 5.30 GHz, 16MB Smart Cache, 8-Cores) ; NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 6GB GDDR6 Graphics
• 32GB DDR4 SODIMM; 180W Power Supply, 4-Cell 82WHr Battery; Silver Color
• 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD; 3 USB 3.2 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Thunderbolt3 (Type-C), USB 3.1 Type-C Gen1, SD Reader, 1 x Microphone Jack, 1 x Headphone Jack., Windows 10 Pro-64, 1 Year Manufacturer warranty from GreatPriceTech (Professionally upgraded by GreatPriceTech)
• Includes Dockztorm USB HUb(Special Edition Portable Docztorm Data Hub;Super Speedy Data Syn Rate upto 5Gbps;Authorized Sellers ONLY)

List price: [amazon B08NTYT83P listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

New XPS 15 9500 15.6" Touch Laptop 10th Gen Core i9-10885H 5.3 GHz 8 cores GTX 1650 Ti 4K UHD+ Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display Plus Best Notebook Stylus Pen (10Th Gen i9|1TB SSD RAID|32GB RAM|Silver)

• Processor 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H (16MB Cache, up to 5.3 GHz, 8 cores)
• 32GB DDR4-2933MHz, 2x16G system memory Upgrade for intense multitasking and gaming
• 1TB PCIe Solid State Drive. Save files fast and store more data. With massive amounts of storage and advanced communication power
• Display 15.6" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch Anti-Reflective 500-Nit Display
• Graphics Card NVIDIA; GeForce; GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6 with Max-Q

List price: [amazon B08HGTLFSK listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 Laptop, 15.6” 4K UHD NanoEdge Touch Display, Intel Core i9-10980HK, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, GeForce RTX 2060, ScreenPad Plus, Windows 10 Pro, Celestial Blue, UX581LV-XS94T

• ScreenPad Plus: 14 inch 4K matte touchscreen, giving your endless way to optimize your multitasking experience by extending the screen or split windows and apps on both displays
• 15.6 inch 4K UHD NanoEdge touchscreen glossy main display
• Latest 10th generation Intel Core i9-10980HK Octa Core Processor (16M Cache, up to 5.3 GHz) with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
• Detachable palm rest, Laptop stand, and ASUS active stylus pen included
• Fast storage and memory featuring 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD with 32GB DDR4 RAM
• Built-in IR camera for facial recognition sign in with Windows Hello
• Exclusive ErgoLift design for improved typing position, optimized cooling system and enhanced audio performance

List price: [amazon B088ZTK1RR listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Dell XPS 15 7590 15.6 Inch 4K UHD Touch-Screen 1TB SSD i9 32GB RAM Gaming Laptop (3840 x 2160 Display, Intel 8-Core i9-9980HK, NVIDIA GTX 1650, Windows 10 Home) Silver

• 15.6-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) Anti-Reflective InfinityEdge Touch 500-Nits Display
• 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD Storage, 32GB RAM (DDR4-2666MHz, 2x16GB), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 Graphics
• 2.4GHz 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9980HK (16MB Cache, 8 Core, up to 5.0GHz)
• Windows 10 Home 64-Bit, SD Card Slot, Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2), Bluetooth 5.0
• Ports & Slots: 1. SD card slot | 2. USB 3.1 Gen 1 | 3. Battery gauge button and indicator | 4. Wedge-shaped lock slot | 5. AC power | 6. USB 3.1 Gen 1 | 7. HDMI 2.0 | 8. Thunderbolt 3 (4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3) supporting: Power Delivery, Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps bi-directional), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps), Native DisplayPort 1.2 video output, VGA, HDMI, Ethernet and USB-A via Dell Adapter (sold separately) | 9. Headset jack

List price: [amazon B07TVHTMWG listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

CUK Omen 15t Gaming Notebook (Intel Core i9, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB Max-Q, 15.6" FHD 300Hz IPS, Windows 10 Home) 15 Inch Gamer Laptop Computer

With NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics with Max-Q design you can take on today's most demanding games at high frame-rates.​ GeForce RTX gaming GPUs come loaded with next-generation GDDR6 memory, support for DirectX 12 features like DXR, and more.

• Processor: Intel Core i9-10885H Eight Core Processor (16MB Cache, 2.4GHz-5.3GHz) 45W
• RAM: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz | Hard Drive: 512GB NVMe Solid State Drive + 1TB 5400rpm Hard Disk Drive
• Keyboard: Full-Size Backlit Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and N-Key Rollover (White Legend) | Operating System: Windows 10 Home x64
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q 8GB GDDR6 | Display: 15.6" Diagonal Full HD 300Hz IPS Anti-Glare Micro-Edge WLED-Backlit (1920 x 1080)

List price: [amazon B0892Q5PQT listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

MSI GE66 Dragonshield 10SFS-426 Gaming and Entertainment Laptop (Intel i9-10980HK 8-Core, 32GB RAM, 2x1TB PCIe SSD RAID 0 (2TB), NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super, Win 10 Home) with Hub

•  Seal is opened for Hardware/Software upgrade only to enhance performance. 15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) 300Hz Refresh Rate Display; Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 Wifi, Bluetooth 5.1, Ethernet LAN (RJ-45), Integrated Webcam, Backlit Keyboard
•  10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK 2.40GHz Processor (upto 5.3GHz, 16MB Cache, 8-Cores) ; NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super 8GB GDDR6 Graphics, VR Ready
• 32GB DDR4 SODIMM RAM; 280W Power Supply, 4-Cell 99 WHr Battery; Aluminum Black Color
•  2x1TB PCIe NVMe SSD RAID 0 (2TB available storage); 2 USB 3.2 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 mini Display Port, 2 USB 3.2 Type-C Gen2, SD Reader, Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack., Windows 10 Home-64, 1 Year Manufacturer warranty from GreatPriceTech (Professionally upgraded by GreatPriceTech)

List price: [amazon B08KGL316N listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Lenovo ThinkPad P15, Intel i9-10885H 8 Cores CPU,15.6'' FHD(1920x1080) 500 nits, HDR, IR, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, Nvidia Quadro T2000,Backlit,FPR, Win10Pro,Workstation

• 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H Processor with vPro (2.40 GHz, up to 5.30 GHz with Turbo Boost, 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 16 MB Cache)
• Memory: 32 GB(2 x 16 GB) DDR4 Storage: 1 TB SSD NVMe
• Display: 15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare with Dolby Vision, HDR, 500 nits Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro T2000
• Dimensions (WxDxH) 14.8 in x 9.9 in x 1.2 in Weight: 6.04 lbs

List price: [amazon B08M8ZW53P listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 20TK002CUS 15.6" Touchscreen Notebook - 4K UHD - 3840 x 2160 - Intel Core i9 (10th Gen) i9-10885H Octa-core (8 Core) 2.40 GHz - 32 GB RAM - 2 TB SSD - Midnight Bl

• Processor Manufacturer: Intel
• Processor Type: Core i9
• Processor Generation: 10th Gen
• Processor Model: i9-10885H
• Processor Core: Octa-core (8 Core)

List price: [amazon B08L886DFZ listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

New Dell XPS 17 9700 17 inch UHD Plus Laptop (Silver) Intel i9-10885H 10th Gen, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6, Windows 10 Home, 17-30.99

• Desktop-caliber creativity in a laptop:Packed with staggering performance typically only available from desktops, 10th Gen Intel Core processors bring desktop-caliber creativity to your laptop
• More creating, less waiting:GeForce RTX 2060 laptops are built with the breakthrough graphics performance of the award-winning GeForce GPUs. Dedicated GPU power accelerates the creative apps you use every day
• The XPS 17 delivers unprecedented performance in an incredibly thin form factor. discrete graphics feature unique dual opposite outlet fans, that increase fan airflow by approximately 30%
• Model number: XPS9700-9415SLV-PUS

List price: [amazon B08DWDL357 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 (2020) Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 300Hz FHD IPS Type, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super, Intel Core i9-10980HK, 32GB DDR4, 2TB RAID 0 PCIe SSD, Per-Key RGB, Windows 10 Pro, G532LWS-XS99

Exceptional speed, power, and performance elevate the ROG Strix SCAR 15 to the top tier of Windows 10 Pro gaming. The latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors and powerful GeForce graphics saturate the cutting-edge 300Hz/3ms gaming panel that takes you to the next frontier of pro esports speed.

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 with ROG Boost (Base: 1140MHz, Boost: 1380MHz, TDP: 115W)
• Latest 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK Processor
• 300Hz 3ms 15.6” Full HD 1920x1080 IPS-Type Display
• 32GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM | 2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD in RAID 0 (1TB + 1TB) | Windows 10 Professional
• ROG Intelligent Cooling thermal system with Thermal Grizzly Liquid Metal Thermal Compound
• ROG Aura Sync System with RGB Keyboard, Logo, and Light Bar
• Gig+ Wi-Fi 6 with RangeBoost & Bluetooth 5.0 | ROG Keystone II | ROG Easy Upgrade Design

List price: [amazon B0876M69L7 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Asus ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 15.6” 4K UHD NanoEdge Bezel Touch, Intel Core i9-9980HK, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, GeForce RTX 2060, Innovative Screenpad Plus, Windows 10 Pro - UX581GV-XB94T, Celestial Blue

• ScreenPad Plus: 14 inch 4K matte touchscreen, giving your endless way to optimize your multitasking experience by extending the screen or split windows and apps on both displays
• 15.6 inch 4K UHD NanoEdge touchscreen glossy main display
• Latest 9th generation Intel Core i9-9980HK Octa Core Processor (16M Cache, up to 5.0 GHz) with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
• Detachable palm rest and ASUS active stylus pen included
• Fast storage and memory featuring 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32GB DDR4 RAM
• Built-in IR camera for facial recognition sign in with Windows Hello
• Exclusive ErgoLift design for improved typing position, optimized cooling system and enhanced audio performance

List price: [amazon B07W5XJ21H listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Lenovo 2020-2021 ThinkPad P15 Gen 1 - High-End Workstation Laptop: Intel 10th Gen i9-10885H Octa-Core, 32GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, 15.6" FHD IPS HDR Display, Quadro RTX 4000, Win 10 Pro, Black

• Intel 10th Generation Core i9-10885H Octa-Core (8 Cores, up to 5.3 GHz with Intel Turbo, 16 MB Cache)
• 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) IPS HDR Screen
• 32GB DDR4 Memory
• 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
• Windows 10 Professional (Win 10 Pro 64-bit), 3-Year Lenovo Worldwide Warranty

List price: [amazon B08PBDGSMR listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo Gaming Laptop, 15.6" UHD 4K Gsync + Secondary Display, Core i9-10980HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super, 32GB DDR4, 2TB RAID 0, Thunderbolt 3, Wi-Fi 6, Win10 Pro, GX550LXS-XS99

Expand your creative and gaming horizons with the groundbreaking Zephyrus Duo 15, which features a ROG ScreenPad Plus secondary display that takes the Windows 10 experience to new heights.

• ScreenPad Plus: 14 inch 4K secondary touchscreen display | Game, Stream, Create, and more!
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 with ROG Boost
• Latest 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK Processor
• 4K Ultra HD 15.6” 3840x2160 IPS-Type PANTONE Validated Display
• 32GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM | 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD in RAID 0 (1+1) | Windows 10 Professional
• ROG Intelligent Cooling thermal system with Active Aerodynamic System Plus (AAS) and Thermal Grizzly Liquid Metal Thermal Compound
• ROG Aura Sync System with RGB Keyboard
• Thunderbolt 3 | Gig+ Wi-Fi 6 with RangeBoost | Bluetooth 5.0

List price: [amazon B0876LY1WD listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Lenovo ThinkPad P17 Gen 1 20SN004TUS 17.3" Mobile Workstation - Full HD - 1920 x 1080 - Intel Core i9 (10th Gen) i9-10885H Octa-core (8 Core) 2.40 GHz - 32 GB RAM - 512 GB SSD - Black - Windows 1

• Processor Manufacturer: Intel
• Processor Type: Core i9
• Processor Generation: 10th Gen
• Processor Model: i9-10885H
• Processor Core: Octa-core (8 Core)

List price: [amazon B08M3RW9T6 listpriceformattedprice] Buy this laptop on Amazon (Paid link)

Pāvilosta / Jūrkalne 4K HDR / DJI Mavic Air 2

12 February, 2021 | Tourism objects | 16 seen

Good day at Pāvilosta and Jūrkalne seashore bluffs. Did some 4K HDR filming with DJI Mavic AIR 2

• Filmed November 15, 2020
• Music by Scott Holmes - Sunset moments

Vilgāle flat Renovation - tearing down walls, removing floors

11 February, 2021 | Home Remodeling | 11 seen

Welcome, to yet another exciting photo series to our latest renovation project - Vilgāle flat.

I bought this flat at an online auction back in September 2020, it took me a few months before all the legal procedures were done and we could actually start renovation works. 

For actual renovation works, I hired local contractors at Kuldīga town. Not to speak more here are photos from our first "operation" - tearing down the walls and removing the floor. During these renovation works, I was absent and enjoyed our time in Jūrmala. 

Inner walls removed at Vilgāle flat

Here itš planned to install a modern kitchen

Inner walls removed

by removing this wall we are making a spacious united living room with kitchen

Walls removed at bathroom

WC and bathroom were separated

Bathroom

It's planned to install a free standing bath, shower, wc and a sink here

Vilgāle flat renovation

Master bedroom

It total cost me EUR 775 to remove walls and floors (including taking care of transporting and storing debris)

As a next step it was planned to pour in floors (estrich), but due to the cold weather, we agreed to plaster walls and install construction for a drywall ceilings and do some wiring. I will keep you posted.

Dubulti Beach Winter 2021

9 February, 2021 | | 7 seen

At the end of January 2021, we temporarily relocated back to Dubulti (Jūrmala). We are looking to stay here for the next two months and hopefully get back to Tbilisi by April 2021

In today's Piece of Life series - Dubulti beach in Winter

Make sure to check out our previous article back from 2018 - Winter near The Baltic Sea (Dubulti beach, Jūrmala)

Dubulti beach in Winter

After a long time, I took again my old Canon DSLR and made a few handheld HDR's 

Jūrmala in Winter

Laidi / Laidu muiža / DJI Mavic Mini Latvija

5 February, 2021 | Tourism objects | 12 seen

A quick drone flight around Laidi village in Kuldīga municipality / Laidi manor and former kolkhoz Spartak.
I'm starting to enjoy these long-range flights without any signal interference as seen in big cities.
DJI Mavic Mini / music by Scott Holmes - Storybook. October 26, 2020

Property prices for Real Estate in Tosmāre, Liepāja

4 February, 2021 | Real Estate | 32 seen

Tosmāre is a neighborhood of Liepāja, located between Lake Tosmare, the Karosta, and Zaļā Birze. Not as chic as the city center of Liepāja, we still find this a very luring neighborhood and most important - undervalued

In one of our previous articles, we shared an idea of possible investments in the Karosta / Tosmāre neighborhoods of Liepāja. See: Invest in Liepāja Real Estate / Tosmāre / Karosta

Today we decided to visit Tosmāre, and take some cool drone photography while exploring the area

As we have applied for 2 online auctions in the Tosmare neighborhood, and while we are still waiting for the final bidding day (November 23) , today we visited properties to gain an overall idea  - we left amazed by what we saw. 

Tosmāre from a drone flight

Currently, we have applied for two online auctions in Tosmāre on Nākotnes street. The dwelling houses are very cool and it looks they are from the times of Tsarist Russia. 

Current starting bids for 30m2 apartments in these houses are EUR 1,800 and EUR 1,600. That's about 60 EUR per square meter. Taking into consideration that these apartments have both water and electricity we call this - Crazy. 

Now, we don't think the final bidding prices will stay as low as they are. Actually, current bids already are way higher at EUR 3,100 and EUR 2,300. Respectively EUR 76 and EUR 103 per square meter. 

Tosmāre from a drone flight

Huge was our surprise after seeing two freshly renovated dwelling houses (3-story buildings) with perfectly landscaped surrounding territories. 

When applied for these online auctions we set our max target price: EUR 5,000 for each of the apartments. About EUR 166/m2

Now. let's try to figure it out what could be average price for property in Tosmāre neighborhood

Tosmāre from a drone flight

For this "research" we are going to use ss.lv advertisement board for Tosmāre.

There are not so many deals in Tosmāre, and most of them (sales) are under EUR 10,000. After browsing all ads, here is what we learned - renovated apt will cost about EUR 370-450/m2, while flat without renovation in a bad shape will go for about EUR 180/m2

Tosmāre from a drone flight

Tosmāre is in the part of Liepāja Special Economic zone, and there are several large industrial manafactures. As we can see from this picture, there is a quite large quarry, with an office building and many many cars, which leads to think that finding a tenant for an apartment here on Nākotnes iela shouldn't be a problem. 

Our original idea was to buy to let for students or young families, now we see an opportunity to let to factory workers or white collar managers coming from Riga. Service apartment in Liepāja.

Freshly dug city comunications and newly installed electric cabinets.

The more we look, the more we like.

With our budget set max EUR 5,000 we are ready to pay about EUR 166/m2 for a non-renovated flat in Tosmāre. We might end short.

January 2021 Dividend Income Report - $50.95

3 February, 2021 | Investments | 47 seen

Welcome to the forty-fifth (#45) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks and peer to peer lending in January 2021.

The last January we spent in Latvia, did a lot of planning with our flat in Vilgāle, order new windows, got a construction permit, and started the first renovation works (hired local contractors). At the end of January, we relocated to Jūrmala, where we plan to spend the next two months.

Cēsis Castle in Latvia

On January 2, we paid a shot visit to Cēsis and Valmiera in Latvia

From the perspective of dividend income - Last January was one of the lowest in the already 4-year-old dividend income portfolio. My dividend income keeps falling because I'm shifting away from junk stock. In total, we took just shy  $50.95 in dividend income last month. I would wish more for a 4 years old dividend portfolio, but things are as they are.

Compared to the previous January in 2020, when we took $164.99 in dividend income, our monthly dividend has decreased by -65.27%  (-$114.04). A year ago we did set a goal to take at least $300 this month, now this didn't happen. 

Luckily, an additional $3,284.99 was made from options trading.  

As options trading is not a passive form of making money while you are sleeping it wouldn't be fair to include them in dividend income reports.

Check out our options income report here: January 2021 Options Income Report - $3,284.00

If counted all together (dividends + options) it seems we have made $3,334.95 in total last month. That's a great way to start a year.  If we would be able to take at least $3,334 every month for the next 11 months we would finish 2021 with +$40.000 income. Which is one of my options income goals

We were able to generate about 9.7% income yield from our portfolio value last January.

One of our monthly goals is to generate at least a 2.5% income yield from the portfolio. As longs it's above it - it's awesome.

Interest income in January 2021

From the stocks and peer to peer lending we got the following income last month:

Ticker

Earnings

USA

€13.92

RA

€7.04

O

€5.80

XIN

€5.30

Mintos

€5.17

EDF

€4.53

Total EUR 41.76 / USD 50.95

In total there were 6 companies paying us dividend in December 2020 that is 6 companies less than in January 2020

Monthly income

I've been tracking my journey towards million dollars in a savings account since January 2017. 4 years already. 

Monthly dividend Income chart as of January 2021

The cumulative earnings for 2021 now are $50.95 which is exactly 1.95% from my goal of 2021 ($2,600). On average, it would ask me to generate $231.73 every month for the next 11 months to reach my goal. Right, now this goal looks pretty hard, but I will try even harder to get there by the end of the year.

2020 in Review and Financial Goals for 2021. 

Goals for January 2022

This is my favorite part of the reports - trying to forecast/set goals for the next year. But before setting a goal for 2022, let's see what I forecasted/said a year ago (January 2020)

When setting goals for January 2021 I have a minimum $300 goal from dividend income. It will be probably very hard, as I need to raise my current dividend income by about $140, to get there I plan to use quarterly paying stocks, like NRZ, PNNT, and others.

nope, month after month I keep missing my dividend income targets. When setting goal for January 2022 I will go with a humble $100