Family On A Budget

I have been following the demand for silver and regret that I didn’t start buying it last year like I wanted. Silver is currently undervalued and worth looking into now. If you are careful, you can get silver eagle coins on eBay at market values. I always check the feedback from those selling and also like to take advantage of the “best offer” feature. If you lookup the market price of silver and add 15% for markup you should be buying at a reasonable price.

Here is a sample of today’s offerings on eBay.

1974 International Silver Eagle Valuta

$39.99 (7 Bids) End Date: Monday Feb-6-2012 2:06:47 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

2011 MS69-Satin Finish W Mint Silver Eagle Dollar

$70.00 (0 Bids) End Date: Monday Feb-6-2012 2:42:33 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

2012 American Silver Eagle Dollar Coin 1 Troy Ounce Of 999 Fine Silver GEM BU

$40.99 (9 Bids) End Date: Monday Feb-6-2012 2:46:08 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

NEW 2012 1 x 1 OZ SILVER EAGLE COIN 2012 .999 US MINT READY IN STOCK

$37.85 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Feb-6-2012 3:12:44 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

So I stated my 2009 Savings goals in January and it is time for an update on the progress so far.

First we wanted to contribute towards an emergency savings fund. We are on track with another deposit last month. It is great to watch that balance rise. Several articles I have researched stated that you should have 6-8 months on hand and that won’t happen this year, but it is nice to invest in yourself.

Second, we wanted to contribute towards a fund for a new car. Well we have been able to add extra last month so we have about 2000 ready for another vehicle.

Third, I wanted to save towards a vacation fund. I had also been able to put in a small amount. Perhaps we have enough for a weekend away if we don’t mind camping. LOL. A vacation is really not high on my priority list right now….

Progress feels good.

Last year I pulled my Fico scores and found several mistakes that we corrected. Our credit score was raised 20 points after the removal of these simple mistakes. I check our scores every six months. Myfico.com now has a 30% discount to celebrate its 8th anniversary.

FICO Credit Score – $31.90 $22.32 – 30% off discount
FICO Quarterly Monitoring – $49.95 $34.97 – 30% off discount

The discount is good through 03/31/2009.

Are you looking for a great resource on home investing? Here is one called Investing In Your Future.

I am through Unit 1. Basic Building Blocks of Successful Financial Management. So far it is common sense. I am planning to print the course out and read to my hubby on our daily work commute. Hopefully he doesn’t get too bored. I have been trying to get him more involved in our savings plan.

The units are:
* Introduction
* Unit 1: Basic Building Blocks of Successful Financial Management
* Unit 2: Investing Basics
* Unit 3: Finding Money to Invest
* Unit 4: Ownership Investments
* Unit 5: Fixed-Income Investing
* Unit 6: Mutual Fund Investing
* Unit 7: Tax-Deferred Investments
* Unit 8: Investing Small Dollar Amounts
* Unit 9: Getting Help: Investing Resources
* Unit 10: Selecting Financial Professionals
* Unit 11: Investment Fraud
* Study Guide
* Action Steps
* Monthly Investment Messages
* Glossary

I found the course while blog surfing (Thanks to Get Rich Slowly).

So I stated my 2009 Savings goals in January and it is time for an update on the progress so far.

First I wanted to contribute towards an emergency savings fund. We started it with 500.00 and have added 500.00 at the end of January. We are on track.

Second, I wanted to contribute towards a fund for a new car. Well we have 800 so far. I was hoping for 500 per month, but 800 works too. We also have a friend is thinking of selling an older used car with lower miles. We told him we would like it if he chooses to sell for around 1500.00. We could either replace my husbands car or have an extra car for my daughter.

Third, I wanted to save towards a vacation fund. I saved $118 using coupons in January so we are on our way…..

Progress feels good.

First off we want to get back on financial track for 2009. We did not do bad in 2008, but I had totally quit blogging. Now I am back.

Our goal and focus for 2009 will SAVING. We have managed to be debt free at this time but I am embarrassed to admit that we have next to nothing in non retirement savings. 2009 is the year to fix that.

Our first goal is emergency savings. I have just purchased an 11 month cd with a 3.75% rate as a first step. I will add to this CD or start a new one if the rates rise. Each month my goal is to put $500 into emergency savings. That will hopefully give us $6,000 by the end of the year. That is not a hefty emergency plan, but a start.

With her last few books I have noticed when Suze Orman publishs a new book she offers it free as a pdf download on Oprah. I received the previous 2 books this way. They are great books by the way. Her new book – 2009 Action Plan is being offer now through January 15, 2009 for free. Download it now.

Free Suze Orman Download

Ever wonder why you money is disappearing so fast? All the financial advice books recommend you jot down all the money you spend in a month (including your spare change for coffee) and study the results.

Ok I tried this dozens of times and just can be arsed to do it manually. We there is a free tool on the net to track your expenses. Check out Walletproof.com and track your expenses over the internet.

Since I am always on the computer, it should be easier. I am wondering if perhaps I will not like what I find at the end of the month. (no more starbucks for me….)

The credit card companies are forever finding ways to make big bucks. One of the main reasons we are on a budget is because we didn’t learn how to manage our credit cards correctly. A mistake that we are going to great pains to learn from. A late payment lead to such an increase in our interest that it proved to be a domino effect. Obviously we were at fault for screwing up, but the CC industries thrives on your mistakes. Heres one way.

I recently read about the Univeral Default Clause that is cropping up on Credit Cards. Basically this clause allows the credit card to up your interest if you are late on any payment, not specifically their credit card. Imagine paying your phone bill late and suddenly your credit card goes from 2% to 30% overnight.

According to the Institute of Consumer Financial Education, currently almost 40 percent of credit card issuers apply a hidden in fine print Universal Default Clause to their customers.