A couple years back, Americans were afraid to open their retirement savings statements for fear of knowing how much they lost. Was that true? Wouldn't you want to know if your statement said zero? Is now the time to revisit those statements and try to pick up the pieces? Many people reported that their retirement accounts were not as much as they anticipated and they would need to work for a longer amount of time.
How can we learn from the turmoil of the last few years? Are we ready for more risky investments or should we stay with small but practically guaranteed returns? Should we continue to be risk averse?
Normally it is a good time to buy when markets are down if there is going to be an upswing in the near future. Has the economy rebounded enough to start investing again?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Brother John
Are you sleeping, are you sleeping
Brother John? Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding, dong, ding. Ding, dong, ding!
We all love baby, yes we do. Yes we do.
We all love baby, yes we do. Yes we do.
Baby is going to sleep now.
Baby is going to sleep now.
His belly's full. His belly's full.
His diaper's clean. His diaper's clean.
Brother John? Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding, dong, ding. Ding, dong, ding!
We all love baby, yes we do. Yes we do.
We all love baby, yes we do. Yes we do.
Baby is going to sleep now.
Baby is going to sleep now.
His belly's full. His belly's full.
His diaper's clean. His diaper's clean.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Our 3 cribs
1st -over 15 years old
2nd -less than 10
3rd -unknown, 2nd hand
*all pass the soda can test for the bars
When you have three children under 3 more cribs become essential but how many do you actually need? Our two year old rolled over at a month in a half making her bassinet unsafe for her.
With our 1st child we had 1 crib and 1 bassinet. He slept overnight in the bassinet and took naps in his crib. The problem was where to put him during the day. Son 2 rec. his own crib which he stayed in until age three. Even though we had a convertible crib, he rec. a plastic toddler bed similar to his brother. That left an extra crib. Good thing that crib did not get purged since we are now in the market for a third crib.
Now we are the happy owners of 3 cribs, 1 of which is a convertible crib. I would estimate that we spent about $550 for all 3 cribs realizing that the 1st was passed down.
Conversion beds are helpful but not always practical. I doubt many children will want to admit that their college dorm bed has the bars from their crib as the headboard. I can see using a crib as a toddler bed but beyond that I think the child probably needs an upgrade.
Next step is to find some mattresses. One of the allergist's questions for my son was how old was his mattress. So I guess that is an item that is worth buying new or fairly new.
2nd -less than 10
3rd -unknown, 2nd hand
*all pass the soda can test for the bars
When you have three children under 3 more cribs become essential but how many do you actually need? Our two year old rolled over at a month in a half making her bassinet unsafe for her.
With our 1st child we had 1 crib and 1 bassinet. He slept overnight in the bassinet and took naps in his crib. The problem was where to put him during the day. Son 2 rec. his own crib which he stayed in until age three. Even though we had a convertible crib, he rec. a plastic toddler bed similar to his brother. That left an extra crib. Good thing that crib did not get purged since we are now in the market for a third crib.
Now we are the happy owners of 3 cribs, 1 of which is a convertible crib. I would estimate that we spent about $550 for all 3 cribs realizing that the 1st was passed down.
Conversion beds are helpful but not always practical. I doubt many children will want to admit that their college dorm bed has the bars from their crib as the headboard. I can see using a crib as a toddler bed but beyond that I think the child probably needs an upgrade.
Next step is to find some mattresses. One of the allergist's questions for my son was how old was his mattress. So I guess that is an item that is worth buying new or fairly new.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Switching to a Cash System
1) Spend existing dollars
2) Save more because you see the dollars leaving your hands
3) Do not need to worry about interest rates and finance charges increasing
4) Some stores offer discounts for paying with cash
Downsides for a cash system
1) Harder to track because a person needs to make an effort to track cash
2) Don't have the credit card warranties
3) Can't use cash for internet transactions
4) Need to visit the bank to obtain the cash
Compromise -Debit card for your bank
1) Most establishments accept debit cards
2) Should be easy to track the transactions
3) Same benefits as the cash system # 1 and 3
Downsides for using a debit card
1) Not recommended for internet transactions
2) Hotels put a hold on a significant amount of funds if you use at registration
3) Some point of purchase sales do not have the ability to put in a pin number
4) Using at a restaurant looks questionable because your pin # might need to be disclosed
Any tips on using debit cards?
2) Save more because you see the dollars leaving your hands
3) Do not need to worry about interest rates and finance charges increasing
4) Some stores offer discounts for paying with cash
Downsides for a cash system
1) Harder to track because a person needs to make an effort to track cash
2) Don't have the credit card warranties
3) Can't use cash for internet transactions
4) Need to visit the bank to obtain the cash
Compromise -Debit card for your bank
1) Most establishments accept debit cards
2) Should be easy to track the transactions
3) Same benefits as the cash system # 1 and 3
Downsides for using a debit card
1) Not recommended for internet transactions
2) Hotels put a hold on a significant amount of funds if you use at registration
3) Some point of purchase sales do not have the ability to put in a pin number
4) Using at a restaurant looks questionable because your pin # might need to be disclosed
Any tips on using debit cards?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Back to Square 1
Our new mortgage needs to have a snowball payment otherwise we will not have our house paid off until 2038. Ouch! Ideally we could pay off our current mortgage in 10 years.
Here are the different choices.
This needs to be a substantial enough goal that we will be willing to make the payment each month. I found with our previous mortgage that the best way to do the snowball payment was automatic transfers in weekly installments for 52 weeks each year. This way there is no monthly decisions to make each month.
Refinance
In the past, we have not been in favor of refinances. Closing costs were too substantial. I would rather see a large chunk of money like that go to pay down the principal.
The other item to look at to boast moral is how much interest will be saved by paying off early. Let's assume that 2026 would be the longest we would consider going on this loan.
Our amortization schedule from the mortgage company has the finance charge for a 30 year loan at $340,000.
Here are the different choices.
This needs to be a substantial enough goal that we will be willing to make the payment each month. I found with our previous mortgage that the best way to do the snowball payment was automatic transfers in weekly installments for 52 weeks each year. This way there is no monthly decisions to make each month.
Refinance
In the past, we have not been in favor of refinances. Closing costs were too substantial. I would rather see a large chunk of money like that go to pay down the principal.
The other item to look at to boast moral is how much interest will be saved by paying off early. Let's assume that 2026 would be the longest we would consider going on this loan.
Our amortization schedule from the mortgage company has the finance charge for a 30 year loan at $340,000.
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Power of Technology
Many changes in technology affects communication. Teleconferences, web conferences, smaller and smaller cell phones, email, voice recognition, live video from around the world and from outer space. The internet brought the world to our fingertips. You can purchase or sell anything without leaving your home.
When the internet first starting coming into our homes I saw it as a threat to have misinformation too readily available and it stealing time from individuals. People need to be disciplined not let computer use overwhelm and take over their lives.
Can you get thru a church service, a meal or a trip to the grocery store without your cell phone ringing. Some people complain that their spouse is not really on vacation if the pager, cell phone and laptop are along for the trip.
Technology is a tool to improve our lives. We just need to balance this part of our life with everything else we need to do in our daily lives. Parents limit their children's tv usage to create well rounded children. Do we limit our technology use so we can help show the next generation that there is more to life than the internet and cell phones?
When the internet first starting coming into our homes I saw it as a threat to have misinformation too readily available and it stealing time from individuals. People need to be disciplined not let computer use overwhelm and take over their lives.
Can you get thru a church service, a meal or a trip to the grocery store without your cell phone ringing. Some people complain that their spouse is not really on vacation if the pager, cell phone and laptop are along for the trip.
Technology is a tool to improve our lives. We just need to balance this part of our life with everything else we need to do in our daily lives. Parents limit their children's tv usage to create well rounded children. Do we limit our technology use so we can help show the next generation that there is more to life than the internet and cell phones?
The Expansion of Pawn Shops
A pawn shop used to be a place where people put their items into hock and hoped that they would be able to redeem the items prior to a customer acquiring the items for themselves. People are foregoing the pawn shops and selling items on their own either thru yard sales, internet sales, trading items or bartering for good and services.
Buying 2nd hand is what the car industry calls pre owned. How many things in your home including your home are pre owned? For years we have had hand me down dining room tables and chairs. If it were a good set that would be considered an heirloom. In our home we have purchased a little furniture. The same pieces keep traveling around with us whether they fit in the space or not. My living room holds an O'Sullivan type entertainment center that has followed me to every home that I have lived in. Is it hard to say good bye to the pieces or is there some underlying memory such as my father put it together for me?
Do we hang onto things because of nostalgia or because of the person that gave us the items? If we sell or pawn items when they are newer we have a better chance at getting a higher value for the items. Does your child want a 6 year old bike or does he want his own? There is a toss up between buying new and buying slightly used.
Donating is a great alternative to selling items. Your items will get a 2nd life and you are helping someone else that needs the items.
Buying 2nd hand is what the car industry calls pre owned. How many things in your home including your home are pre owned? For years we have had hand me down dining room tables and chairs. If it were a good set that would be considered an heirloom. In our home we have purchased a little furniture. The same pieces keep traveling around with us whether they fit in the space or not. My living room holds an O'Sullivan type entertainment center that has followed me to every home that I have lived in. Is it hard to say good bye to the pieces or is there some underlying memory such as my father put it together for me?
Do we hang onto things because of nostalgia or because of the person that gave us the items? If we sell or pawn items when they are newer we have a better chance at getting a higher value for the items. Does your child want a 6 year old bike or does he want his own? There is a toss up between buying new and buying slightly used.
Donating is a great alternative to selling items. Your items will get a 2nd life and you are helping someone else that needs the items.
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