Saving Money

[Spock's Beard]

Originally Posted by SAnativegirl

Spocks Beard (or anyone)

What about selling gold? I had never owned any but husband won a couple bars at work last yr or so when they were worth about 650 or so. Now at 1000 ea, should I sell or hang on to? I know its an impossible ?

[/quote]


Ebay
Craigslist
Find a commodities dealer. Plenty online who will help match buyers with sellers for boullion gold.

BUT hold it until you really really need it.

we are looking for new TV for bedroom. What 37 in would you guys buy?

With the job on shaky ground, I wouldn't buy one right now.

Then hyperinflation.

Which is why saving it is bad. It'll be worth less when you take it out than when you put it away. It needs to be in some sort of growth capacity to offset inflation.

Actually, if I had Gold right now I would definitely sell it and would not buy. Why? Buy low and sell high. Having had several years of experience in my past career in the financial services industry (not to say I'm an expert by any means, because I certainly am NOT!), to me the old adage I quoted (buy low sell high) is Investing 101. Same thing with stock....buy low, sell high. If had had extra cash now (other than the 20% we already invest in 401K) I would put it in the market. Stock is on sale now, especially if you have a 5+++ year window.

Because it's the credit market that got trashed and caused a ripple effect, and credit takes years to repair, the floor for our recession and the peak for gold are still years away. Holding onto it at least for a few more months will give a few extra $$'s.

Besides, gold will always go up. There is only so much of it in the world while the population is always increasing.

Even if the economy grows by .1% that's an increase, not a decrease. Or, at least it was when I took math in school.

People are still used to the late 90's with huge growth and the mid-2000's with record market highs every year. Besides, all the doom-and-gloomers are failing to cinsider that it might be a good thing for the American worker. Decrease in US $$ = costs less to export and costs more to import. In spite of Europe's propping up the Euro, it does not change the fact that the US is still the largest consumer nation. I read a report a couple of months ago that Airbus and VW are considering factories in the US because it's getting too expensive to produce in Europe thanks to the value of Euro versus dollar.
Weak Dollar: Airbus, VW Headed to America - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News

Deflated dollar = the chance to offset decades of grossly one-sided trade imbalances and cut naitonal debt by having cash coming into the US instead of hemmoraging out.

[Midorigreen]

Our family saves hundreds (if not thousands) a year by buying stuff on ebay. My husband often searches for items listed improperly (mis-spelled etc.) and scoops them up. If we need it, we keep it; if not - we fix the auction and sell it for a profit!

I can't tell you how many great deals we've found on ebay. We even bought our car on it!

[1StarRanch]

One more thing before I sign off.....the media is creating a frenzy! We are not technically in a recession. A recession is defined by 6 full months of negative economic growth and we have NOT had that yet. Even if the economy grows by .1% that's an increase, not a decrease. Or, at least it was when I took math in school.

Exactly is why I said, "According to the media". The media tend to catch more viewers=money when people "fear". The best way to make folks fear is to exaggerate things. I'm not saying the economy is not bad off, but recession, not according to it's original definition.

I can't agree more, whatever you do, don't lose your job.

I also wonder how many folks who talk about saving money because times are hard, are still driving 60+ mph on the road?

[abner463]

I just did my Quicken input, I had put off the detailed receipts that I dread like Costco. I separate out things into categories, so that I would be able to figure out how much I spend in each, but since I am always behind, I have no idea what I spend in each category!
In doing so, I noticed that many food items that I regularly buy have gone up quite a bit. Here is a short 2 item example:
>EAS protein powder, 6 lbs. was $29.99, earlier this week $35.99
?18 organic eggs $3.99, earlier this week $4.59 (hopefully just a blip because of Easter?!)
And at the reg. market (Target/HEB) I noticed that a 32 oz. container of plain, fat free Dannon yougurt was $2.08, is now $2.39 or so. Yikes! These are pretty significant price increases for things that my family consumes regularly. I am going to have to watch sales prices in the paper like a hawk, use coupons even more, and am going to have to get more creative w/ my dinner rotation to make things a little more fun instead of eating out 1-2 times a week like we have been.

[The Man in SATX]

Originally Posted by abner463

I just did my Quicken input, I had put off the detailed receipts that I dread like Costco. I separate out things into categories, so that I would be able to figure out how much I spend in each, but since I am always behind, I have no idea what I spend in each category!
In doing so, I noticed that many food items that I regularly buy have gone up quite a bit. Here is a short 2 item example:
>EAS protein powder, 6 lbs. was $29.99, earlier this week $35.99
?18 organic eggs $3.99, earlier this week $4.59 (hopefully just a blip because of Easter?!)
And at the reg. market (Target/HEB) I noticed that a 32 oz. container of plain, fat free Dannon yougurt was $2.08, is now $2.39 or so. Yikes! These are pretty significant price increases for things that my family consumes regularly. I am going to have to watch sales prices in the paper like a hawk, use coupons even more, and am going to have to get more creative w/ my dinner rotation to make things a little more fun instead of eating out 1-2 times a week like we have been.

Gas is hitting home on all of the stores.. expect to see this in a restaurant near you.. they have to jack up their prices also to cover those expenses that are passed down to them!

[metalfish]

I get free stuff on craigslist too sometimes. Its rare but sometimes you find somthing good.

[42JetSet]

We subscribe to the old method of "delayed gratification". Not always fun, but weirdly fulfilling -- we don't buy a car until we have the cash (no car payment is a BIGGIE), we don't use credit cards (just a debit), "pay ourselves first", don't eat out often, I buy the majority of our children's clothes a season or year out (during sales), we save and pre-pay for all our vacations ahead of time, start buying Christmas in the spring or summer, compare-compare-compare and often ask for a lower price/negotiate on a big-ticket item. We also insist our children prescribe to the 40-40-10 theory when they get money (from an odd job or as a gift); which is 40% save, 40% spend, 10% give. Mostly we work very, very hard at it!! On one income this is sometimes challenging, but we set goals and work toward them for as long as it takes.

[djw]

The biggest change I made so far was to figure out what grocery staples I couldn't do without. Those things that would send me off to the store if I was out of (may not be healthy, diet-conscious stuff, but necessities nonetheless).
Once I figured out how many sodas, juices, lunch meats, pop tarts, etc we used monthly, I made out my grocery list and go shopping just once monthly for those things. That reallly has cut down on my 2-3 times weekly trips to the grocery. I buy produce and dairy on Sundays. So far it has worked really well and I've noticed we aren't spending as much on groceries. This may be common sense to most, but it was an eye-opener for me!
We've also cut back on eating out and I'm trying my best to menu-plan to avoid take out/delivery!