Christmas presents: how to save money and still out-do Santa

If you need to save money this Christmas, but the thought of cutting back on how much you spend on presents for your loved ones fills you with dread, fear not.

Sentiment goes a long way. A memorable photo of you and your best friend in an inexpensive frame is worth more than anything available on the High Street. Or maybe someone in the family has a sweet tooth? Buy a cheap jar and fill it with their favourite sweets, showing that it’s the thought that counts.

Get cleverly crafty. No one wants to have to force a smile as they unwrap a hand knitted, misshapen jumper, so when it comes to making a gift – keep it sweet and simple. You can never go wrong with a food hamper or a charm bracelet.

Use your loyalty cards. By utilising your loyalty cards, at least you’ll generate points as you spend. Or, even better, use the money you have saved up on them.

Buy presents online. This way you can compare prices of each item across stores. Even if you have to leave it until the last minute and end up opting for next day delivery, you’ll still save more money than an impulsive buy in an over-priced shop. When buying online, many websites offer free delivery if you spend a certain amount, so collate as much of your present buying as possible onto one website to get it delivered for free.

Many stores offer free gift wrapping. Speak up to avoid the cost of wrapping paper. And let’s face it- despite our best efforts, shop wrapped gifts always look better than a homemade job.

Avoid joke presents. As tempting as it is to stock up on dirty joke books and anything rudely shaped, the novelty of a quick laugh on Christmas morning will slowly evaporate and leave a useless present in its wake, so spend money on more thoughtful gifts and leave the rude jokes to the Christmas crackers and drunk uncles.

Take organisation to the next level. Why not shop for some of your Christmas presents in the January sales? Without getting anything specific, you can stock up of stocking fillers and gift sets and make massive savings. The only downside is storing them somewhere for the rest of the year whilst resisting having them for yourself!

Look to the past. If you have a relative particularly fond of vintage clothes, second hand books or antiques, don’t feel like you can’t buy them something that’s not brand new. Someone who loves a dusty old book will appreciate the thoughtfulness and won’t care that it isn’t in a plastic wrapper with a price sticker half-heartedly scraped off it. As well as it being a better suited gift – second hand is a lot cheaper.

refi-fatigue

The downward spiral of mortgage rates has created some great rate opportunities, but as a self-identifying rate-chaser, I can tell you that I'm worn out.

We've refinanced 1-2 mortgages/year every single year for at lease five years - each time thinking there's no way rates could possibly get lower.

Then they do.

And we refinance. Again.

We are doing our last primary residence refi right now (ask me how many times I've said that). I'm tired of paying for appraisals, but every time I run the numbers, it makes sense.

Will rates get lower? At this point, I sure hope not.

October 2011 net worth update

Just put together our October 2011 net worth... you can see it on NetworthIQ.

It went up slightly to just over $410,000. I wish I had done a report between July and now to capture the crazy stock market movements. Just a month ago our retirement account balances were down about $30,000. They have since recovered.

i-bonds? again?

I haven't been around much lately, life with two kids is really busy. We've had our debt-reduction on auto-pilot, and it is going well. We closed on a refi of the apartment building in August, our loan is now fixed for 30 years at 5% (down from 5.75%, which was down from 6.79%). The apartment is cash flowing very nicely right now, hopefully it stays that way.

We are approaching the end of our debt-reduction and starting to make plans for building a large emergency fund. I'm strongly considering putting that e-fund in i-bonds, at least for the short term. There are a few things about the recent i-bond rates that are attractive to me...

1. If we buy before Nov 2011, the rate for six months is 4.6% (all variable, fixed is 0%)
2. The second six months is shaping up to be around a 2% rate
3. The early redemption penalty for redeeming them before 5 years (but it has to be after 12 months) is 3 months interest
4. Interest is state and federal tax free if the bond is rolled into a 529 or used for education

There are cons, such as the clunkiness of the Treasury Direct site, the hassle factor of rolling them into a 529, and the uncertainty regarding the variable rate. So we're still weighing our options. CDs would be a much simpler option, but with a potentially lower return.

Reverse mortgages

The crisis in the housing market has meant big changes in the mortgage business... tougher lending regulations, more stringent LTV requirements, and reverse mortgages have slowed to a trickle.

It doesn't take a business degree to see that falling housing prices have meant there is less upside for banks that are selling reverse mortgages. They are still out there, but fewer banks are competing for your business. That doesn't mean reverse mortgages aren't right for retirees.

Net Worth - the dip

I just created our July 2011 Net Worth Report, and realized that I failed to post our June 2011 Net Worth Report.

You may noticed we were up to $418,000 in June, but dipped back down below $400,000 ($394,522) in July. This is due to two reasons, the primary being that I updated the value of both our properties. The previous values reflected the approximate tax-assessed value (current estimated fair-market values by the assessor are $210,600 for our house and $316,300 for the apartment - both of which I think are a little high, I posted in September 2009 about getting our house assessment lowered), but the values I use now are probably more realistic in the current market ($200,000 for our house and $300,000 for the apartment).

The real estate re-valuation accounted for a $19,000 decline, while the remainder was due to the stock market dip.

I also had a couple questions from commenters recently regarding how much money we are saving. Right now (and since January 2010), we are putting only the minimum in my 401(k) necessary to get the full company match. That is the extent of our saving, until we pay off our debt. This amounts to just 6% of my pre-tax income.

The second question was regarding where we got the money to purchase the apartment building. We purchased the building in January 2007 with just 10% down (our savings), and the remainder was mortgaged. At that time it was still possible (and common) to be able to get a 90/10/10 mortgage on an investment property. We have since paid off the second mortgage and refinanced the primary mortgage. We still have a fixed rate with a 30-year amortization and a balance of just over $200,000.

the great portfolio rebalancing

A couple weeks ago I started thinking it was time to take a hard look at our retirement portfolio. I'm light on bonds and fixed income and overall our portfolio is really aggressive. We have a lot of index funds, but also a lot of BRKB and a handful of actively managed funds (Janus Overseas, Heartland Value Plus, Fidelity Canada and Fidelity Contra are a few long-time favorites). The performance has been really good, but I'm not sure the level of risk is right for us, or the current market.

So while I was initially looking to introduce a few bond funds, I started to dig deeper. I realized a total portfolio overhaul was in order. Before I knew it, I was starting from scratch in both our Roth IRAs. Trading actively managed funds for even more index funds (actually LESS total index funds - our new portfolio gets us down to five funds total).

Because my 401(k) has few investment options (although good ones) the rework in that account has been minimal.

One of the tools I have used for years (but probably not given enough credence) is Financial Engines, which is a perk provided by my employer. Our new portfolio is almost entirely based on the tool's recommendations. I also have been using The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing, as well as the Boglehead forums to validate and research the Financial Engines recommendations.

net worth update - March 2011

... and we passed the $400,000 mark! $407,000 to be more precise!

We received our tax refund and I also received a small work bonus. We also got hit with some expenses we weren't expecting (in hindsight we should have been) for the apartment building that totaled about $1400.

The number doesn't really reflect it, but it's been a rough month. I'm looking forward to April.

credit cards - can you have the good without the bad?

Mr. Savvy and I don't carry credit card debt. Unlike some, we do still use credit cards, and see the value in doing so, but don't carry a monthly balance.

And just like we did in the past, we are always looking for ways to take advantage of credit card deals.... whether they are 0% interest promos we can use for arbitrage, account opening bonuses, or cash rewards for reaching certain levels of spending. We see maximizing these incentives as a side-job, a way to earn some extra spending money.

For a couple years, these deals dried up almost completely. In the past 5-6 months they've come back with a vengeance. Everything from 5% cash back, to gift cards for spending as little as $250 (or as much as $5000) in a specified period of time, and cash bonuses (or points that can be converted to cash or gift cards) for opening accounts. We've been able to make hundreds of dollars a month each of the past few months, and it just keeps getting better.

Sometimes you have to be creative. It can be difficult to "spend" $5000 in a few months, but with some ingenuity you can find ways to do it without any cash outlay of your own. Also, we have found ways to turn points into gift cards and gift cards into cash.

So anyone out there who wants to make some side money, start googling. You will spend a couple hours a week, maybe more at first, but it can be worth it.

net worth update!

Just updated our net worth... good news, we broke the $250,000 mark for retirement accounts!

We are also just $8,000 shy of hitting a total net worth of $400,000. If we included our cars in the number we would be there.

We also have some cash set aside that isn't included in the number, but I don't know where I want to put it yet so it doesn't have a spot.

New Sponsor

I'd like to welcome a new Savvy Saver Sponsor... CareOne Debt Relief Services. Their website is full of helpful debt consolidation resources, including tips, tools, and a community forum.

Networth update

oh so close...

Nothing exciting to report with this update. Our networth is $379,045, up $32,000 in two months (I guess that is kind of exciting).

I'm hoping in the next few months we can top $400,000. Our retirement account balance is $244,000 and I'm really looking forward to having a quarter of a million dollars in retirement accounts soon as well.

Our car is paid off, and we are gearing up to start snowballing a second mortgage we have that has a ~$47,000 balance.

Mr. Savvy was back to work, and then wasn't, and then was, and now isn't. The good news is he gets benefits back next month, so that will save us a couple hundred dollars per month. I was hoping to be able to save an extra $1000 this month, on top of paying off our car loan, but I couldn't do it... the Saving Spree was a bit of a flop. Next month we will try again.

Are there Privacy Issues with Faxless Payday Loans

Payday loans can be found by various methods: payday loans , in-store payday loans without faxes and a third category of either online or in-store paycheck advances where faxing is still required.

(For background, a no-fax or faxless payday loan is basically a way to get a portion of your paycheck several days or weeks early. You apply to a lender purely on the fact you work and will receive a set amount of dollars at that near-future date.)

But there are people who justifiably worry about privacy and security questions when they apply for and receive a payday loan. Here are some of the facts that should allay those fears:

* Online security measures operate at government and banking level standards. While news on hackers breaking into databases still is seen, the degrees of security used to protect information with faxless payday loans are harder and harder to compromise. Only a tiny fraction of all data transmitted daily on the Internet is seen by unintended parties.

* No risk of faxes getting in the wrong hands. Faxless online payday loans mean that you do not run the risk of a person or persons at either end of the fax line (sender and receiver) will intentionally or inadvertently pick up your confidential information. The entire transaction is online, from you to a secured server.

* Application from personal computer much more private than standing in a line somewhere. Before faxless payday loans, the only option was to apply for and receive a payday cash advance in person at a cash store. You would need to speak to the clerk there through a thick plate-glass window, where a dozen or so people behind you in line might be able to listen in.

Privacy is an important commodity today, and not always guaranteed with online transactions. But an all-digital process is far more likely to protect borrower privacy and the cash transaction as well.

the how and the why

I've received a couple inquiries wondering just how we managed to pay off so much debt in 2010. For those new to the blog, Mr. Savvy and I paid off a pretty remarkable (to us anyway) $58,000 last year. This debt was made up of a 0% balance transfer (which was about 50% left over from a couple remodeling projects and 50% a second mortgage on an investment property), as well as a car loan.

We did it by cutting back our retirement savings (we still took full advantage of the employer match), eliminating unnecessary spending, and partially by refinancing our primary residence and investment property mortgages to reduce our payments.

For some background, Mr. Savvy and I have always been pretty good at saving money. We actually started our marriage debt-free and I have maxed out my 401(k) since I started my current job almost 10 years ago, with the exception of 2010. We also contributed the max to our Roth IRAs every year, religiously, until last year. We realized last January that we just didn't have enough money to go around and still be comfortable with our finances. Our daycare bills are $14,000/year, Mr. Savvy's employment has been spotty since 2007, and we were spending a lot of money on stuff we didn't need and sometimes didn't really want. We had worked so hard in our 20s to set ourselves up to be comfortable when we had kids, but that's not how it turned out.

So we set a goal, made a plan, and went to work. We had good months and not-so-good months, but being able to focus on just one thing (eliminating the credit card debt) was actually rather freeing.

We also sold some non-retirement stocks and some silver, nothing of huge value (maybe $4,000 combined), but it was nice to reduce the amount of statements coming to the house and to put that money where it actually did some good. One great benefit of our streamlining and debt reduction is that it is so much easier to manage our month-to-month finances right now. This time last year things were kind of a mess. Not so anymore!

We are actually hoping that in 5-7 years we can pay off our house. This is not something we even considered at this time last year.

Maybe over the next few weeks I'll try to put together some posts on our methodology....

Revived: The Saving Spree

Anyone who followed this blog closely in years past would have seen a recurring theme... the Saving Spree. These were 1-3 month periods where Mr. Savvy and I would cut back, not spending (or saving) as much money as we could. They were limited in duration, because honestly if we did it too long we were bound to fall off the wagon... hard.

We've been doing some Saving Sprees lately, but I haven't had time to blog about them for the last three years or so. We are doing one right now, as we pay off the last $1,800 of our car this month (just made the last payment yesterday!). They are a good way to reset your mindset and your budget after a period of spending... like a vacation, Christmas, or all of 2009.

We did a year-long Saving Spree of sorts last year, although there were definitely times where we weren't savers (we did buy a new queen sized organic latex mattress last year - but it was totally worth it), but we managed to pay off a considerable amount of debt so we must have done okay.

Instead it is a time to stop yourself from getting caught up in buying things and instead put them off until next month. You might find (we often do) that you either forget about them, or find some way to do without. If at the end of the month you still really need/want the item, then budget for it and buy it. It's not about self-deprivation, but more about delayed gratification.

What reminded me of our old Saving Sprees? I read an article today about a fellow blogger's Spending Fast.

Cashing in on Continental Markets

In the past couple of years the British high street has become peppered with continental markets, filled with bratwurst, bon-bons and boutique gifts – but a trip to the real markets on the continent can’t be beaten for atmosphere, climate and festive frivolities. Get the most from your European shopping experience by following these key cash conscious tips.

Plan Ahead

Schedule your dates way in advance so you can cash in on best rates for train, sea or air travel. Some markets will be doable in a day – mostly those in France, so accommodation isn’t a necessity but if you do decide to spend a night or two shop around online and via your local travel agent for any package deals that might be available.

Check Exchange Rates

Keep an eye on foreign exchange rates and buy currency in preparation for your trip – shop around for providers to compare both rates of conversion and any admin fees that might be applicable. Especially wily shoppers may even want to select their destination dependent on the exchange rate, take your pick from Istanbul, Bulgaria and Belarus for competitive markets.

Competitive Credit Cards

If you do decide to withdraw money whilst abroad check what your credit card provider charges for each withdrawal, plus what rates of conversion they offer. Since the demise of the last zero charge Visa debit card the market has become very competitive and shoppers are advised to check carefully and compare what’s on offer.

Postage and Package

Especially important if you’re flying – keep an eye on the quantity of products you’ll be bringing back to the UK, there are obvious weight restrictions for planes and any excess baggage could radically bump up your costs. Shoppers may also want to check out the Boarder Control’s list of banned and restricted goods – which includes souvenirs made from orchids and fruit and vegetable products from outside of the EU.

Import Taxes

For most shoppers this won’t be applicable, but it’s worth knowing where you stand. If you’re travelling to the UK from the European Union you can bring an unlimited amount of most products into the country without incurring taxation at customs - so long as purchases have been made for personal use. Many people will be venturing to the continent to buy gifts this year and this falls outside of taxation, but if payment is received in any kind the goods can be seized.

New Year

Happy New Year! I can't believe how much different my outlook is this year over where we were last year. Last year we had a goal of paying down $40,000 of $46,000 in credit card debt... a goal we accomplished in July of last year. We also paid off most of our car loan ($1,800 of ~$14,000 is left).

This next year we are ratcheting back up the retirement savings, increasing the 401(k) savings back up to 15% from the temporary cut down to 6% in 2010. We are also picking up our Roth IRA contributions where we left off, hoping to fully fund our 2010 Roth IRAs with $10,000 by March 31st and our 2011 Roth IRAs by December 2011.

Some challenges for the coming year... my annual bonus at work will be about half of what it was last year. We also won't receive much, if anything, back in a tax refund. Those aren't bad things necessarily, but they did give us a lot of momentum last year in meeting our goals.

I have two kids vying for my attention right now, so cutting this post short!

Net Worth - Nov 30, 2010

Just posted our first Net Worth update in five months. As I posted previously, we paid off our credit card debt last summer, quite a bit ahead of schedule. We have then moved on to paying off our car loan. We were hoping to get it wiped out this year, but instead bought a new mattress and spent some money on Christmas gifts... so we have $4,223 left. We started the year with over $14,000 left on the car loan and $46,000 in credit cards, so we have still made HUGE progress this year... paying off over $50,000 in debt!

Our total net worth right now (excluding our cars) is $347,000. We are up $40,000 since our June 30, 2010 update, and if we look back just over a year to October 1, 2009, we are up $98,000.

November 2010 net worth update on NetworthIQ

In other financial areas... we refinanced our primary residence a couple months ago. Our mortgage is still a 15 year mortgage, but is now at 3.75%, down from 4.75%. We had previously refinanced the apartment back in May, cutting the interest rate on that mortgage over a full percentage as well, resulting in total payment and interest savings of several hundred dollars a month.

Our house needs a new roof, soffet, and fascia, and we have been given rough estimates of $30,000-$35,000 for the work. That number is shocking to me, but want a quality roof and to maintain the architectural integrity of our 98 year old house, so we will probably spend the money to do it right. That means we have a LOT of saving to do next year, so we need to keep up the momentum.

Economic Recessions Come and Go as Business Cycles Ebb and Flow

The recent recession of global proportions, although many would claim that we are continuing to endure hard economic times, has been one of the severest on record, especially in the developed countries of the world. By its simplest definition, a recession is a general slowdown in economic activity, but the formal definition from the perspective of an economist states that GDP growth must be negative for two successive quarters. Some economists prefer to embellish further that unemployment must also rise 1.5% over a twelve-month period, but most would agree that people lose jobs, overall spending is reduced, and more people than normal struggle to make ends meet.

In our country, the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is viewed as the appointed authority for assigning dates for U.S. recessions. The NBER posits a more definitive description of a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the country, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP growth, real personal income, employment (non-farm payrolls), industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales." It came as a surprise to many when the latest recession was deemed over in June of 2009.

A recession, however, is a necessary component of the general business cycle as illustrated in the following diagram:



















Over time as the population increases and new people enter the work force, an economy will grow according to normal supply and demand forces.As we learned in high school physics, forces in nature produce waves, and economic forces are no exception to this natural law. As the chart depicts, a natural sine wave is generated with peaks and troughs, connected by periods of recession and recovery.

Over the past one hundred years, there have been no less than twenty recessions, an average occurrence of once every five years. The recent recession has been the longest on record since the Great Depression, lasting some 18 months in its official entirety. Now labeled the “Great Recession”, it still pales in comparison with the 55-month long depression in the early 1930’s.

Due to the dire consequences for the unprepared in our society, economists and public officials are especially sensitive to detecting early warning signs that a recessionary period may be imminent. Unemployment data and initial jobless claims are closely monitored, along with the Index of Leading Indicators. Investment yields on government securities are another early indicator, but “asset bubbles” of any type in the economy are the true harbingers of bad times ahead. An inevitable collapse will lead to reduced spending, thereby ensuring a material drop in economic activity.

The collapse of the real estate market, coupled with unbridled global investment in mortgage-backed securities, produced a systemic failure in two important sectors of our economy, namely housing and banking. The responsibility for preventing “asset bubbles” in a domestic economy rests with the respective central bank, but broad-based errors in judgment in financial institutions, regulatory bodies, and rating agencies rendered monetary policy solutions as ineffective in dealing with the problems at hand.

The impacts were global. Forex brokers were active due to extreme volatilities witnessed in currency markets. Opportunities abounded for those traders focused on forex scalping strategies, and the financial “ripples” from the crisis of 2008 are still evident today in forex markets around the world.

Recessions occur in a variety of types, distinguished by either their longevity or by the difficulty of their recoveries. Globalization has created an interconnected global economy, and it is nearly impossible to insulate one country’s economic wellbeing from that of its trading partners. The United States is still the largest global economy in the world, and the demand of its consumers for products continues to drive many of the export-based economies on the planet. Even China, now number two in the world, must align its goals with U.S. economic health.

Savers in Ireland continue to miss out on maximising the return on their savings

Derek Keogh, Head of Personal Savings at Anglo Irish Bank discusses recent official data which shows that the majority of savers lose out by not taking action to switch their savings from low rate payers.

Choosing the right account for you isn’t always a straight forward decision. There’s so much choice on the market and accounts can vary widely. However, doing something is better than doing nothing as the potential to greatly increase interest returns exists. Derek Keogh from Anglo Irish Bank answers some of the most frequently asked questions by savers regarding savings accounts:

“Given the wide range of products available in the market paying rates of up to 3.5% gross/AER fixed compared to low average rate that savers are actually earning (0.63% gross/AER variable for overnight / demand funds according to the Central Bank of Ireland’s latest statistics)”, Mr Keogh comments. “For the average saver, with €20,000 on deposit they could be earning over €500 more gross interest based on taking action to move from the low rate account.” To ensure savers are comparing like-for-like, they should be familiar with the following terms as part of the comparison process:

• Gross: This term generally means before deductions, when banks are promoting their products you will often see the interest rate followed by the term “gross”. This will generally mean the rate of interest earned on a deposit account for the duration and before the deduction of tax.

• AER: This shows you what the interest on a savings account would be if the interest was compounded and paid out to you each year (instead of monthly or over any other period). You may earn less than the AER because your money may not be invested for as long as a year. Sometimes firms use Compound Annual Rate (CAR) instead of AER on savings and investment products.

• Fixed Rate / Term Accounts: With fixed term savings deposits you put money into your account for an agreed amount of time. Usually the interest rate is fixed for that period and if you take money out during that time you may pay a penalty.

• Variable Rate Accounts: Variable rates rise and fall in line with general interest rate changes in the euro zone. Variable rates offer the most flexibility (over fixed rates) and allow you to withdraw part or all of your funds without having to pay any fees or penalties.

• Notice Accounts: This is a savings account on which the customer is contracted to give a specified notice period before making a withdrawal. A penalty may be imposed by the bank providing the account if a withdrawal is made prior to or without the agreed notice period being undertaken.

and...

we're done! We have paid off the entire $46,000 credit card debt in just seven months! I can hardly believe it, we smoked our goal of paying of $40,000 this year.

I almost blew it this last month by joining Costco. We managed to spend about $2500 there in the past few weeks, a lot of that was on new furniture for our kids (we couldn't pass up a deal on a great quality bunk bed and dresser set). But I've reigned myself in and we pulled it together at the end. Costco is a great place to buy quality merchandise at really reasonable prices, however it takes a LOT of self-control to go in there and not break the bank.

Next we are onto our car loan. Our balance is about $13,000, and we'd like to pay it off by the end of 2010... so in just five months. We think we can do it, and even if we just have a few thousand dollars left at the end we have still "won".

We are also in the process of refinancing our house into a 10 year loan.

Free Amazon Prime for students

Amazon has a new deal out where students (those with a .edu email address) get free Amazon Student for a year! I wish I had kept my .edu email from my MBA program, it would have been worth it for this deal.

Prime Rate Website Offers Wall Street Journal Subscription Discounts

The WSJ online for $1.99/week is a great deal!

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - September 29, 2009) - The United States Prime Rate website at www.FedPrimeRate.com is now offering discount subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal.

"We've added lots of new content, including new blogs and charts," said content manager Steve Brown. "We're excited to offer website visitors the best possible pricing for the Wall Street Journal®. It's very widely accepted as America's premier business and finance newspaper. As a source of first-class journalism covering the world of business and the global economy, the Journal is a vital staple in the information diet of knowledge-hungry individuals all over the world, and from all walks of life. It's an indispensable resource."

New subscribers can get access to the online version of the Wall Street Journal for $1.99 per week. Those who are interested in receiving the print version alone can get the Journal delivered six days per week at $2.29 per week. A third discount subscription option is to get both the print and online versions of the Journal at $2.99 per week.

The FedPrimeRate.com website also features discounts for subscriptions to the online and/or print editions of Barron's Magazine and Investor's Business Daily (IBD).

Recently, a graph which compares the target fed funds rate to the U.S. Prime Rate, the one-month LIBOR rate and the three-month LIBOR rate was added to the site. It's a fascinating and telling chart which essentially chronicles the history of the global credit crisis. As numerous banks in the industrialized world were failing as a result of exposure to toxic debt, the Federal Reserve aggressively cut short-term rates to record-low levels. Commercial banks, on the other hand, responded to the same financial havoc by raising rates on unsecured, short-term interbank loans, because the risk associated with such loans increased dramatically. The resultant and precipitous decline in interbank lending produced a domino effect which led to a chocking off of lending to businesses and consumers in the U.S. and other developed nations.

About FedPrimeRate.com

The website at www.FedPrimeRate.com is the Internet's premier information space dedicated to interest rates and personal finance.

July 1, 2010 update

We are $1511 short of paying off our CC debt in June... the upside is that we should be able to easily pay that off in July and then get started paying off our car loan.

We also SPENT a lot of money in June, which didn't help. $1400 for new carpet in an apartment, plus several hundred dollars in basic maintenance and repairs, $2000 to refinance the apartment, $100 for a bike for our 2 year old, money on clothes, hobbies, entertainment, food, etc. We really didn't keep a close eye on expenses, and now we are paying the price.

So for July we plan to get back on track, regain some discipline, and make some serious progress.

Link to NetworthIQ June 2010 net worth update.

It doesn't look like we will be able to have our credit card debt paid off this month, but definitely by the end of July we should be in the clear. Had we not had to replace carpet and spent $2000 on the apartment refinance we would be done by now, but sometimes life happens.

We aren't going to take a break, we are going to dive right into our car loan and hopefully get that paid off by the end of 2010!

Right now we are debating taking out a 0% credit card balance transfer and paying off the car loan with that, in order to save a few hundred dollars in interest, or just paying off the car loan as fast as we can where it is.

We are so close to being done with our CC debt this month... until we had a tenant move out and found out their dog pissed all over the carpet. We weren't planning to replace it, but now it looks like we have to. It will likely be about $1500 out of our pockets, even after we withhold for the damage from their deposit.

so close...

With just $5,700 left on our credit card debt, Mr. Savvy and I have decided to try to pay that last amount in June and July. It is a stretch to do this in two months, but if we sell a couple things, stay really strict (we've been slacking lately) on our budget, and Mr. Savvy keeps working, we think we can do it.

I also just noticed that this last month we passed our 2010 goal of paying off $40,000... and with seven months to spare!

No Medical Exam Life Insurance Page Added to FedPrimeRate.com Website

No medical exam life insurance is a great option if you are looking for affordable term life insurance, but don't want to have a medical exam.

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - June 20, 2010) - The United States Prime Rate website at www.FedPrimeRate.com now features an in depth, engaging and exceptionally robust webpage dedicated to no medical exam life insurance.

"The addition of a life insurance information page is a natural step forward for us as we pursue our goal of being the most useful and unique finance site on the Internet," said content manager Steve Brown. "Our new life insurance page is very unique. It's not just a bunch of dry content about life insurance. We've included highly instructive, real-world stories related to life insurance, stories that anyone can relate to. There's also a rich and carefully crafted life insurance frequently asked questions section which will be expanded indefinitely."

FedPrimeRate.com is already the Internet authority on the United States Prime Rate, LIBOR and other key market rates like the benchmark fed funds target rate. Establish in 2005, FedPrimeRate.com has expanded considerably over the last five years to include blogs about car insurance, consumer and business credit cards, and interest rates. The site also has in-depth information about controversial loan products like online payday loans. Other popular features on the site include an impressive number of detailed and regularly updated charts, a U.S. Prime Rate frequently asked questions page and an entire section dedicated to housing and foreclosures.

Consumers with dependents know how important it is to have life insurance. However, many aren't comfortable with the idea of dealing with pushy insurance salesmen or having a paramedical visit their home to draw blood. No medical exam term life insurance is very popular due to the simplicity of the application process, and, of course, because the premiums are very affordable when compared to other life products like whole, variable, universal, permanent and hybrid plans.

"We like and respect other finance-related websites like BankRate. Our mission, however, is to provide web surfers with the most unique and useful finance-related info that they simply won't be able to find anywhere else. We're very proud of what we've accomplished over the last five years, and we have no plans on slowing down," added Brown.

About FedPrimeRate.com
The website at FedPrimeRate.com is the Internet's premier information space dedicated to interest rates and personal finance.

another update!

Just $5,700 to go! We didn't make as much progress last month as we would have liked, but we did refinance the apartment, which cost about $2,000. It will save us $2,400 per year in interest, so we think it was a wise expenditure.

Just a quick update... we are down to just $7,000 left! We have been super busy lately, not much time to post. Unfortunately last month we spent way more than we planned... two new car seats, a new suit for me, some other clothing/shoes. Hopefully this month will go much better. We hope to have it all paid off in three months... four at the most!

Progress!

We made huge progress on our debt repayment last month. Our credit card balance is below $10,000 (from a January 1 starting point of $46,000)!

Our net worth is up considerably too (over $300,000 for the first time ever!), thanks to a tax refund, a bonus, the awesome performance of the stock market, and lots of not spending money. Check out our NetWorthIQ profile for more details.

Now we just need to keep our focus and pay off that last chunk. I think we can pay off about $2,000/month, so we should have it wiped out in five months.

Making the shovel bigger

At the end of January, our progress on paying down our debt was pretty good. We paid off $15,000 of debt, for a new balance of ($31,000). Almost all of this was done through one-time activities, like applying the excess we had saved for property taxes to the debt, selling assets, or simply reallocating money that had been saved for another purpose to debt repayment.

February had an additional one-time occurrence of receiving our state income tax refund. Our balance at the end of February is $28,000.

Mr. Savvy's work has been sporadic, to say the least. His employer was stringing us along most of January and February, but it seems as of last week he should be back to work for a few weeks at least.

In order to speed up the debt repayment process, we have reduced my 401(k) contributions down to the minimum required to receive the match. This isn't something I take lightly, because for the last 8+ years, since the day I started my job, I have contributed the maximum allowed to my 401(k). The good news is that this is temporary and since we already have a nice start on retirement savings it shouldn't have much of an impact on us.

March will have a couple more one-time items, like a bonus from work, our federal tax refund, and possibly more selling of assets (stocks).