Right now most people are busy gathering up all of their paper work that it takes to get our yearly income taxes prepared and sent off. I’m so thankful that my sister has taken care of my taxes for the last couple of years. The last time that I paid a company to do my taxes it cost me over $200, which threw me for a loop and really upset me. I know that there is a lot involved in preparing tax forms but good grief I don’t have $200 to throw around these days.
I have gotten pretty good at keeping good records and saving all kinds of paperwork and receipts in order to get the most bang for my buck come tax time. It’s a pain in the rear but a necessity. Each year they have so many changes to the whole tax scam, I can’t keep up with them all though I do try. I understand that the Real Estate Stimulus package for first time home buyers has been utilized by over 2 million people and it has been extended so that more people can utilize it. That is over $22 billion has already been added to the general economy resulting from the bill, that is a nice chunk of change!
I found the video on YouTube that addresses the extension and I thought that I would share it here.
My family has always invested in several different ways. In addition to stocks and bonds, they have always put some money aside in silver bullion and gold bullion. We’ve always felt that by spreading the money around a little bit we don’t run the risk of losing all of our money. Don’t get me wrong, we are not wealthy people by any means. We just try to have a nest egg in case we need it! And by putting some of our nest egg money in gold and silver, we think that is a good way to ensure that if and when we need money we can cash in whichever makes the most sense at the time!
I also think that gold coins are a good investment. Bullion is fine, but I also like the coins. My father got me started in investing in the precious metals on my 18th birthday by giving me a gold coin as one of my birthday gifts. And he gave each of our kids a gold coin on the day they were born, too. Naturally I keep all of those in a safe deposit box! Although pretty to look at, I don’t want to risk losing them!
With my wife’s hours at work being cut back, I’m going to have to help her figure out how to cut back on our expenses I told her that I’d start looking for a better auto insurance quote than the insurance we have now. I’ve been telling her for years that we could probably get lower rates, but she hasn’t wanted to do the leg work. So I’ll be taking that on myself.
There used to be a time when the credit card companies backed me up when I made a claim, disputing a payment. Well, those days sure seem to be over! There was a charge on my American Express card last May for $197 for a product that I did order. However I then subsequently cancelled that order and the merchandise was never received. I have proof that I contacted the company and cancelled the order, and I have an email from the company acknowledging the cancellation. Yet American Express keeps telling me that the charge is valid and that I have to pay it! So every month I have to reopen the claim. It is getting very tiring and I am thinking about cancelling that credit card! I have plenty of other credit cards that I can use – I don’t need the aggravation that goes along with this one!
When I was very young, I can remember learning about how the American monetary system was backed by gold that was stored in Fort Knox. I thought that was fascinating, and I was rather disappointed when the system stopped being backed by gold. I can remember I was still in school when it happened, and our teacher told us that the system was now based on “scrip.” That never made much sense to me!
As an adult, I purchase gold and silver when I get the chance. A friend of mine used to work for a company that dealt in stamps and coins, and he got me interested and started and taught me how to purchase gold coins and purchase gold bullion as a hedge against the fluctuations of the stock market. Sure, the prices of precious metals fluctuate, but the do have a history of increasing their value a lot more consistantly than the stock market! So I encourage my kids to purchase gold coin and purchase bullion as investment choices when they tell me that they are looking for ways to invest their money.
General life, Money and finances, News | Dean | 
February 8, 2010 4:20 pm | 
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