tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694236619827526048.post676402664552500096..comments2023-04-24T10:40:09.723-05:00Comments on Daily Money Tips: How to Prepare for a RecessionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694236619827526048.post-76278613118071949672008-03-17T10:07:00.000-05:002008-03-17T10:07:00.000-05:00TC,Most of my emergency fund is laddered in CD’s c...TC,<BR/>Most of my emergency fund is laddered in CD’s currently averaging 5.10% yield with ING Direct. My last CD is set to mature in January 2009. I locked into these rates before our friend Ben Bernanke cut the Fed Funds rates and penalized us savers!<BR/><BR/>Since the ING Direct savings account is currently yielding only 3.1%, I plan to move my cash to Vanguard’s Tax-Exempt Money Market Fund (VMSXX). The current yield is 2.94%. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, this is equivalent to a yield of 3.92%. <BR/><BR/>I wrote about my plans last week in my post <A HREF="http://dailymoneytips.blogspot.com/2008/03/stash-your-cash-in-tax-exempt-money.html" REL="nofollow">Stash Your Cash in Tax Exempt Money Market Funds</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694236619827526048.post-6565676462844819552008-03-17T09:51:00.000-05:002008-03-17T09:51:00.000-05:00Do you mind telling us where you are getting a 5% ...Do you mind telling us where you are getting a 5% return on you emergency fund money?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694236619827526048.post-89628981830347782252008-03-12T11:11:00.000-05:002008-03-12T11:11:00.000-05:00Kristen,My emergency fund isn't one year's of sala...Kristen,<BR/><BR/>My emergency fund isn't one year's of salary. It is one year's worth of living expenses. I spend less than I earn so these two figures are not the same.<BR/><BR/>The most significant impact to building my emergency fund came when I relocated from Minneapolis to Houston where the cost of living is significantly less. Yes, I did take some equity out of my home. Approximately 25% of my emergency fund was built by taking out equity. But if everything goes as planned, I should have our home completely paid off in 5 years. Also, the overall cost of living in Houston is less than Minneapolis so my dollar goes further on a daily basis.<BR/><BR/>The remaining 75% came from diligent saving and downsizing. When I downsized to one car, for example, the proceeds from the car went directly into my emergency fund. In addition, I haven’t had a car payment in over a year, which helps my cash flow tremendously.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694236619827526048.post-63168966870032561792008-03-12T10:43:00.000-05:002008-03-12T10:43:00.000-05:00How did you save a year's salary? Just by saving ...How did you save a year's salary? Just by saving every month or did you get there by cashing in on other equity (home, etc)?Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11793632660416952854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4694236619827526048.post-53290334359167656232008-03-12T06:52:00.000-05:002008-03-12T06:52:00.000-05:00We don't buy things unless we can pay for them rig...We don't buy things unless we can pay for them right away. We paid off our mortgage. What we are paying at the bank now holds collatoral and can get us loans which helps when we really need it. The biggest expense is the business which makes money and is tax deducted. We use 0% credit cards and transfer balances when the offer expires. We only buy used cars and don't feel it neccessary to be lavish. We don't care to shop, only for the neccessities. We are lucky to get hand-me-downs which are as good as new and seek out garage sale finds to quench the need to shop. Are assets far exceed our debt.JC Studiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13800897832662037263noreply@blogger.com