Fortunately, there are a lot of alternatives in the online budgeting tool chest. After a recent Personal Finance Hour show all about budgeting, I took a look at several software tools. This post will cover all of them briefly to help you decide which might be right for you (and they are not ranked in any predefined order).

You will notice the absence of larger money management tools like Mint, Quicken Online, and a few others. The reason is because I wanted to focus just on tools that handled budgeting. If you need help budgeting, you don’t want to have to deal with a whole bunch of other bells and whistles distracting you.

Take Advantage of Free Budgeting Software Trials

I list several budgeting and planning software tools below and each one has a trial (or it has a free version), I recommend that you take advantage of the trial to see if the budgeting package is right for you. Each one also operates off a slightly different budgeting methodology. Some work off envelope budgeting, others rely in forecasting and planning, while others are a simple replication of what Excel brings, plus a few pretty graphs and reports along the way. If you have a budgeting method, you’ll want a tool that mimics it. If you don’t, find one that you believe you can stick with and use for the long haul.

Microsoft Excel: Old Reliable

No discussion of budgeting tools, online or offline, can be completely with a tip of the hat to the old trusty spreadsheet. When I track our monthly financial “state of the household,” I track it in Excel (using Quicken to pull the data for my accounts) because it’s quick, it’s secure, and it’s easy once I had it all setup. The weakness of Excel is that you don’t get any statistical or analytical tools right out of the gate. You have to set it up by hand, which can be both educational and frustrating. That being said, once you have it all set up, there may be little motivation for you to switch to an online or desktop budgeting tool, free or otherwise.

You Need A Budget: Desktop Budgeting Tool

You Need A Budget, also known as YNAB, is a desktop budgeting software application that offers both a budgeting methodology and a tracking and planning tool. YNAB works off a four rule system that moves you away from the paycheck-to-paycheck mentality and onto the right path, proactively planning your finances. The tool is a desktop application so you don’t have to worry about transmitting your financial data and it offers a rich set of reporting charts that can help you see your spending.

• Application Type: Desktop
• Cost: $49.95 (YNAB 10% off promo code bargaineering)
• Trial Period: 7 days
• Review: YNAB Review

Mvelopes: Online Envelope Budgeting

Mvelopes is the envelope budgeting system packaged up into an online tool. Envelope budgeting is the idea that you set up your spending categories, put your budgeted amount into an envelope representing that category, and only spend what you have inside. Mvelopes isn’t free but there is a trial offer so you can test it out.

• Application Type: Online
• Cost: $10.80/month (annual subscription)
• Trial Period: 14 days

PearBudget: Really Simple Budgeting

PearBudget is a “really simple budgeting” tool that does exactly that. It’s a very simple online budgeting tool that helps you plan and track your spending on a monthly and yearly basis. I think it’s a great tool for someone just starting to budget who doesn’t want a lot of up front work. It’s an online tool so your data is being saved elsewhere with 128-bit encryption (but it contains little sensitive information).

• Application Type: Online
• Cost: $3/month
• Trial Period: 30 days
• Review: PearBudget Review

PocketSmith: Budget Forecasting & Planning

PocketSmith is a budget forecasting tool that uses calendars to help you plan and project your finances. Rather than working off a month by month system, though it supports that approach, PocketSmith helps you plan out your finances across a whole year. Calendars are used to track your spending and project how you are performing against your goals.

• Application Type: Online
• Cost: FREE to $12/month
• Trial Period: None
• Review: PocketSmith Review

BudgetPulse: Free Online Budgeting

BudgetPulse is a free online budgeting application that is simple to use and secure. In addition to the standard tracking features you expect from any tool, free or otherwise, there is a rich set of reports you can use to get a better handle on your finances.

• Application Type: Online
• Cost: FREE
• Trial Period: None

Have I missed a tool that brings something new to the table? I wanted to avoid listing a million tools all doing the same thing, so I chose ones that offered something different to the conversation. There’s a mix of online and desktop tools, some that charge a fee and others that are free, hopefully I captured a nice mix of what’s available. If there is one that you absolutely love, please share it in the comments.

Free Online Budgeting & Planning Software Tools from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Just this last week, a representative from Crest asked if I’d be interested in getting a box of their new Crest Whitestrips Advanced SEal and five boxes to giveaway to readers. Any time a good company is willing to send me something I can give away to readers, I take it.

Crest Facebook Contest

They’re doing a big contest on Facebook (Crest Whitestrips fan page) where fans are get a daily chance to win a box of Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal and a pair of webcams. They want you to share a story about a “connection wish,” someone you want to visit, and you are entered to win an all-expenses-paid trip, to be announced in December. With only 12,500 fans, your chances of winning are pretty good.

How to Win a Box of Crest Whitestrips

To participate, you have to be a registered on Bargaineering.com (it’s free) and leave a comment on this post telling us why you want to win the whitestrips. Around noon on November 15th, I’ll select three commenters below to win some whitestrips.

Why do you have to be a registered user? I want to thank readers, not one-time visitors from other sites that announce these types of giveaways. If you’re not a registered user, you should consider it because there are some great benefits – like earning Bargaineering Bucks.

If you don’t want to rely on luck, two boxes are up in the Bargaineering Bucks Store and you can bid on them with your Bargaineering bucks. (listing for box 1, listing for box 2)

Good luck!

Crest Whitestrips Advance Seals Giveaway from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

I hope you enjoy this week’s picks:

It’s been a while since someone has taken business analysis to personal finances but Wojciech at Fiscal Fizzle does a great job in his post send the SWOT on your finances. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It’s a great way to analyze a project or venture. The strengths and weaknesses piece analyzes yourself or the venture while the opportunities and threats is an assessment of the environment you or the venture will operate in. Solid post, well worth reading because it gives you another way to analyze your finances. [Fiscal Fizzle]

Do you remember the first time you tried to stand up? I do. I pressed up with all my might, tried to put my little feetsies under me and promptly fell on my butt. But did I let that stop me from standing up? From walking? Heck no! I stand up all the time now! Failure is a good thing and I thought Financial Samurai wrote a great post on how to use failure as motivation. [Financial Samurai]

I wanted to talk about Thrift and the Art of Pet Maintenance not because it has tips for pet care but because those tips apply to the maintenance of anything. Preventative maintenance and regular care keeps repairs down, whether it’s your car, your dog, or yourself. [TIME: It's Your Money]

Finally, I wanted to highlight this uber-useful post by Squawkfox on how to buy a slow cooker. It’s getting to be pretty cold nowadays and, as I wrote about earlier, we’re cooking more in the recession, so finding a good slow cooker is a must. Fortunately, we already have one from our wedding so we won’t be shopping but you might – so I hope you find this useful. (in fact, we made a stew yesterday… and it was delicious).

Have a great weekend!

pfPicks: We’re Almost to 2010! from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Well, it turns out both are going to become a reality as the Senate passed H.R.3548 – Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 two days ago. The House passed their version in late September and just yesterday agreed to the Senate amendment to the bill (this is the “marrying” up part). The bill is on its way to the White House, if it hasn’t been signed already.

Homeownership Credits

The last homeownership stimulus bill created an $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers. In addition to adding a $6,500 tax credit, the income limits have been raised to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for couples. The current limits are $75,000 and $150,000. Finally, if you sell the home or it is no longer your primary residence within three years of purchase then you must repay the credit.

The homebuyer tax credits:

• $8,000 tax credit: If you are a first time homebuyer, you can get an $8,000 tax credit for purchasing a home. The claim deadline will be extended to April 30th, 2010, from the existing deadline of November 30th.
• $6,500 tax credit: If you already own a home and have lived in it for at least five of the last eight years, you can get a $6,500 tax credit for purchasing a home.

Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment benefits will be extended an extra 14 weeks for individuals who have already exhausted their benefits or will exhaust them before the end of the year. If you live in a state where the unemployment rate is above 8.5%, then you will receive an additional 20 weeks of benefits. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the following states have unemployment rates above 8.5%:

• MAINE – 8.5%
• IDAHO – 8.8%
• PENNSYLVANIA – 8.8%
• NEW YORK – 8.9%
• WEST VIRGINIA – 8.9%
• ARIZONA – 9.1%
• MISSISSIPPI – 9.2%
• MASSACHUSETTS – 9.3%
• WASHINGTON – 9.3%
• MISSOURI – 9.5%
• INDIANA – 9.6%
• NEW JERSEY – 9.8%
• GEORGIA – 10.1%
• OHIO – 10.1%
• ILLINOIS – 10.5%
• TENNESSEE – 10.5%
• ALABAMA – 10.7%
• NORTH CAROLINA – 10.8%
• KENTUCKY – 10.9%
• FLORIDA – 11.0%
• DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – 11.4%
• OREGON – 11.5%
• SOUTH CAROLINA – 11.6%
• CALIFORNIA – 12.2%
• RHODE ISLAND – 13.0%
• NEVADA – 13.3%
• MICHIGAN – 15.3%

Business Assistance

If you’re wondering what the business assistance part of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 is, even though it probably won’t affect you, you’ll be happy to learn that your local mom and pop store can deduct losses for 2008 and 2009 from profits in the five previous profitable years, increased from the last two years. Actually, any business can do this, not just “small” businesses.

How We’re Paying For This

For the fiscally conservative, you might be wondering how we’re going to pay for this. Extension of the homebuyer’s credit is going to cost around $11 billion and the business assistance will cost around $10.4 billion, according to the New York Times. Congress will pay for that portion of the bill by delaying a tax break for multinational corporations (it involves their worldwide interest expense), which will save around $20.1 billion. As for unemployment, otherwise known as jobless benefits, it will cost $2.4 billion and be paid by extending a $14/worker surcharge on employers into 2011 (which, by the way was created 30 years ago as a temporary measure… funny huh?).

(Photo: brapps)

Homebuyer Credit & Jobless Benefits Extended (H.R.3548) from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

A side benefit of cooking more at home is that we’ve experimented more with some fun recipes. Some highlights include our Homemade Provençal Rack of Lamb earlier this year and the occasional homemade dumpling (by the way, I’m getting hungry writing this… so don’t click through unless you’ve eaten!), but more importantly we’ve added a lot of recipes to our “list of dishes we liked that we can make from memory.” I think it’s crucial for you to build up that portfolio of dishes because you’re less likely to go to a restaurant if you have a few things you can make yourself.

Finally, we found that cooking together is fun. We get to experiment, make mistakes, substitute ingredients we think we’d like more, and otherwise just have a great time spending time together working towards a fairly simple goal. We made the Provençal Rack of Lamb on a whim and lucked out that we didn’t mess it up on the first try. But had we screwed it up, no worries, we can always try again! (if you love eating out, you can always try to make it at home using what are known as “copy cat recipes,” just do a Google search)

Because of all those reasons, I’m pretty sure we’ll continue to cook more and eat out less even after the recession ends. It’s morphed from a “save money, save calories” decision to a “wow this is a lot of fun.”

Has something like that happened with you? Maybe you cut off cable television service for financial reasons and found a plethora of alternatives you liked better? Or maybe you went from two cars to one and found you liked that arrangement better? I’d love to hear it because then we could all give it a try.

(Photo: avlxyz)

Your Take: Will Your Recession Changes Stick? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

This year, the offer is for a 2009 Food & Wine Annual Cookbook that has a retail value of $29.95 (you can buy it from Amazon for $19.77 plus shipping). For the cost of shipping and handling, $2.99, we can get this book for free just because we’re a specially selected Cardmember. There is a money back guarantee on the shipping and handling costs too. If I don’t like the book, I can return it within 90 days of the billing date and get a full refund.

If you’re wondering how a Food & Wine cookbook fits with American Express, it turns out that Food & Wine is owned by American Express Publishing. American Express Publishing is a subsidiary of American Express, as you probably would’ve guessed by the name.

What’s the catch? The “catch” is that you are enrolled in their “Cookbook Series” where you will be given advance notice of future cookbooks that you can buy. If you want to buy them, you do nothing and the books are sent to you and your American Express card is billed. If you don’t want the book, you return the advance notice card within 14 days.

This is known as negative option billing. If you’ve ever had a Columbia House membership, then you’re familiar with how this works. The negative in negative option billing doesn’t mean it’s a bad program or that it is dishonest. Negative simply means you must decline an offer or it is automatically sent to you.

Is this a good offer? If you want the Food & Wine Annual Cookbook and don’t mind the added effort of declining offers or canceling the series, then it is a good offer. If you never cook or feel like online recipe websites are good enough, then it’s not a good offer.

As for us, I’ll take the Food & Wine cookbook for $2.99 please.

American Express Cardmember Gift Offers from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

I also want to thank the fine folks at Intuit and TurboTax for supporting Bargaineering and sponsoring this video. With the end of the year coming, you’re bound to see a lot of tax related articles everywhere as people give advice on what you should do before the end of the year, so it’s fitting that TurboTax is the inaugural sponsor of these videos. If you’re on Twitter, I invite you to follow @TurboTax for more information on tax and product news straight from the experts.

And before you go, one thing I want to emphasize was that the point of this video wasn’t to convince you to avoid making small purchases like coffee and cigarettes. You should spend your money on whatever makes you happy, but I believe understanding the full impact of those decisions is important in making that decision.

What are you thoughts on the video? If you like it, I would love it if you could leave a comment or tell Vimeo you liked it!

BVC #22: Big Impact of Small Everyday Spending from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

It made me wonder whether these types of loyalty credit cards are worth it. The ones that most immediately come to mind are the gas station credit cards where you get higher cash back or reward points when you use it at their gas station.

Brand Loyalty Cards

Let’s use the BP Visa Card as an example, here is the cash back schedule:

• 5% rebates on all BP location purchases
• 2% rebates on all eligible travel and dining purchases
• 1% rebates on all other eligible purchases

Except for the 2% on eligible travel and dining, the schedule matches what you would expect from a gas station reward card. You get 5% at their gas stations and 1% everywhere else. This is a good deal if you always buy gas from BP, it’s a less good deal if you don’t.

There’s a reason why they’re called loyalty cards – they reward brand loyalty. In the case of gasoline, where you have a commodity good, where the differences between each brand’s product is very small, loyalty cards aren’t as good because you may end up paying more than you should for something. Gasoline is the best example of this because if you see one gas station, chances are another will be right across the street.

Brand-Agnostic Affinity Cards

Then you have the case of my friend who has his Penn State branded card where he’s rewarded points based strictly on how much he spends, not where he spends. With brand-agnostic affinity cards, you have to review the catalog to see whether it’s financially prudent.

When I reviewed the Citi Thank You Network reward catalog, American Express Membership Rewards catalog, and Discover Cashback reward catalog, I found that the three were very different. You need to review the catalog yourself to find out the cash-equivalent value of the points to see what makes the most sense.

Do you use a brand affinity card or brand-agnostic card? If so, what card and why? Do you find it’s worth it or too much hassle? Has it affected your buying behavior?

Are Loyalty Affinity Credit Cards Worth It? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

With the start of classes comes the need for college textbooks. As I remembered years ago, college textbooks are not cheap. In fact, the prices seems exorbitant to me but that’s what happens when there’s a small market forced into buying a product. Fortunately, there are some techniques you can use to defray the costs.

Buy from Previous Students

The easiest way to get a textbook is to buy it from a previous student who took the class. This works best for “foundation” type classes where every student in the program is required to attend because it means the supply of books will be high. Be sure to check that the textbook and that edition will be used again your semester (check with the professor).

The best place to find willing sellers is bulletin boards, either online or physically in the department building. Once you find a willing seller, negotiate a little to see if you can knock a few dollars off the price. Review the prices you can find online so you don’t overpay. The benefit of buying in person is that you can get the book immediately and not worry about shipping costs or delays.

Buy Online

Just put your book’s ISBN or title into Google and see what pops up. There are hundreds of vendors selling textbooks from big names like Half.com and Amazon to smaller bookstores (too numerous to name). When buying, you want to buy used and in relatively good condition. Check the seller’s feedback to see if they can be trusted. If they have hundreds of thousands of results and good feedback, chances are they will be a store or textbook distributor and can be trusted.

I took a quick peek at the results for one of the books my wife bought, Biochemical Engineering by Harvey Blanch. Brand new, the book sells for $65.77 and resellers are offering it for as low as $63.45. In this case, I’d buy it new rather than used because of shipping costs.

Rent Textbooks

I’ve never tried this but there are services where you can rent a textbook for a semester. One site I found, but have never used, was Chegg.com. You can rent a book for 60 days, a quarter, or a semester. If their semester period ends before yours, they extend it for free.

Is it worth it? Not sure, because I checked the prices for renting Biochemical Engineering and it wasn’t that much cheaper than the $65.77 price at Amazon. For a semester, it was $56.99. You could probably buy the book new and resell it for more than $8.78 (purchase price minus the rental price). It’s an option worth considering if it makes sense for the books you might need.

Buy In Bookstore

This is the most expensive option for buying used textbooks and I’m always amazed that people will sell the books back to the bookstore, given how much they gauge you (or used to gauge you, I haven’t looked at bookstore book prices in a while). One strategy I used to use was buy the book new in the store, order it online, and then return the book when it appeared. In response, many college bookstores have now rejected returns unless you bring confirmation you dropped the class.

I believe I’ve covered all the good used textbook buying options available to the frugal minded college student. With the spring semester coming up, the used sections of these sites and in bookstores is likely to swell as people try to recoup their expenses.

Do you have any used textbook tricks up your sleeve? Tactics you used to defray the costs?

(Photo: psychobabble)

Tips for Buying Used College Textbooks from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The Bargaineering Bucks system rewards you for doing things on the site such as visiting daily and commenting on posts. Over seven hundred readers have signed up and earned over 26,733 “Bargaineering Bucks” that you’ve spent in the Bargaineering Store for wonderful prizes such as ING Direct promotional referrals, popular personal finance books, USB thumb drives, copies of Quicken, and so many more wonderfully awesome prizes.

Earning a buck for logging in is a new way to earn points, made live earlier today. If you thought you were missing out before, don’t worry! We’ve been testing the feature and wanted to make sure we got it right before rolling out.

You can earn bucks just by registering for the site and doing what you do already. Right now the two easiest ways to earn points require no extra effort. For every day you visit, you earn a buck. For every comment you leave, you earn a buck. You just have to make sure you’re logged in or the systems won’t know who to award the buck to.

Is this worth the extra hassle? Yes!

Reader daemondust only recently discovered the site and has been commenting furiously, racking up 157 ββ that he’s put towards about ten ING Direct referrals in the Bargaineering Store. If you have an ING Direct account with some referrals left, then you know each referral is worth $10 to you. Daemondust has already made $100 by participating in the site and doing nothing extra, he just makes sure he’s logged in before he comments!

So the question I ask you is … are you earning your Bargaineering Bucks?

(Photo: sokwanele)

Are You Earning Your Bargaineering Bucks? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The electricity supply agreement sets a flat annual kWh price on electricity supply of 10.8¢. In pricing electricity, usually there is a summer price and a winter price, with the summer price being higher in our area. With this agreement, it would be a flat rate throughout the year. To give you an idea of energy use, we typically use more energy in the winter than we do in the summer (about 1,000 kWh per month in the winter, 600 in the summer).

Supply & Delivery

Electricity and natural gas supply have been deregulated in a lot of states, including Maryland, so you have plenty of options when it comes to the supply and delivery of power. When it comes to supplying electricity to your home, you often have to make decisions on two parts. The first is the company that will be supplying the electricity. The second is the company that will be delivering the electricity. Very often, the two companies are the same and it’s usually the company delivering the electricity.

At our home, and I believe this is common, we have no choice on the company delivering the electricity – it has to BG&E. They own the wires and the pipes, so they will deliver the power. For the supplier, there are plenty of options and the only requirement is that they must be licensed by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) and registered with BG&E.

Shopping for Electricity

Right now, our electricity supplier is Washington Gas Energy Services. They recently sent me an electricity supply agreement that would renew our plan at 10.8¢ per kWh. We have the option of renewing for one year or two years at that same 10.8¢ rate. Is that a good deal?

It is if BG&E would charge us more. On our electric bill, BG&E lists the “Price to Compare” at 11.97¢ per kWh. That is BG&E’s estimate of how much an average BG&E residential customer would pay on our schedule per kWh. In other words, working with Washington Gas Energy Services would save us over a cent per kWh, or nearly 10% off. We use around 6-700 kWh’s a month, so it’s a savings of $6-7 a month.

I would’ve expected WGES to have a price in between BG&E’s summer and winter rates, but it’s not. It’s lower than both. WGES is a better choice even with our uneven seasonal use of electricity.

Sign a Long Term Contract?

The next question is whether we should sign up for a one year renewal, which is the minimum requirement, or a two year agreement. Whenever I’m presented with this decision, I try to avoid over thinking and over analyzing it. I’m expected to save $6-7 a month based on BG&E’s estimates, which I have to believe are on the low end of their range because they want me to buy their electricity. I also expect energy prices to go up, that’s just the direction they naturally move in, so locking in long term makes sense.

What’s the risk? Electricity prices plummet, but I can’t believe they will plummet so far that I’ll feel burned by taking a two year 10.8¢ offer when BG&E’s projections are 10% higher. Last winter, the price was 11.75¢ per kWh. This past summer, it was 12.66¢ a kWh. Now, it’s 11.97¢ per kWh… prices aren’t going to drop so far that 10.8¢ looks like a bad deal.

We’ll be locking in the price for two years. There’s an added benefit of 5% of the electricity will be coming from wind power, that’s icing on the cake.

What do you think? Am I missing a big piece to the puzzle somewhere? This seems like such an easy decision that I feel like I’m missing something. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

(Photo: mpeterke)

Reviewing Our Electricity Utility Supplier from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Sure, you get hands-on help from Ramit Sethi and some great guest speakers, but more importantly you are joined by people just like you. Some of them will have solved a problem you’re facing and I think that’s one of the understated things about the program.

Here’s the curriculum:

• Week 1 – Optimizing your credit cards 11/9-11/15
• Week 2 – Beat the banks and negotiate bills 11/16 – 11/22
• Week 3 – Open 401K and Roth IRA 11/23-11/29
• Week 4 – Conscious Spending 11/30 – 12/6
• Week 5 – Automation 12/7 – 12/13
• Week 6 – Investing – setting up portfolio 12/14 – 12/20

If you are the king of optimizing credit cards, you might be giving more than you get that first week. However, if you are weak with automation, that’s when you’ll learn something. Not good with asset allocation or planning your retirement? Week 3 looks like a place where you’ll take more than you give.

Here’s a little taste of what Ramit’s video presentations are like (and maybe what the boot camp will be like):

In the end, there is a 30-day money back guarantee. If you make it two-thirds of the way through and find it’s not for you, he’ll refund all of your money. There’s no risk in giving it a shot if you think it’s right for you.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich 6-Week Boot Camp from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The United States Mint is the agency in the United States Government responsible for the production of coins used in the US. It was created in 1792 by the Coinage Age of 1792 and put within the State Department. Later that year, the Mint opened its main branch in Philadelphia, PA and soon expanded to include several facilities across the United States. In 1799, with the Coinage Act of 1873, it was made an independent agency.

Mints & Mint Marks

There have been several Mint facilities in its history, there are only four active coin-producing mints today. The largest of them is the main office of the Mint in Philadelphia, PA. The current Philadelphia facility was opened in 1969. All coins, except the penny, created in Philadelphia after 1980 have a P mint mark, those created before had no mark. The engraving and design departments, as well as master die production for US coins, are located at the Philadelphia Mint.

The Denver Mint began in 1863 as a local assay office as a result of gold discoveries in the area. Assay offices test the purity of precious metals like gold. In 1906, the Mint opened a branch there and produces only circulation coins. Coins minted here bear the D mint mark.

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 much like Denver did, as an assay office to support the California gold rush. After numerous openings and closings, as a result of fluctuating coin demand, the Mint is now responsible primarily for proof coinage. Until 1868, the Philadelphia Mint was responsible for proof coinage before it was moved to San Francisco. Coins produced here bear an S mint mark.

The four branch is located in West Point and was granted official status as a branch of the Mint in 1988. It started as the West Point Bullion Depository, which opened in 1937, and produced pennies from 1973 to 1986. It was also responsible for producing many commemorative and proof coins, evidenced by a W mint mark. Today, it still holds gold bullion and is the only production facility for gold, silver, and platinum American Eagle coins.

Fort Knox is a Mint facility but produces no coins. Much like the West Point Bullion Depository, it’s primary function is to store gold and silver bullion reserves for the United States and other nations.

Mint Mark Recap

Here’s a quick recap of the four Mint marks and where the coins were produced. For coins in circulation, you’ll usually see a D or a P or no stamp. With no stamp, the coin is usually from Philadelphia unless it was a penny. In that case, there’s no way to tell whether it’s a Denver produced or Philadelphia produced coin.

• D – Denver Mint
• P – Philadelphia Mint
• S – San Francisco Mint
• W – West Point Mint

I think I’ve been on a trivia kick lately, after reading about the most valuable US coin and compiling a 50 fun facts about money.

(Photo: pagedooley)

The Mints of the United States from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

When was the last time you had a financial fire? Maybe the car broke down or you broke a window in your house. Maybe you were one of the many millions who lost your job last year. I bet, in most cases, you weren’t sure what to do afterwards.

That’s why I’m recommending that you conduct a financial fire drill.

How to Conduct a Financial Fire Drill

The first step is to list all the potential “fires” you could have, including an actual fire in your home. Some common ones are job loss, car problems, fire or flood in the home, burglary of your house or home, and minor and major medical emergencies. Everything you thought of when you set your emergency fund is in play here.

Next, you need to setup a response plan and a financial plan.

Response Plan

The response plan is the series of steps you’ll take to respond to the emergency. In the case of job loss, you might want to list steps like signing up for job websites, updating and listing your resume, reaching out to your network of contacts in the industry, and filing for unemployment. If there are any steps you can do today, such as registering for job websites, do them because it will make your life easier later.

You want to write down your response plan now, rather than when you’re emotionally charged, because it’s easier to think clearly about it now. What’s easier: finding a job or helping a friend find a job? Most people would say helping a friend. Helping someone find a job is easier in part because you’re less emotionally invested in the income. While you’d love to find your friend a job, the consequences are less severe if you fail.

Financial Plan

Setting up your financial plan is a lot like setting up your emergency fund but doesn’t stop there. First, you need to establish how much you need to save. Take stock of how much the fire will cost you and save money into an emergency fund to handle it. For a job loss, you can save 12 months of expenses to handle an extended period of unemployment. For a car accident, save enough to cover the deductible.

Then, for each of the potential fires, link your response to the financial plan and be sure to include a recovery plan. I’ll include a few examples afterwards but the important part of this step is to try to take “thinking” out of the equation. If you have a CD ladder, include instructions on how you want to liquidate the CDs, in what order, and how you’ll want to get your ladder rebuilt.

Example: Car Repairs

Here’s a sample response and financial plan for a typical scenario – a car repair.

Response Plan for Car Repair

1. Get repair quotes from at least two reputable mechanics (only one is necessary if you have a mechanic you’ve worked with and trust) in the area.
2. Try to negotiate the repair price down or personally buying the parts required.
3. If the repair is more than half the value of the car, consider selling or donating it and buying a new (to me) car.
4. If the repair is less than $500, pay through savings or with a credit card (assuming the $500 can be repaid before the grace period ends). If the repair is greater, begin liquidating CDs starting with the shortest original maturity period (6 months is best, since the penalty will usually be only 3 months compared to 6 months on a 12-month CD) and lowest interest rate.
5. Bring the car in and schedule a ride to work with a friend (or get quotes and rent a car).
6. Redirect monthly savings away from another goal to replenishing the emergency fund.

Financial Plan

Most of the numbers used are example figures used to illustrate the idea of these plans.

Deciding how much to save. My car is a 2003 Toyota Celica and we don’t anticipate major repairs on the vehicle because it’s not at the age, or mileage, where major repairs are expected. That being said, a $500 repair would be significant and so we’ve decided to set an emergency fund allocation of $500 to cover a car repair scenario. We save an extra $42 a month into the emergency fund for a year to cover this.

Our emergency fund is much larger, $2,500 a month, to cover the whole gamut of potential issues (most notably, the mortgage in case of a job loss or a major medical emergency). Our emergency fund is saved up in a CD ladder, with one rung sitting in a high yield savings account. Should we have a car accident under $3,000, we would pay for it on a credit card for the points and then pay off the credit card from savings.

Why Should I Conduct A Financial Fire Drill?

Why is this important? If you’ve ever been fired, and I have, then you know what it feels like. It’s like someone punching you in the stomach and knocking the wind out of you. It doesn’t feel good. When that pain subsides, you start feeling the pressure of having to find another job.

Having to “figure out” how to find another job is really difficult when you have to deal with all the emotional aspects of losing one. If you’ve planned ahead of time, then you can go through the steps without having to “figure it out.” This takes the thinking process out of the equation and just lets you work on executing it.

The response plan can also help you make decisions dispassionately. In the heat of the moment, your judgment might be clouded by a variety of factors. When you’re sitting at home, with a job, with a working car, and without the pressure of an emergency weighing on your mind, you can make better informed decisions. Putting those decisions on paper can give you guidance when a real emergency happens.

The response plan can help others make decisions for you if you’re incapacitated. Anytime you write down the decisions you’ve made in your head, you empower others to act on your behalf if you cannot. You should put your fire drill response plan next to the list of all your bank accounts so that if someone else needs to handle your finances, they know what to do. Without guidance, they’ll use their own judgment which will invariably be different than yours.

Have you conducted financial fire drills and put together response plans? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

(Photo: mbtrama)

Conduct a Financial Fire Drill from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

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PFHour #26: Financial Rules of Thumb from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.