TV Guide

At first glance, South Park’s Randy Marsh does not seem to have the makings of someone with financial savvy. Neither his job as a geologist nor his irrational tendency to over-react suggest we should trust his judgment with money at stake. And yet, there is something this man can teach us about personal finance. For all of his sporadic obsessions and fad chasing, Randy Marsh exhibits a sincere desire to discover and (just as important) act on good ideas and principles. More of these are explained below.
Just do it

“There’s no time for your immaturity Stanley, do it!”

Many of the causes and crusades Randy commits himself to are foolish. But boy, does he commit to them, and fast! Once he gets it into his head that something (anything!) must be done to assure safety, prosperity, or prestige, Randy wastes no time getting started. In this last thought we find a bonafide gem of money management wisdom, which is simply this: all the personal finance knowledge in the world is worthless unless you act on it. In his excellent book I Will Teach You to be Rich, Ramit Sethi advocates “the 85% solution.” That is, taking the imperfect (but sufficient) steps you know rather than endlessly delaying action because you don’t know everything.

In other words, once you know that financial independence comes from sustained investment and savings, start investing and saving. You will prosper far more by simply investing $100 (or however much) per month in a plain old boring index fund than by perpetually trying to figure out what the “best” stocks are - and investing nothing in the meantime. Ditto for retirement savings. Open an IRA (preferably of the Roth variety, in which your money grows and can be withdrawn tax-free) and contribute to it every month. What matters is not whether that is the 100% best and most optimal strategy, but that you are doing it. You can always make adjustments later. And while your friends engage in fruitless debates about interest rates and ETFs, you will be the one actually making headway.

Manage your risks

Stan: “Dad, I don’t want to put my head in the sand.”

Randy: “It’s the best way Stanley, did you eat your Fruit-Roll Up?”

Stan: “Yeah…”

Randy: “Okay make sure your snorkle is working and get your head in the hole.”

Investing is full of risks. What often determines how prosperous and secure we are is how we manage these risks. Unfortunately for South Park fans, this comical exchange from the “Family Guy” episode illustrates exactly the wrong approach to risk management. Burying your head in the sand is just as ineffectual and wrong-headed in response to investing risks as it was in dealing with terrorists. The correct approach is to confront risks, understand their implications for your own wallet and insulate yourself as best you can.

For example: the Enron fiasco illustrated the risks of investing in only one or two things. In effect, Enron’s former employees “stuck their heads in sand” by putting their eggs in that one basket and hoping for the best. They had no hedge against the risk of the whole company failing - which it ultimately did. A far better approach is to diversify your investments across a broad swathe of index funds, mutual funds, foreign currencies, and other vehicles. This way, hiccups or slowdowns in one area wont decimate your entire portfolio.

Price Comparison

Stan: “How come Wal-Mart can afford to sell everything so cheap?”

Randy: “Well son, it’s simple economics…I don’t understand it all.”

People don’t always grasp the underlying reasons (volume purchasing, economies of scale, distribution efficiency) why certain stores always have lower prices. Fortunately, you don’t need to understand any of it to reap huge savings. All you need to do is comparison shop before making major purchases. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming or difficult; in many cases, simply Googling a few different retailers to check their prices will be net you significant savings the next time you buy furniture, appliances, cars, or any other major purchase. Not understanding simple economics didn’t stop Randy from saving at Wal-Mart, and it shouldn’t stop you from comparison shopping.

Develop Financial Priorities

“I was shopping at Wal-Mart all night. I was standing in the checkout line…they had these little stickers filled with glitter! They were only ninety-nine cents for fifteen of them, I couldn’t resist! Do you want one?!”

Randy’s giddiness at Wal-Mart exemplifies a trait many of us possess: mindless, impulsive spending. Don’t worry, we’re not telling you to never make spontaneous purchases (life would be awfully boring if we only saved and paid bills). The key is to establish priorities that you satisfy first. It is often the lack of such priorities - rather than the spending itself - that gets people into trouble.

In the end, your priorities will determine and depend on your financial goals. Most people would do well to put retirement, investing, and general savings on their list, and decide how much money they can contribute toward them each week or month. Most experts suggest having 3-6 months in living expenses at all times. Any planned major purchases (such as a new car or house) can be planned and saved for month to month as well. No matter the priorities you choose, the important thing is that you attend to them before letting your wallet run wild on impulse spending.

Educate Yourself

“Do you have any concept of money at all?!”

A common criticism of our schools and colleges is the lack of personal finance education offered to young students. This is blamed for the lack of financial savvy among adults young and old. But this doesn’t let you off the hook -  just because the ins and outs of money management weren’t spoon fed to you in class doesn’t mean you can’t learn them on your own.

Use Good Judgment

“These are not ’space cops’, there is no ’space jail’, and ’space cash’ is only worth what you as a planet decided it was worth.”

Randy again demonstrates the opposite of sound judgment in the episode titled “Pinewood Derby “. When visited by aliens, Randy and the other citizens of South Park were tricked into thinking that a massive hoard of “space cash” stored on board the alien’s ship was a real and valuable currency. Their naivety wound up costing Earth a membership in the ‘Federation of Planets’ and sealing them off from the entire universe. While your choices aren’t likely to determine Earth’s interstellar future, you can still take a big hit if you aren’t aware of scam artists and ripoffs. Countless Americans have poured untold millions of dollars into Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes or dodgy multi-level marketing programs. These typically promise huge rewards for persuading others to sign up. They typically fail, little is done to stop people from promises of “getting rich quick”. In general, anything promising lots of money in a short time with little work is a scam.

Be Truthful About Taxes and Income

“Stan you have to learn to lie properly someday, it might as well be today.”

Despite Randy’s exhortations to lie, the one situation when this always comes back to haunt you is tax time. Many who neglect to file tax returns don’t hear anything from the IRS for months or even years after. They then erroneously conclude that they got away with shafting Uncle Sam and all is well. But this is rarely true. According to the book Standing Up to the IRS, this only happens because the IRS database is perpetually 12-24 months behind. Non-filers have not “gotten away with” anything, and an eventual phone call from the IRS is therefore inevitable. It’s best to simply pay all taxes owed and file all returns on time. It’s never fun, but the alternative is much worse: fines that sap your savings, time wasted with federal agents, or in the worst case, prison. Surely fulfilling your civic duty is not as terrible as this.

The Takeaway

The core of Randy Marsh’s approach to personal finance is to be active. You could also take away from this article that it is better to manage risks and educate yourself instead of sticking your head in the sand. Search for the lowest price instead of buying from the first store you visit. Let consciously chosen priorities, rather than whims, drive your spending. Don’t fall for hyped-up scams. Be honest in your dealings.

When looking over your investments, do you ever wonder how the value of the companies you’ve put your money in is determined? What factors decide how well a company is really doing? What’s the source of the company’s financing? Will it meet or exceed this quarter’s projections? While some consider the stock market to be little more than a house of cards, subject to the whims of individual investors, there are, in fact, some very real and measurable things that can help you to diagnose the financial health of a company.

Take a statement

It’s not an interrogation but you’ll want to ask the hard questions before you invest. Only by examining and drawing conclusions from a financial statement, will you truly know how well a company is doing. At first glance, you will see that a financial statement is made up of three main sections, the balance sheet, the income statement and the cash flow statement. Each statement depicts a different aspect of the overall financial picture of a business. The balance sheet details companies’ current assets such as cash and prepaid expenses. It shows the financial position at a particular date. This statement tells you what the current liabilities or existing debt the company has, that has to be paid within that year. Examples of debt include accounts payable, salaries payable or income taxes payable. The amount of current assets over current liabilities determines the amount of working capital or leftover cash the company has to cover other operating expenses. Whether or not there is enough money left over after the current debt is paid off, tells you whether the company is on solid financial ground or might be headed for destruction.

The income statement is a summary of the profits a business has earned for a specified period of time. This is where you would see the amount of revenue or profits obtained for a companies’ products or services and the expenses incurred for salaries, supplies or income taxes. The difference between the revenue and expenses gives you the net income, which when compared over a period of say two years shows you how the net income is rising or falling, a fairly good indicator of how profitable the business is. Basically, this statement tells you if the company has revenue coming in.

The cash flow statement is particularly important when considering new ventures such as an internet startup. The ability to balance cash flow now is a sign that the business has a long and profitable future ahead of it. This reports the cash going out and coming in from operating, investing and financing activities. In this statement, changes in the net cash flow indicate the company’s ability to meet its debt obligations and pay dividends, how much external financing the company is using and its ability to generate cash flow in the future. Operating cash flow can be described as the cash effects from revenue and expense transactions. Investing cash activities comes from the purchasing and selling of properties or assets and financing cash activities shows how owners of the company have used loans from creditors to finance their business.

Know the facts

Investing should never be based on emotion. While you might be tempted to invest in a company because you like its products or because you’ve just read a favorable article about it in a magazine or newspaper, you should make sure you’ve done your research before ponying up your hard earned cash. Think of the financial statement as a kind of scorecard that helps you determine which company is the one you should invest in. What you’ll find is a hard look at the financial structure of a business that shows you what it’s really made of. Ask yourself a few questions and see if the statements help answer them. Does the revenue exceed expenses in the income statement? Does the amount of assets exceed liabilities on the balance sheet?

Notes often accompany financial statements. Read these notes carefully as they disclose information that can help you interpret the financial information on the statements. The notes reveal any changes that could have an impact on the company’s finances. It can provide some startling insights such as what type of debt the company purchased, for how long and for what purpose. For example, the notes might state that company A entered into a two year term note of which the proceeds were used to purchase the company’s out of state manufacturing facility and headquarters. Essentially, the notes are a complement to the statement providing more details. If you’re a shareholder, it’s your company. So you’ll want to make sure you know as much as you can about it.

I recently had the privilege of meeting Suze Orman (@suzeormanshow on Twitter) for an hour long meeting… that turned into 3 hours. First, the answers to your burning questions:
· Does Suze always wear fabulous jackets in real life? Yes, yes she does.
· Is Suze really tan? Yep. And she has nice white teeth too.
· Does she frequently say “fabulous,” call everyone “hey boyfriend” or use phrases like “girlfriend, you need to get real” in real life? Yes, yes, and yes.
· Is Suze really the nation’s best personal finance guru? Actually, I think she just might be.

I’d like to think I know a thing or two about personal finance. It is, after all, my personal passion, and why I started Mint. But in talking to Suze about my views on investing, emergency funds, bank fees, and the all important human element in personal finance, it is clear that 30 years of daily interactions with real people having real money problems makes her the master.

Suze is a larger-than-life personality. She can suck you in with her irresistible charisma. And she’s using that knowledge and that charisma for good. One example: she negotiated a deal with TD Ameritrade where if you put in $100 for 12 months straight, they’ll give you your $100 back in month 13. That’s an 8.3% guaranteed return on your money – better than you can get in any CD or savings account right now. Over 100,000 people have signed up at: saveyourself.com. That’s how powerful her advice is. Multi-national corporations listen to her…even the head of the FDIC listens to her: myfdicinsurance.gov. Note the picture with the fabulous jacket.

Now, I’m sure there are some of you for whom Suze’s tough love advice, or big personality are not appealing. But Suze has an undeniable appeal to an audience that has been largely underserved: women, and young people (see her “Young, Broke & Fabulous” book). And that’s a good thing.

Traditional personal finance services and tools have been built, well, for middle-aged men. If you look at the demographic of Quicken desktop, for example, its users are 46 and they’re 85% male. One of the things I’m most proud of at Mint is opening up personal finance to a whole new audience: our average user is 30, and new users come in at a 60/40 male/female split. One stat that truly humbles me: 94% of our female users have recommended Mint.com to friends or to their spouse. We’ve created a tool that’s easy enough (and fun enough) for everyone.

And that’s where Suze comes in. Mint.com and Suze are now friends. Yes, we like to announce these things. Fabulous friends? Well, maybe one day. Until then, though, Suze says she’ll answer any Mint.com user’s money questions via Twitter: @suzeormanshow and include #mint. It’s not a team, it’s not her assistant, she answers all of these questions herself. Her only rule is it has to be a 140 character question or less.

Click to enlarge the map below:

Here’s Mint’s advice on how you can lift yourself out of the abyss.

Don’t let credit card debt consume you. Mint.com can help you find a card that works for you.

For more personal finance visualizations see: WallStats.com

Paul Keleher

As the credit crisis winds toward its inevitable conclusion, the number of customers unable to pay off their credit card each month is swelling. And credit card companies, facing the very real possibility of customers defaulting entirely, are now willing to come to a settlement for substantially less than the amount owed. With the credit card companies ready to deal, here’s what you need to know to get your own personal bailout.

Credit Cards are Unsecured Loans

Credit cards are a form of unsecured loans. What does this mean in layman’s terms? An unsecured loan is a loan in which a borrower is not required to use an asset as collateral in order to receive credit. In contrast, secured loans (mortgages or auto loans, for instance) use collateral that may be repossessed should the borrower default on their payments. By the nature of their business models, credit cards and other forms of unsecured loans typically offer shorter payback terms and higher interest rates.

Bailouts for the Delinquents?

With the recent rise in unemployment and wage cuts, credit card debt delinquency has significantly increased and shows little sign of slowing down. So what’s a credit card company to do? Bail you out! If you fall into the delinquency camp, there is a good chance that you may be able to negotiate an agreement with your card provider to pay off a portion of your debt in exchange for them wiping out the rest.

Increasingly, consumers are reporting that they are getting offers from their card providers to wipe out debt in exchange for payments. Few creditors are admitting to the practice. American Express and Bank of America admit to deciding on a case-by-case basis whether to accept partial payments. Other companies are keeping their lips shut, but their trade group, the American Bankers Association, acknowledges that settlements are becoming more common.

What not to do

Let’s be 100% clear. If you are NOT delinquent on your debt, it would be extremely bad practice to purposefully go into debt in the hopes to get a free ride and have your debt wiped out. There are no guarantees that any company will wipe out your debt, and the risks and costs associated with trying to pull this trick off are simply not worth it.

If you are delinquent, it would be equally as risky to go on a spending spree in the hopes that your debt will be forgotten. Be smart and ethical. Debt settlements can still show as a black mark on your credit history, and this is bad news for you. Debt settlement should be resorted to only at last option.

How to Settle your Credit Card Debt

You’ve done everything you can to get out of debt, but just can’t seem to dig out of the hole. Your only option is to settle. There is no exact science to settling debt with every credit card company, and a lot of your success will come down to your negotiation skills. This is tricky business and if you’re in doubt, you may want to consult with a lawyer or certified financial professional. Here are some suggestions if you’ve decided to go down this path based on stories that we’ve heard from others who have succeeded.

1. Stop making payments: if you’re paying off at least a portion of your debts, why would the credit card company have any reason to settle with you? Wait at least 60 to 90 days prior to making an offer.
2. Build enough cash to offer a settlement: at the same time you’ve stopped making payments, you’re going to have to have money on hand to make an offer. Perhaps you sell some of the luxuries that got you into this mess in the first place or get a second job.
3. Make your first offer: explain your situation and make an offer. 25% is a good starting point. The credit card company is probably not going to accept your first offer, so it’s good to start low. You may get a counter offer at this point - but be patient in your negotiations.
4. If you increase your offer, ask for more: ask for any black marks on your credit report to be removed in your negotiations.
5. Get it in writing: get your agreed upon terms in writing from the credit card company.
6. Make your payment: pay by money order and send via certified mail so that you can verify that you fulfilled your end of the agreement.
7. Tax significance: you will get a 1099 from your credit card company and must claim the forgiven amount as income on your tax return.
8. Learn from your mistakes: if you can’t get your credit history wiped clean, the ‘debt settled’ mark will stay on for seven years past settlement. This will result in you having difficulty getting good credit terms during this time. Learn from your mistakes so that this does not happen again.

For more of GE Miller’s writing, visit personal finance blog 20somethingfinance.com.

Silver was first coined between 700 and 600 BC and, during the height of the Athenian Empire (5^th century) the ‘drachma’ was established as the first ‘international standard’ currency - used throughout Mediterranean territories.

wikimedia

Silver Mining and Silver Rushes

Not surprisingly, the Athenians also had quite a sophisticated mining industry during the height of their Empire. Silver mining has been a major international industry for centuries, and has played a major role in territorial expansion, empire building, and international economics. Silver mining was one of the largest factors in the exploration of the Americas, most notably by Spanish Conquistadors. In, as early as the Sixteenth Century in Mexico, and coinciding with major North American gold rushes in the Nineteenth Century, a series of silver rushes encouraged western expansion. Silver mining during this time was especially profitable as many of the world’s strongest economies remained on a Silver Standard.

RickC

Largest Silver Producers

Today, the largest silver-producing countries are Peru, and Mexico. They are estimated to produce nearly 35% of the world’s silver each year, and silver makes up a generous proportion of each country’s GNP. The Fresnillo mine located in Zacatecas, Mexico is the world’s second largest silver mine. In 2007, this mine produced over 33 Million ounces of silver; Mexico alone contributes about 15% of the world’s silver production per year, which in the same year was 670 Million troy ounces. Silver has been mined in the Zacatecas region since as early as 1546.

The World’s Largest Mine

The Cannington Mine, in QL Australia produces an estimated 40 Million tons per year, making it the world’s largest silver mine. Owned by BHP Billiton (the world’s largest mining company with$16B in profit, 2008) Cannington is considered the world’s most productive mine, generating an estimated 6% of the world’s yearly silver output. Additionally, the Cannington Mine is considered one of the world’s most cost efficient mines, as well as one of its youngest.

Silver and Gold

Silver lost substantial clout when it was replaced by the Gold Standard - first in Britain in the 18^th Century, and then in the US and most other economies in the 19^th century. Ever since, Silver has been priced in terms of dollar-per-troy  ounce, and a silver-to-gold ratio as well. In the last 10 years, Silver has effectively been exchanged at an average of 59.83 troy ounces (with very few outliers) to one troy ounce of Gold; versus the dollar, silver prices have actually increased by nearly 300%. Many attribute these effects to the concurrent rapid increase in gold values, and steady devaluation of the dollar. While silver and gold were traditionally “loosely tied” to one another - meaning that if the value of one increases, the other typically does as well - recent market conditions have have led to unique circumstances.

Silver and the Dollar

Recently, the trade value of Silver has shifted considerably. Today, Silver is at $14.11 per troy ounce. This is nearly thrice its $4.95 per ounce value in 2000; it is also 73% of its all time high of $19.39 (1980), when the infamous Hunt Brothers nearly cornered the world’s Silver market in an attempt to hyper-inflate the trade value. It is important to note that silver has more or less stayed steadily on the rise, enjoying a fate similar to gold.

More recently, however, in the last decade, central bankers of developed economies have worked together in order to depress the silver price with the aim of slowing down the pace of currency devaluation - mostly due to the surplus of US dollars (as a fiat currency), in the marketplace, and being held in foreign countries’ reserves. This collaboration by the US and those central banks holding billions of dollars in US Treasury bonds was deliberately aimed at pumping up the dollar in favor of silver prices.

It is estimated that this combined effort has depressed the value from nearly half of where it should be (around $25-28) per troy ounce based on the silver-gold ratio. In short, the lower the price of silver, the stronger the US dollar, as each are effectively valued against gold.

source

How Individuals Invest in Silver

Source

Silver Mining Companies

Silver differs from gold in that it is still widely used as a raw material. Silver mining can be a very profitable endeavor, as silver is commonly used in many electronics products. Individual investors can decide to invest in a Silver Mining Company, just as they would invest in a company such as Ford or Apple. This is different than trading in simply the commodity’s price, because, while the price of silver does play a role in the success (in the form of increased margins) of the company, there are other factors which contribute to the profitability of a company, and consequently the value of its stock. Additionally, if the value of silver decreases rapidly (as it did during the last six months) this can cut into a company’s profits considerably.

Exchange Traded Funds

The most popular consumer silver investments are exchange traded funds. (ETF) The value of an ETF reflects the value of held assets - bonds or stocks - and trades at the rate (as a derivation) of the net asset value of the fund’s net asset value. Tracked on various indexes, ETFs are accessible and are traded in the same way as common stock. They are relatively cheap and tax-efficient.

For the casual investor, ETFs offer an entry into the silver market without having to either own silver or invest in an individual mining company. Ownership of these types of funds is the same as ownership in other types of equities that can be traded and sold on a dynamic basis. Of course, because these funds are meant to represent only the cost of silver, their stock changes throughout the day, and can change on a dime.

Why People Invest in Silver

Many tend to invest in silver in lieu of, or in addition to gold. Because silver tends to mirror the ups and downs of gold, it can serve as a good alternative. You’ll incur about the same risk but it can be much more cost effective. Of course it must be noted that the market is not always allowed to run its course - because of the rapacious demand for gold, silver has lost some of its relative value, while the international financial community has also contributed to suppressing silver growth rates.

Mint is no stranger to the Webbys, having won two awards and an honorable mention last year. So I knew the pressure was on to deliver a killer five word speech. The event kicked off on Sunday evening with cocktails at Above Allen, a rooftop bar on the Lower East Side. I made the Mojito my brand-reinforcing drink of the evening until I ran the bar out of mint leaves. It was great to see faces light up when I mentioned Mint.com. The web crowd genuinely loves the application, though not so much the email reminders about overspending on [insert vice here]. We’re working on it, guys.

The real party commenced Monday night with the Webby gala itself, held at Cipriani on Wall Street – the heart of the financial district. As Seth Meyers noted in his opening speech, the Webbys are for people who wished the Oscars had more awards and less celebrities. Because there are so many winners, very few get to accept their awards on stage, and everyone is limited to five words, even stars like Jimmy Fallon. So my first order of business when arriving was to record my five word acceptance speech. Jimmy Fallon, you need Mint.com. Jimmy, we’re waiting for our seat on the couch. After my speech I was asked to pick a book, Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail style. Unfortunately I chose poorly and wasn’t rewarded with eternal life, or the chance to present on stage.

As the host, Meyers was great and kept the laughs going. On the event’s financial district location, “because nothing says forward thinking and ingenuity quite like Wall Street… were there no rooms available in Detroit?” On the crowd, “Ashton Kutcher is not here, I just wish there was a way to know what he’s doing…” There were also lots of very funny videos put together by the Webby people.

Some of the highlights of the evening that drew the most applause? The five word speech from Animoto, the marriage proposal, and for me, seeing some of the celebrities in attendance like Martha Stewart, Arianna Huffington, and Cameron Diaz.

Thanks to everyone who voted for us, and now it’s time for me to get back to work, recover from three open bars, and make our product even better so I can go back and do this again next year.

Foxtongue

If you’ve just received the news that you’re pregnant, one thing’s for sure, life as you know it is over. But that’s a good thing. The joys of parenthood far outweigh the cons but you’ll need a solid financial plan if you hope to make it through the next nine months.

So after you’ve shared the news with your parents and 500 of your closest friends on Facebook, you’d better start thinking about how this is going to affect your wallet.

You want the best for your family of course but who should you listen to? When it comes to giving new parents advice, suddenly it seems everyone is an expert: don’t get this brand of diapers, make sure to get that kind of car seat, don’t rush to get the baby the first time it cries, and so forth. The good news is that you will have nearly nine months to prepare your home. Make sure to use a few of those hours to get your financial house in order too. Both are about to go through major changes.

No matter your fiscal discipline, there’s about to be another mouth to feed. Many couples will want or need to move into a bigger space. The extent of many of your baby-related expenses will be controllable, as your and your partner’s expenses are today. However, even with maximum restraint, you’ll still be walking down new grocery aisles and visiting new stores, ultimately spending money on products and services you never considered previously.

If you’re financially unprepared for your new baby, you could end up financing diapers. Here are the top 5 things you should do when you’re expecting:

Tip 1: Communicate With Your Partner

The theoretical conversations you may have had a few times previously will now become real. Decisions will have to be made. Nothing should be assumed, Talk about them.

• Will one of you stay home? If so, for how long? Things may change. That’s okay.
• Could all of you live on just one income? If you think so, what makes you so confident? Have you ever done so before?

Tip 2: Live Within Your Means

It’s as important as ever to make sure to live within your means. Resist the temptation to use your new arrival as an excuse to purchase things you can’t afford and don’t really need. If you have a car with four doors and four tires, you already have a “family car.” Your apartment or existing abode is probably big enough to accommodate the baby. Try to put off a major move for as long as possible. Not everything has to fit the stereotype. Spend on what’s important to you within the constraints of what you can actually afford.

Tip 3: Establish An Emergency Fund Now

If you haven’t already done so, there’s no time like the present to establish an emergency fund. The traditional three to six months sounds like a lot. It is a lot. But it’s better to have some money socked away for this purpose than none at all. Do what is possible. Remember you’re trying to set aside three to six months of non-discretionary living expenses only, not your full monthly income. If you aspire to have one partner stay at home for an extended period, one easy way to enhance your emergency fund is to practice living on one income while both spouses are still working.

Job security still have you feeling confident you’ll never need to tap an emergency fund?  It’s not just about your job.  When you first hold your baby in a few months, it will be so obvious- there’s another person in the picture now.  The more people in the family, the greater chance there is for some kind of emergency. Be prepared.

Tip 4: Get Life Insurance

Many young adults without children can actually spend their money more wisely than on life insurance. That concept changes immediately upon conception. Now, someone will be depending on your income for years to come. You’ll need to be sure that if something unfortunate happens to you, your child can still maintain the lifestyle you’ve been providing. Only life insurance can provide that financial security.

Tip 5: Sign Up for the Health Care Reimbursement Account at Work

Also known as a flexible spending account (FSA), this account requiring minor paperwork can effectively save you 25% or more (depending on your tax rate) on your medical expenses. When you’re expecting, you’re going to have big medical bills, including pre-natal care and delivery.

Your next annual enrollment date presents the perfect chance to increase your contribution rate to reflect your new medical spending and to reduce your after-tax costs in the process. If you won’t reach an enrollment date prior to delivery, remember that your child’s birth constitutes a “life event” and will give you a special one-time opportunity to increase your contribution rate.

Be prepared, don’t overspend, and remember that what really matters is not the brand, design, or expense of your child’s bedding, stroller, or Onesie, but rather your love and care for them.

Michael B. Rubin is the author of Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck and the blog of the same name. He is the President of Total Candor, a financial planning education company.

°Florian

A long-standing, not-so-secret mantra for the most efficient and effective people is “saving time via the delegation of tasks = saved money”. Optimizing the use of your time and focusing on your most high-value strengths not only allows you to reduce the hectic payload on your life but potentially allows you to increase income and stockpile more money.

The old-school formula associated with this particular delegation of tasks typically involves the outsourcing of daily chores: cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, baby-sitting, picking the kids up from karate, and the like. However, with the advancements in communications and the proliferation of online job marketplaces like Craigslist, Elance, and Guru.com, the number of tasks that can now be entrusted to others has grown on an immeasurable scale.

For example: You’re living the life of an up-and-coming, stay-at-home entrepreneur running a hectic and sometimes chaotic one-man operation. Business is flourishing, yet you’re spending more time than you would like to on the phone fielding calls that could potentially be huge sales or absolute wastes of time. You’re working late hours just to catch up with every voice mail, email, and IM that is targeted at you, and dealing with this heavy influx of communication isn’t just stealing your time, it’s introducing a never-ending bundle of stress right on your shoulders.

Jonathan Fleming, a solo real estate agent, was caught in a pretty similar situation. However, instead of spending the time to answer each individual call, he optimizes his time through hiring a “virtual assistant” to handle all inbound calls, emails, and other communication. Jonathan’s contractor organizes and presents all of the potential sales leads in a summarized fashion for him to view at his leisure so that more of his time is spent showing property, negotiating prices, and closing deals.

“When people call me from seeing my signs, I dump the voicemails and emails into a database that my VA sorts and summarizes for me. She set up an Oracle database where I can remotely log in and access all the info I need when I am traveling. She can pretty much work with any type of system – she’s able to learn fast… 70% of my time is selling/showing property/negotiating versus responding to every email… Elance could change how most real estate agents work. Currently, assistants sit in an agent’s office or the agents spend time doing the admin stuff themselves. Working with a VA saves time and money, gets you leads and allows you to focus on selling and acquiring customers.”

But don’t limit your thinking to just administrative help. In fact, there are literally tens of thousands of experts who are ready to help with your marketing, research, writing, programming, software development, translations — pretty much anything and everything that you’re, well, not good at or don’t want to do yourself.

Now, before you click on the “Outsource Life Now” button, there are a few things to consider when deciding what should and should not be delegated to others. Diana Dring of organizeyourworld.com tackles this through four points:

First, keep track of all your activities and prioritize them. These activities usually fall in four categories: Priorities, obligations, desirable but unnecessary tasks, and time wasters.
Be sure to do this over an extended period of time – at least one or two weeks, but preferably longer. This will give you a quick snapshot of your daily and weekly routines and will give you a general overview of how you spend your time. You’d be surprised how much time you spend in front of the TV.

Second, analyze the reasons why you do these tasks yourself now. Exercise, recreational sports, or palates? Staying in shape and having some fun at the same time is great for your health and well-being. Errands like grocery shopping, dry cleaning, and even email handling? You’re probably doing this just because “you have to”.

Third, ask yourself this for each activity: “Could a subordinate, family member, freelancer, or service agency do this job adequately?” As Diana Dring states in her guide, “The key word is adequately… striving for perfection is usually a waste of time. ‘Ordinary best’ is typically good enough… On the other hand, after training and practice, your delegate may actually be able to surpass you at the job.” That’s something to think about when perusing through your list.

And fourth, if you’ve determined your job can be delegated, determine to whom it can be delegated to. Having someone to perform your delegated tasks isn’t enough – make sure the shoe fits before walking out of the store. Hiring someone with a horrible driving record isn’t the best idea when looking for someone to pick your kids after school. Trust me.

These all may seem blatantly obvious, but they’re all crucial steps in effectively deciding what can and should be outsourced. Once you’ve got it down, you’ll be spending more time doing what you should be doing and leaving the rest to the respective pros.

So the next time you’re pressing “7″ a hundred times to delete yet another hundred voice mails, ask yourself, “How much is an hour of my time really worth?”

Giving yourself more time to focus on your high-value strengths doesn’t just boost your cash reserves; it gives you more time to be what you really want to be: An efficient, focused, well-seasoned professional.

Did you know?

Mint is on Facebook.
Show off your financial savvy and get fan exclusives.

Become a Fan >>

Alex Yoon is a guest-blogger from Elance. You can read more of his advice on outsourcing on the Elance Blog.