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February 2010    



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The Importance of an Emergency Fund

Most experts agree that you should keep between three and six months worth of your living expenses set aside in your emergency fund. Financial emergencies include:

  • job loss
  • significant medical expenses
  • home or auto repairs

The last thing you want to do is rely on credit cards or a loan which could place you in a financial bind. It is best to plan for a worst-case scenario so that the smaller emergencies such as new tires on your car or a new stove are easier to handle

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Ways to save money

Finding it hard putting money into your savings account? Look harder. Here’s how:

  • Cut back $10/month on 15 expenses. If you could carve out $10 a month on 15 different spending categories, you’d have $150 a month to go into savings.
  • Put your raise, refund, monetary gifts right into the pot
  • Take your coffee to work instead of stopping and purchasing on the way
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Your money

Fight Cabin Fever: Grow Flowers Indoors this Winter

Why not keep that green thumb going and become an inside grower this winter, be it on the windowsill or in a greenhouse or under lights, and tend at least a few of these fun and easy and rewarding flowers for winter color and bright cheer! Flowers that you can successfully grow indoors during the winter months include

  • Azaleas, Cyclamen & Poinsettia
  • Geraniums, impatiens & miniature roses
  • African Violets, Begonia & Orchids

You can also force bulbs blooms indoors including Amaryllis, tulips, daffodils and crocus to brighten your home until Spring
Market

December Existing-Home Sales Down but Prices Rise; 2009 Sales Up

After a rising surge from September through November, existing-home sales fell as expected in December after first-time buyers rushed to complete sales before the original November deadline for the tax credit. However, prices rose from December 2008 and annual sales improved in 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there were no surprises in the data. "It's significant that home sales remain above year-ago levels, but the market is going through a period of swings driven by the tax credit," he said. "We'll likely have another surge in the spring as home buyers take advantage of the extended and expanded tax credit. By early summer the overall market should benefit from more balanced inventory, and sales are on track to rise again in 2010. However, the job market remains a concern and could dampen the housing recovery – job creation is key to a continued recovery in the second half of the year."

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.93 percent in December from 4.88 percent in November; the rate was 5.29 percent in December 2008.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said market conditions are challenging in some areas. "There's a shortage of lower priced homes for sale in much of the country, resulting in multiple bids in some areas," she said.

Source: The National Association of Realtors®
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