With some savings in my bank account, I have been thinking of investing a bit to earn more interest.

There are two options I have now – mutual funds or gold coins. I am fine with both options, but my blogging pal doesn’t encourage me to invest in mutual funds at all.

She recommends me to buy gold coins instead. She has bought quite a lot of gold coins throughout the years and has been earning quite well.

According to her, gold prices are moving up again. Gold reached the 2010 high on January 11th when it closed at $1,151.40. It’s likely that it will reach a new high for 2010 in the coming days.

I am always on the lookout for savings on toys for my nieces and nephews. I bought this Little Tikes: Junior Quad for my 2 year old nephew for his birthday.

He is always getting on his other toys and trying to scoot around so I thought it would be perfect, and it is. It’s just the right size for him and just the right speed for mom.

He got on it right away and off he went. He loves it!! This is highly recommend for a beginner.

Are you having a difficult time deciding which type of home mortgage is the best for your needs? You’re not alone. It makes sense to shop wisely for the best mortgage, since it will probably be the biggest financial decision of your life.

Although there are many mortgage products available, these are the most common categories of mortgages home buyers consider:

Fixed Rate Mortgages are the traditional loans that have a fixed interest rate over the life of the loan, typically 30, 20, 15, or 10 years. With these loans, your monthly payment for interest and principal never changes (your escrow expenses, such as property taxes and insurance, may change from year to year).

Downpayments required on these loans can be as low as 5%. If you want predictable payments over the life of your loan and don’t mind paying a bit more for this assurance, the fixed rate mortgage may be the best option for you.

2. Adjustable Rate Mortgages typically start at a lower interest rate and lower payments but interest rates and payments fluctuate depending on market interest rates.

A typical ARM is adjusted annually. Increases are usually capped for any given year and for the life of the loan. For example, a typical ARM might include an annual cap of two percentage points and a cap over the life of the loan of six percentage points. An ARM that starts out at 7.5% could increase to 9.5% in the second year, 11.5% in the third year, 13.5% in the fourth year, at which point it would be capped.

These loans are popular with people who expect rising income over the next few years because they can buy more house on a lower current income, confident that their increasing income will make the higher payments affordable if the interest rates rise in subsequent years.

3. Balloon Mortgages. If you know you’ll be moving in five to seven years, and you’d like a lower interest rate but are uncomfortable with an adjustable rate, the balloon mortgage may be for you.

These loans often have a somewhat lower interest rate than a conventional 30-year mortgage, but the loan is due in five to seven years. If you’re still in the house at the end of the term, you’ll have to find another mortgage in order to pay off the first one.

There are many mortgages on the market now, so it’s important for you to do your homework to determine which type is best for you, and which bank, savings and loan, mortgage bank, finance company or credit union offers the best terms for that type of loan.

The Internet makes this process easier. You can find out how large a loan you qualify for, compare mortgage quotes, search for the lowest rates in your area, and in some cases, apply online.

Can shopping online for sports or tennis apparel, equipment or accessories really save you money? The answer is often, Yes!

More people then ever before are discovering that you really can save money by having online shopping for sports apparel. The smarter retailers are responding with improved user-friendly sites, more direct promotional events and just some good old-fashioned customer service.

Consumers seem to be returning to a more, back to the basics, concept in shopping – here is the product, here is what it costs you, and here are the advantages of shopping for k swiss tennis shoes or babolat racquets with us.

Retailers do not always offer the same deals in their brick and mortar stores as they do at their online stores. The reason for this is the costs of running an establishment is considerably greater than an online store. Factors such as rent, electricity, payroll, fixtures, shrinkage loss, all contribute to the gross margin and overhead of doing business in a shopping center.

Retailers have discovered that they can meet the needs of their customers with less operational expenses, by having an online location and not a physical store. Good online retailers then pass that savings onto their customers by cutting the cost of the products.

Online merchant communication with shoppers is streamlined with automatic responses to questions and follow-up, often times with more professional and corporately trained employees than what is found in brick and mortar operations.

Customer services are clearly stated on reputable sites to lessen any consumer confusion. Well-trained ‘live’ sales representatives are made available to those who have questions without waiting in long lines or searching the aisles with that feeling of ‘does anyone work here’?

Price comparison sites enable the consumer to shop smarter, through utilizing services that compare several retailers pricing of a specific product. The consumer not only gets competitive pricing information, but also product reviews and site reviews in order to help with their decision of what and where to buy online.

Many sites wave sales tax charges or shipping costs in order to entice the consumer to make an online purchase. In addition, reputable sites offer toll-free numbers to the consumer who would rather not post their personal information and credit card numbers online.

We all make money mistakes. Some of us enjoy gambling while others might like a little too much retail therapy. Sometimes, these habits can get out of control – that’s when debt rears its ugly head.Here are some tips on digging yourself out of a debt hole:1. Admitting the Problem. A lot of people chalk up debt because they place great value on external possessions, like owning the latest cell phone model or the flashiest cars. Or perhaps they have an addition that needs addressing.

Once you have recognized what it is, it becomes easier to reverse your mindset from spending to saving.

2. Ask for Help. Whether you’re $500 or $5,000 in debt, you can go to the Credit Counseling and Debt Management Agency to learn how to better manage your money and equip yourself with the necessary skills to manage your finances.

Financial education will help put you in a better position to take responsibility for your financial well-being. The requisite knowledge and skills will help empower and help you take greater responsibility and control of your finances for the long-and short-term.

3. Live Below Your Means. If you find yourself in debt and want to dig yourself out of debt hole with help from your loved ones, you can – but it requires discipline and commitment.

Most people live within their means, but someone in debt should live below his means. If you can live on $1,500, for example, you can put aside that extra $100 from your pay rise.

Use annual increments and bonuses to pay off loans, or better yet, place some of them in your savings.

4. Automatic Deductions are your friend. If you don’t have your money automatically deducted from your pay cheque into your savings account.

In time, you will get used to doing without this amount. This will come in handy when you draw up a monthly repayment plan to clear your debt.

For instance, if you take home $3,000, put $300 aside in a separate account and lock it in there. To curb the temptation of making withdrawals, avoid having an ATM card for this account.

As a consumer, you love to see lower interest rates when borrowing money. Whether it is the rate on your credit card, mortgage, auto loan, or any other type of loan, you generally enjoy these lower rates. While lower rates can certainly be a blessing for your debt, not everything is rosy.

As mentioned above, a trend of decreasing rates is likely in response to a weakening economy. This means that other investments such as stocks or real estate have probably not been faring very well in recent months or years.

In addition, lower interest rates also affect things like your savings account. So while you may be paying less to borrow money, you’re also being paid less to lend or deposit money.

When interest rates begin to decline, one of the first places to take advantage is with your high-interest credit cards.

Keep in mind that when the Fed cuts the rate, it can take quite a few months or even years to trickle down to all aspects of your finances. But by planning ahead for this trend, you can position yourself to save money on your credit card payments. Read more »