Healthy Financial Habits

So Christmas day is almost here and you are struggling to come up with that extra cash that you need to get you through Christmas? Maybe you need some extra cash to pay the rent this month or perhaps you are trying to put that big screen television under the tree for your Husband or Boyfriend. The solution to your money needs may be closer than you think.

With the extremely high gold prices this year you may want to consider selling your scrap gold jewelry. Scrap gold jewelry can bring you hundreds of dollars and is easy to sell. It requires very little effort to sell scrap gold because it is as simple as gathering all of your jewelry that is broken or not used and selling it to one of the many gold buyers out there.

Hear is a quick crash course on how to sell your scrap gold jewelry for cash. You can read a more detailed article at Healthy Financial Habits guide to selling gold.

First, gather all of the scrap gold jewelry that you can. You may want to ask your parents or relatives if they have any old gold jewelry lying around that they no longer want.  Offer them an incentive such as a portion of the amount that you receive for the gold.

Next, sort your scrap gold by the number of karats it contains. Karats are a measure of gold purity and are a significant factor in calculating what your gold is worth.  Karats start at 24 (pure gold) and go down from there. The further away from 24k your gold is, the more filler metals it contains and the less it is worth.

Now that you have gathered all of your gold, weigh all of your gold in grams and write down your total weight for each karat category.  After you determine the weight and purity of your gold check the internet for the current gold price. Todays gold is valued just below $1,100 an ounce.

With the weight, purity, and current gold price you are ready to calculate how much you should receive by selling your gold. Healthy Financial Habits has developed a formula for calculating scrap gold price:

Scrap gold value = ((Karats/24) * weight in grams) (Current price per gram) (.80)

Just plug in your variables and you will get the price that you should expect from a gold buyer.

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Author: Greg Jackson

The countdown is on with only two shopping days left until Christmas. You are probably just now searching for that perfect gift that will bring a smile to your loved ones face. Christmas gifts are not always easy to find when it seems as if your man or woman has everything they need. With only 2 days left we came up with a few ideas that may jumpstart you into finishing your holiday shopping. Since this is Healthy Financial Habits we made sure to keep pricing in mind.

GIFT IDEAS FOR HIM

1.   Magazine subscription. Get him a year subscription to Maxim Magazine so that he can read about what to get you for Valentines Day

2.   Mail delivered food. Enough said? Men love to eat and what better gift to give them than food. Order a frozen food gift package from Omaha Steaks.

3.   Gym membership. Does he frequently talk about getting into shape? Get him a gym membership for the New Year. You may want to start by purchasing several trial memberships so that he can select the gym that he likes best.

4.   Beer variety pack. Beer makes a great gift especially when it comes in a variety gift pack. Go to your local wine store and pick out a six pack of unique beers.

5.   Duct tape wallet. Yeah, that’s right. Be creative and make him a duct tape wallet. This is not only practical and cheap but it is also an excellent conversation piece.

GIFT IDEAS FOR HER

1.   Edible arrangements. Get your significant other an arrangement from Edible arrangements. Fruit is arranged and delivered to your door. After she finishes admiring your gift you can stuff your face with an array of fruit.

2.   Free babysitter for one night. Offer to take care of the kids for a night in order to allow her to get away from the hustle of every day life. You can be creative by bundling this offer with a $100 prepaid Visa or Mastercard

3.   Massage certificate. You can’t go wrong with this one. Get her an hour long massage at the spa. Couple this with a gift card from a smoothie place.

4.   Wine. Wine makes a great gift for the both of you. Create a music mix with some Marvin, Barry, maybe a little Kelly. Give a gift to receive!

5.   Tickets to a play. She will eat this one up. Take her out for dinner followed by a play.

Good luck finding just what you need this holiday season. Healthy Financial habits will keep you updated with fresh gift ideas for Christmas.  Don’t forget that the internet is a great place to find those last minute gifts. Many online retailers are offering free overnight shipping.

Author: John Zinsky

Are you looking for the perfect last minute gift for your son, daughter, mother, father or even grandma or grandpa? Well, chances are that someone in your family could benefit from a prepaid cell phone with no contract.

Prepaid cell phones are a unique gift that can used in both emergency situations and for leisure. Have you ever thought about what your loved ones would do if they encountered an emergency situation and had no way to call for help. Thankfully, prepaid cell phones such as the one from Straight Talk wireless can put your mind at ease.

Straight Talk is a prepaid cellular phone from TracFone that offers the best of both worlds – affordability and convenience. With the Straight Talk phone you are not required to make a commitment by signing a contract. The process is fairly straight forward and simple. First, you must choose which phone you would like.  You are able to choose from a variety of phones from basic to elegant. Phone prices range anywhere from $59.99 on up to $373.99.  Free 2-3 day ground shipping is available until December 31st whenever you choose a phone and airtime card over $29.99

What makes the Straight Talk phone so great is the straight forward deals that they offer on their service plans. Straight talk doesn’t try to confuse you with ten different plans that are overpriced and all have disadvantages. They have two basic, simple, and easy to understand plans.

The first plan is the “unlimited” plan. For only $45 (plus taxes and fees) per month you can enjoy unlimited minutes, unlimited messages, and  Unlimited data anytime for 30 days. In addition, all 411 calls are free!

If the person that you plan on giving a phone to is not much of a talker you can choose the “All you need” plan. The all you need plan comes with 1000 Minutes, 1000 text or picture messages, 30MB of data, and also comes with free 411 calls. This service will set you back $30 every 30 days (plus taxes and fees). Thats exactlty $1 a day for phone service.

Paying your monthy service charge is easier than ever with several payment options. The first payment option is to have your debit or credit card drafted every 30 days. All you have to do is register your debit or credit card and never worry again about reloading your prepaid cell phone.

Another option is refill on demand. There are four ways to refill your service when you need it; by phone, Straight Talk official website, by calling 1-877-430- CELL (2355) or by visiting participating retailers such as Walmart who sell service cards.

So lets recap the Straight talk phone:

- No contracts, no commitments
- Great prices on phones with free until December 31st
- Two great plans to choose from one includes unlimited everything
- Nationwide coverage
- Many Convenient ways to pay for your service

It really does not get much better than this!

If you have a prepaid phone service that you are satisfied with Healthy Financial Habits would like to hear from you. Email us at Healthyfinancialhabits@gmail.com or leave a comment and tell us what features you like most about your phone.

Author: Carla Kessler

This year’s hot gift items is the Zhu Zhu pet. Retailers from all over are scrambling to keep these robotic hamsters on the shelf.  So the questions still remains: Where can I find a Zuh Zuh pet in stock. Where else but good old Wal-Mart.

Walmart is running a 3 days sale on Zhu Zhu pets that started on Monday. Each store will receive between 20 and 60 of Zhu Zhu pets. They are limiting each customer to one Zuh Zuh pet. Since the sale does start at 7am you will want to get in line early this morning. They are giving these away at $8.00 each and are offering no rain checks.

Check back with Healthy Financial Habits this holiday season for more great gift ideas. Here you will find a variety of ways to save money on everything from gifts to groceries. If financing is a problem then we offer financing solutions. If you have a question or specific topic that you would like to read about contact the staff: Healthyfinancialhabits@gmail.com

Author: Greg Jackson