Buy Your Spouse the Perfect Gift They Will Not Expect

For many men, like me, finding the perfect gift for my wife is hard.  But, it doesn’t have to be.  There are two surefire ways to surprise your significant other with the perfect gift that he or she really wants.

Go shopping with your spouse and watch.  A friend of mind recently went with his wife to the mall, and he watched her as she browsed for jewelry, clothes, and other items.  He took mental notes about every item that his wife picked up, looked over carefully, and then put back down.  He paid special attention to the items that his wife made small comments about.  Days later, he went back to the mall and bought some of the items that his wife was eyeing in order to have great gifts for her throughout the year.  Doing this ensures that you do not buy her a gift that she will just return several days later. 

Save old gift ideas for a rainy day.  Personally, I like for my wife to give me a list of several potential gifts especially around her birthday and Christmas.  The more ideas she gives me the better.  Then, I usually only buy her a few things off of her list, but I continue to hold the list of the remaining items throughout the year.  My wife eventually forgets about the things that she’s mentioned to me as gift ideas after a few weeks.  So, when I present the long forgotten trinket to her months later for no apparent reason, I’m a superhero husband.

Knowing your spouse, paying attention to what he or she likes, etc. makes gift shopping easier.  Having your loved one give you gift ideas throughout the year and constantly watching are great ways to always have the perfect gift ready to give when your spouse least expects it.  So next time you are at the mall with your spouse, do not head to the couch in the middle of the department store.  Follow your loved one around for brownie points and secretly for gift ideas months in advance.

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What Is the Difference Between Pre-Qualification and Pre-Approval for Mortgages?

Pre-qualification is an informal way to see how much you maybe able to borrow. You can be ‘pre-qualified’ over the phone with no paperwork by telling a lender your income, your long-term debts, and how large a down payment you can afford. A pre-qualification does not commit the bank to any obligation, but it helps you arrive at a ballpark figure of the amount you may have available to spend on a house.

Pre-approval is a lender’s actual commitment to lend to you. It involves assembling the financial records such as pay stubs, W-2 IRS forms, bank statements, documentation for long term debts such as car loans, tax returns, and proof of any other income sources you list.  A pre-approval begins the formal mortgage approval process. Pre-approval gives you a definite idea of what you can afford and shows sellers that you are serious about buying.

Pre-approval letters from lenders are the best way to go.  It will give you a definite advantage on negotiating buying a home and make the process a little faster.  You will not have to wait as long for the bank to approve the home of your dreams and possibly letting it slip away to another bidder.

A great resource to answer all of your home buying questions is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 100 Questions and Answers About Buying a New Home.

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Monthly Round Up – The Most Interesting Postings From My RSS Reader

Here are some of my favorite and the most interesting articles from my RSS reader that I thought you might enjoy:

• A Brief Introduction to Asset Allocation – A very important topic that I have not covered very much yet.  Well worth your time reading this one!
• Investing in a Bear Market – Get Rich Slowly is one of the best personal finance blogs out there, and this post gives you some great tips and encouragement to help you through the market’s rocky road.
• Leave Your Money in the Bank. It’s Safe. – Great advice that people need to hear to calm their nerves in this bumpy economic climate.
• Photo/Video All of Your Personal Property – With as often as members of the military move around the country and the world, this piece of advice is imperative!
• Online Calculator Calculates How Much It Costs To Drive – A fun look at several websites that will tell you how much it will cost you to drive across the country to your new duty assignment.  Now we will know exactly how little our travel allowances are really covering us.
• How Your Credit Score Affects Interest Rates – A very sobering look at how intertwined your credit score is with the rest of your financial life.

What the heck is RSS you may be asking?  Great question.  I have no idea…it’s like magic.  But, other people know.  Here is a great post explaining it.

Are You a Good Tipper? How Much Should You Tip?

My wife brings out the best in me.  She challenges me and the way that I think.  She opens me up to a whole new way of looking at the world.  I guess that is one of the reasons to marry the woman, right? 

I used to be a horrible tipper.  I have never worked in the service industry, not even as a summer job during high school, and it shows.  I have never waited on tables in a restaurant, and I have no real idea what waiters and waitresses go through on a day to day basis.  My wife changed all of that.

Good service barely warranted a 15% tip from me when I went to a restaurant during high school and college.  My standard tip was 10% for normal service and 15% for great or outstanding service.  I was definitely a cheapskate.  A group of friends and I were chased out of a restaurant in Mexico one time for leaving only 10%. 

My wife, on the other hand, is one of the most caring, king, and generous people I have ever met.  When we were first married, I used to joke that a waiter could spit in her food and he would still get a 15% tip form her.  Of course, that was an exaggeration.  But, my wife was not voted friendliest girl by her high school for nothing.  After years of dating and countless debates on the subject which she always won (my political science major wife always creams her business major husband in debates), my position on tipping slowly changed.  No, I usually give 15% for okay to good service and 20% for great service.  I also go out of my way to praise a great waiter to the manager.  More restaurant managers need to get back to visiting tables at the end of the meals like they used to. 

My wife made me finally realize that servers are hard working people who make very little by way of hourly wage from the restaurant and depend on tips for a majority of their income.

What about you?  How much do you tip for good service?  Is 15% the standard now or has it changed and risen like inflation?  Is 20% the new 15?

I cannot let this subject go without getting a plug in for my mother (she hates when I do this by the way).  But, when I was a little boy, my mom used to always make me figure out the tip to leave the waiter.  She almost always gave a flat 15% tip no matter what the service was like.  We have all known people who carry tip cards in their wallets or purses, but my mom was a high school math teacher.  So, no tip cards for me.  I had to figure it out in my head or on a napkin.

So, just remember….move the decimal one place to the left giving you 10%, divide that by two, and then add the numbers together.  So, for example, a $75 meal, 10% is $7.50, half of $7.50 is $3.75, and then add them together $7.50 + $3.75 = $11.25 a perfect 15% tip.  Thanks, mom.  Another reason to give 20%….easier math!

The blog, Student Scrooge, recently approached this subject from the waitress’ point of view.

A Cornell University professor, Michael Lynn, published a paper in 2004 called “Mega Tips – Scientifically Tested Techniques to Improve Your Tips” which talks about the psychological factors that go into selling food to us in a restaurant.  It is a fascinating read on how customers respond to their waiters or waitresses.  Some of the strategies that the research found effective for the waiter included:

1. Wearing something unusual
2. Introducing yourself by name
3. Squatting next to the table
4. Repeating customers’ orders
5. Smiling at customers
6. Writing “thank you” on the check
7. Calling customers by name

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A Look Back At Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine’s Top 25 Mutual Funds

Below is an update on how Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine’s list of how the top twenty-five mutual funds have faired through the current economic downturn. It hasn’t been pretty. The portfolio of 25 mutual funds are down an average of 17% for the past year, and only three of the funds are in positive territory. All of the data is through September 30th, 2008.

US Stock Funds
FUND NAME	SYMBOL	1-YR	3-YR	5-YR
		RETURN	RETURN	RETURN
Baron Small Cap	BSCFX	-21.44%	0.53%	6.88%
Bridgeway Aggr Investors 2	BRAIX	-30.02	-1.88	7.12
CGM Focus	CGMFX	-7.41	16.87	23.76
Dodge & Cox Stock	DODGX	-29.59	-3.3	5.43
Fairholme Fund	FAIRX	-8.76	7.98	14.18
FBR Focus	FBRVX	-22.43	1.95	8.61
Kinetics Paradigm	WWNPX	-34.23	0.13	10.75
Legg Mason Opportunity	LMOPX	-47.76	-12.84	-2.5
Longleaf Partners	LLPFX	-30.78	-2.59	2.7
Marsico 21st Century	MXXIX	-25.77	3.89	9.14
Pimco CommodityRealRet Strat D	PCRDX	-4.18	-0.04	10.24
Selected American Shares S	SLASX	-21.4	0.19	6.39
T. Rowe Price Equity Income	PRFDX	-20.08	1.06	6.58
T. Rowe Price Growth Stock	PRGFX	-25.72	-0.3	4.54
Vanguard Primecap Core	VPCCX	-16.52	2.96	-
Vanguard Selected Value	VASVX	-22.96	-1.12	7.89
International Stock Funds
FUND NAME	SYMBOL	1-YR	3-YR	5-YR
		RETURN	RETURN	RETURN
Dodge & Cox Intl Stock	DODFX	-28.37%	2.55%	13.18%
Julius Baer Intl Equity II A	JETAX	-27.31	3.22	-
Marsico Global	MGLBX	-20.96	-	-
T. Rowe Price Emg Mkts Stock	PRMSX	-36.47	6.47	18.71
Bond Funds
FUND NAME	SYMBOL	1-YR	3-YR	5-YR
		RETURN	RETURN	RETURN
Dodge & Cox Income	DODIX	-2.26%	2.26%	2.58%
Fidelity Intermed Municipal Inc	FLTMX	1.29	2.78	2.98
Harbor Bond Institutional	HABDX	2.17	3.66	3.84
Loomis Sayles Bond	LSBRX	-13.44	1.16	4.86
Vanguard Infl-Protected Secs	VIPSX	6.16	4.24	5.01
Data through September 30, 2008

If you enjoyed this posting, you might also like these:
1. An Army Second Lieutenant (2LT) Will Earn Over $100,000 in 2032
2. How to Pick a Good Individual Stock to Buy? – Part 1
3. Lump Sum or Dollar Cost Averaging?

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A Look Back at Military Money Might for October 2008

Here are some of the blog’s most popular articles for the past month.  Please feel free to share these with your friends and family.  Thanks…

Notable articles from the blog:

1. Tips on Picking a Financial Planner – It Is Your Money and No One Cares More About It Than You  - Tips you should consider when hiring a financial planner.
2. Every Soldier and Civilian Needs to Have Renters’ Insurance  - A sad story about a Soldier who did not have renter’s insurance and then needed it desperately.
3. What Should You Do with Certificates of Deposit That Are Maturing? CD Ladder.  - Here are some ideas on what to do when your CDs are maturing.
4. Using a Stock Screener to Find the Perfect Individual Stock to Buy – How to find that great stock that is eluding you.
5. Using a Personal Escrow Account Instead of Buying an Automobile Extended Warranty – My wife and I are not going to buy an extended warranty for our car and here is why.
6. Is It Worth It to Pay Points on Your Mortgage – A cost benefit look at different interest rates on home mortgages.
7. Investing 101: Risk Versus Reward and Risk Tolerance – A beginner’s look at how much risk you should take when investing.

I hope that you have enjoyed the blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it and that you will continue reading.  Thanks again….

Hank