Those are very good points. Plus you have tax advantages with U.S. Savings Bonds. Obviously on a $50 bond it's all pretty academic, but as KitchenGodsWife said, they are not a bad investment at all compared to what else is out there. Instead of cashing your lonely $50 bond in, consider buying more. You can also get the Series I bonds that are indexed to the rate of inflation as well as having a minimum guaranteed rate of return. You can have money automatically deducted from your savings or checking account at intervals you choose, and bonds will be sent to you. I know a family who buys cars this way: Instead of making payments, they have $200 or so taken out of their checking account each month to buy bonds. Then when they need a new car, they cash in the bonds and pays cash for it. So they're earning interest on car payments rather than paying interest. Of course, they could invest the money in some other way, too. But I have found that at least for me, the advantage of bonds is that you see them and hold them in your hand, and you resist cashing them in until you really need to.

You have to have the recipient's SS # now, as I recall. I did the same thing--cashed in DD's bonds and put them in an account that had a better interest rate. However, if you're giving the bond to a child, who has a mother who is likely to spend the money if it's too readily available (I know some mom's like that), then there may be some benefit to giving a bond. Might make them think twice before cashing it in.

It's great for you to start saving for her--but I have to present a family situation for you to consider. One Grandma, 2 families of grandchildren. Every year Grandma gave each child a $100 bond on their birthday. This wasn't easy for her--she saved $1 per week, for each grandchild so she could do this for them. One family put the bonds aside, and when the interest rates warranted it, cashed in the bonds and put them in a higher-paying savings account. That grandchild paid for about half of one year of college tuition with those bonds. The other family? The mom allowed the kids to cash the bonds early, and to fritter the money away. Also, the mom of the second family used to take her children's monetary gifts and spend them as SHE wanted to for the kids. The first mom put every penny her daughter was given as a gift into a savings account when the child was too young to spend money--and when the child got older, she still had to put a portion of her birthday and Christmas money into the bank. Some people believe that money given to children is for them to spend, some feel it's to save for their education. And sometimes, one parent can feel one way, one the other--so you're never quite sure the money will be used as you intended it to be. And I've known a few parents who even took their children's money to spend on themselves, justifying it by saying they were putting it toward bills for the house where the children live. Sometimes money does strange, unexpected things to people we know and love, and thought we could trust. Obviously, my point is that if your plan is to put this money aside for the children's future, you need to retain some sort of control over it. Even if the parents are responsible, it's possible the kids would cash their bonds in in their teens to buy a junk car, or to pay for a spring break in Cancun. I'd probably choose to put the money into a custodial savings account in the child's name, with myself as the trustee.

On #s 15 & 16, I think it's important to point out that often the alternative to refi and the like is simply pay down the principle! Especially if you're early in the mortgage, every nickel you pay toward the principle means the balance of the loan's interest on that nickel goes into your pocket. Ol' Joyful, I'll need some of your expertise here, but could you figure a rough calculation of an average type house loan, average refi costs applied to the current loan and how that would compare in the end? I think it'd be interesting. Also, said before, but often people think they "need" a new car and don't consider if they put some money into the old one, it'd save in the long run. Remember, new cars have higher insurance and license costs so there's more than the initial price to consider. I would take a bit of issue too with the convenience store avoidance. You could actually save money if wise. Often, convenience stores sell eggs, milk, bread etc at very low prices, often far less than the markets. Plus it's not a special trip, saves time plus there can be (tho not guaranteed - it's up to you) fewer impulse buys. The longer you're in the grocery store, stats say you'll spend more. Again, it's how savvy you are, but be careful. #18 (Shudder) Buyer's Brokers are seldom a good thing. Let's face facts, no real estate agent/realtor or the like works FOR the buyer! Who pays them? The seller. How do they get paid more? By "benefitting" the seller. There's no way the buyer benefits from realtors. The fewer the better in most cases. Why? Because you can often negotiate the realtor fees. If you have one realtor taking the entire commission, it's far easier to negotiate them down than to negotiate with multiple agents and try to negotiate down when they're getting 1/4 or less of the commission. Beware of this statement and check into these claims. You're far better off to have a good real estate attorney on your side. S/He'll be working for YOUR benefit. Mine found problems in the paperwork and embarrassed the daylights out of the stack of realtors, closers and the like at my closing! It was hilarious! Now as for the inspector, yes, that can be worthwhile, but don't use one recommended by the realtor (kickbacks) and make sure you know what they're inspecting, their qualifications and the like. A good alternative can be a trusted friend with qualifications. Hire like any professional. Realize, though, that the inspectors DO NOT GUARANTEE the house! So if they overlook something, it's not their fault or responsibility and they won't be doing anything for you so know what you're getting. A title examination, especially of abstract properties, can be very important especially if you don't know how to read an abstract. Torrens is less problematic. Buying a home brings up a pandora's box of potential problems and far too many to go into here, but there's some things to be careful of. #21 Consumer Reports is a pet peeve of mine. They're often very biased in their reporting. Plus, keep in mind that they do not "test" ALL models and versions, even of similar products! Do you realize that the washer you buy at Home Depot is different than the one you buy at Best Buy and they're both different than the one you buy from a mom-n-pop dealer? That can have significant differences in the specs and needs. One can have cycles and features the other doesn't. Don't get caught up in the CR myth. Read their magazine with a shaker full of salt and do far more research than CR. You'll be doing yourself a favor. That's enough for now. There's more opinions coming, I'm sure! :) Happy saving all! Enjoy the frugal season!