January 28, 2014 • Page 2 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Dave Says Building A Squirrel Fund BY DAVE RAMSEY Dear Dave, My husband works construction, so we barely scrape by during the winter months. Should we build an emergency fund for the slow times? — Cathy Dear Cathy, I think that’s a great idea. Although, I’d Dave probably call it something other than an emergency fund. How about a squirrel fund? Squirrels need to have nuts saved up for winter, and in your case you’d be setting money aside during the summer to get you through the slow winter months. You may think I’m playing games with the name, but really I’m not. This sort of saving isn’t for emergencies. It’s a budget issue, because you’re planning and setting aside cash leading up to the down time you know is coming. Keep your emergency fund of three to six months of expenses separate from this, and take a careful look at what he made this winter and how much that left you short each month. Remember, we’re not talking about some random amount of money here. It’s an exact amount that you can budget for accordingly. Teachers can do the same thing if they’re not paid 12 months a year. It’s a simple matter of planning ahead for the down time, and setting aside enough during the other nine months to see you through! RAMSEY Call Classi?eds — Dave EMERGENCY FUND IN BONDS? Dear Dave, What do you think about the idea of putting your emergency fund into bonds? — Ryan Dear Ryan, I think that’s a really bad idea, and here’s why. Bond values and prices go down as long-term interest rates rise. Right now, long-term interest rates-a good example would be mortgage rates-are ticking Daybreak. Coffee. The Big Two. There’s something so satisfying about getting out of bed when the world is still dark and quiet and resting. Making the coffee gives us time to scratch and think. Well, scratch, anyway. Most of that thinking will start after about the third cup. But it’s a quiet time. A private time. When the world is dark, and there isn’t yet a hint of pink over the eastern mountains, it’s very good. We can relax. No one is expecting anything from us right now. Our guilt can take some time off, and we can listen to music or work a crossword puzzle or turn on — Dave the TV and watch the weather guy discuss millibars and up. They’ve moved up a quarter of a percent recently. So, as this happens, the value of bonds goes down. If these interest rates spiked, you could lose half your emergency fund. Never, ever put your emergency fund into things where risk and volatility are factors. An emergency fund isn’t an investment. It’s there to help protect things that are investments and your life. Keep it in something safe and simple, like a money market account where there’s no penalty for early withdrawal. We’re not looking to make money with an emergency fund, Ryan. It’s insurance. Just let it sit there, safe and sound, until it’s needed. * Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com. EHRESMANN And then the world will go dark and dormant on us again and we’ll think about what happened in our tiny portion of this huge moving amalgam and hopefully we’ll sleep easily tonight. Then, when we arise tomorrow and head for the coffee pot, we can think about what happened today, and how it has made us slightly different for taking on the next tomorrow. Come to us, daylight. Bring us the new day. But do it gently, please, and slowly enough for one more cup. --------Beethoven never heard his Ninth Symphony, but you can. It begins with a free hearing test. Beltone. 1-866867-8700. www.missourivalleyshopper.com Interested in this spot? 665-5884 troughs. Soon enough, we’ll have to be out there living for others: our bosses, our customers, our animals, our fields. But right now no one needs us except the dog, and she does well on kibbles and an occasional drive-by ear rumple. We can look out the window at the eastern glow and wonder what will happen in the hours until our world turns dark again. People will be born and people will die. People will win honors and people will go to jail. People will create things today that live past them and people will disappear forever. People will write about these things and other people will read about these things. You have the IDEA, we have the SOLUTION: Call 665-5884 to place your ad here. 319 Walnut St., Yankton, SD 605-665-5884 STEEL SPECIALS GUBBELS SALVAGE Please Recycle When Done Reading! • Flat Bars • Solid Bars • Angle Iron •Channel Iron • Round, Square & Retangle Tubing • Many More types of steel to choose from WANTED: • Old Cars • Farm Machinery • Any Type of Scrap Iron • Grain Bin Towing Service & Skid Removal Loader Work. Paying Top Dollar 1-402-640-6335 Will Pick Up Coleridge, NE ENGINEERING For All Your Steel Needs! We Want to be Your Steel Supplier Call us at 605-665-7532 4400 W. 31st St., Yankton, SD 57078 It’ CO LD o u tisd e,bu t th e s sa vin gs fro m a re H O T! $2300* Receive u p to in savin gs w hen you pu rchase a qu alifyin g Len n ox H om e Com fort system betw een n ow an d Feb.20,2014 O R take advan tage of specialfin an cin g. See the professionals at... HEATING & COOLING 920 Broadway Yankton, SD • 665-9461 • 1-800-491-9461 Winter Rendezvous Auction True Unlimited and Unbundled Highspeed Broadband Internet Service to Your Home. Everything that is the OLD WEST 500 Rare & Quality Items Saturday, Feb. 1 • 9 a.m. City Auditorium Osmond, NE Northeast Auctioneers 402-360-0142 Osmond, NE 68765 www.northeastauctioneers.com Multi-Megabit Download Speeds for FAST Internet Sur?ng, Serious Gaming and Unlimited Data for Watching Video on Demand starting at only $59.95 per month plus tax. Yankton, SD Are you tired of 'Bundles' and 'Limits' on your Internet plans? If so, sign up today for Multi-Megabit performance with no hidden fees and no download limits at www.yankton-wireless.com. 209.77 +/- acres Hard to ?nd this many acres in one spot with this much variety for the Outdoorsman. > > > WIRELESS INTERNET Excellent deer, duck, turkey and small game hunting and features established grasslands, timber, thick pockets of brush and water supplied by the Big Sioux River. Located 1 mile East of Richland, SD just NE of Elk Point, SD.