Thanksgiving was made an official holiday by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as “A Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer.”

Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled “General Thanksgiving,” the decree appointed the day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

While there were Thanksgiving observances in America both before and after Washington’s proclamation, this represents the first to be so designated by the new national government.

Here is what George Washington had to say:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

George Washington, President

This economy has been tough on everyone –with seniors on fixed incomes especially hard hit. I spent a few hours doing research for an article today and thought I would share some of what I found with my readers.

So here are some of the best sites I found with tips to budget, save money, reduce expensesmake extra money or  raise some fast cash.

Budgeting

Personal Budgeting is a great site that walks you through the right way to set up a budget. Another great site is Always Frugal. It has tips on on frugal living, suggestions on how to save money on groceries, a budget worksheet and more. Ten tips for staying on a budget from How Stuff Works is also very helpful.

Dave Ramsey has a very different view of budgeting that you may want to look at.

Saving Money  & reducing expenses

The Simple Dollar is a great site with 101 money-saving tips.

DoughRoller has 75 Painless ways to save money

ZenHabits offers up 106 Money-Saving Tips for a Frugal Lifestyle

Frugal Dad gives you over 100 money-saving, expense reducing tips from his readers.

Making Extra Money

The MSN Money Blog offers up 52 ways to make extra cash quickly.

Us News Personal  Finance Blog offers 7 ideas to make extra money in your spare time.

The Wisdom Journal covers 26 ways to make extra money while keeping your job.

I am not a gold bug, but I have always owned some gold (and silver) in my investment portfolio. A few years ago I upped my percentage to 20% where it is now. Given the events of the past two years that has been a blessing. In that period of time gold has risen from around $600 when I increased my investment percentage to over $1000 per ounce today.

Investment risk

There are two risks to any investment: It can go down as well as up as we have seen stocks and real estate do over the past year or so. The other risk people seldom pay attention to is inflation. Right now we have slight deflation. But if the government continues to print money and run larger and larger deficits, there will come a time when investors around the world who hold dollar denominated investments such as treasury bonds and stock in American companies will start dumping them. Since most of our consumer goods are now imported, the falling dollar means that the price of those goods in dollars will rise. The first commodity to do that will be oil. Since the world wide price of oil is set in dollars, a weaker dollar will mean higher priced oil in dollars.

Gold and Inflation

The price of gold is inversely proportional to the value of the dollar. As the dollar falls the price of gold goes up. This makes gold –and to the same extent silver, a hedge against inflation.

During the early 1980s as the dollar fell in value, the price of gold shot up from $300 to over $1000. As the fed tightened up the money supply and increased interests rates, gold fell back to the $300 range where it stayed for years. But in 2007, the dollar began its slide and gold started up again –hitting a new high last week of $1070.

The Gold Bugs claim that gold could reach $5000. I think that is as far fetched as the Gold Bugs themselves, but serious analysts and investors do believe that gold will certainly hit $1300 in the near term and as high as $1500-$1800 over the next year or so. I tend to agree with them.

How to buy and own gold

There are two easy ways to own gold. You can buy physical gold from several firms such as Blanchard and Goldline –both very old respected large companies. The other way is to buy stocks in gold companies or an exchange traded fund (symbol GLD) that tracks the price of gold on a daily basis.  These last two can be owned in a IRA, Roth IRA or a 401K fund.

Is Gold a safe investment for seniors living on a fixed income?

It can be if you  do it correctly. A little physical gold or silver can be great to have around but I wouldn’t place a large percentage of my savings in that as the price could crash before you can sell it. Trading a fund like GLD or owning stocks in gold mining companies, such as Barrick Gold, is probably better because you can control your risk with Stop Loss Orders and you can trade them instantly.

But like any investment, you don’t want too many off your eggs in one basket. If I were 20 years younger, I might have a higher percentage of my money in gold, silver and other resource stocks, but at my age I think 20% is right for me –but I still have earning power. If I were completely retired and needing to live on my social security and investments, then 10% or even 5% might be safer –but I definitely would have some as a hedge against the inflation that is certainly coming.

Another way to hedge against inflation is with resource stocks such as oil, mining and chemical companies as the price of those goods are highly sensitive to inflation and the value of the dollar and would increase as well if the dollar continues sliding.

When to sell your gold

The best time to sell any commodity is when everyone else is buying.  My youngest son was investing in real estate. He started in 2003. During early 2007 (when the real estate boom was about to bust but we didn’t know it) I was watching a TV show –I think it was Dateline or 20/20. They were doing a story about ordinary people getting rich in real estate in Florida. They were interviewing a manicurist who owned 4 pieces of property and was about to buy a million dollar condo that wasn’t even built yet. I tuned to my son who was visiting at the time and told him it was time to sell his real estate. He asked me why and I said because the best time to sell anything is when everyone is buying. that is always the sign of an impending bubble bursting.  Right now a lot of investors that understand what is happening in our economy and with the dollar are buying gold –but when every one of your friends and neighbors and people you know are unsophisticated about investing start buying gold –that will be the signal to sell and take your profits.

Low cost lake, river and bayside communities

US News and World Report has just issued their waterfront retirement report.

“Few retirees would complain about spending each evening watching the sunset sparkle off the water, if it weren’t for the B-word. Budget. Most condos with an ocean view will gobble up even more of your nest egg than the stock market did last year. However, if you’re willing to spend your golden years by a lake, river, or bay, a retirement filled with beach bumming and sandcastle building is still attainable. Read the rest of the story…..

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The Official Geezer Guide to Selling Online helps seniors find legitimate ways to make money online.