My Gasoline Budget Is Always In The Red

gasoline.  The price of gasoline just keeps going up so I know why that is, but I was surprised by the groceries.  it always seemed like I was coming in very close to budget every week so how could I have spent $124 more this month than I budgeted?  When digging into the numbers, I figured it out - I did go spend $30 on a huge chicken sale, [more...]

Date: 2008-06-28 13:53:55

Blog posts (137) | Videos (37)
 

Life Skills 102: Advanced Adulthood (Write This Down)

Last week, we kicked off the new school year with a Life Skills-centric article cleverly titled “Life Skills 101: A Curriculum for Food, Finance, and Other Real World Basics.” Essentially, the post was a mini-unit plan, focusing on everyday stuff we need to know as adults, but aren’t necessarily taught growing up [more...]

Date: 2008-09-03 17:27:00

Shop For Groceries Online, Not Paying Off Credit Cards @ The Carnivals

free credit scores by telling us all about Credit Karma! Money Smart Life: Henry confesses to being a credit card expert with a secret. Gen X Finance reminds us that market conditions shouldn’t derail our investment strategies. With the current damage the market has done to our portfolios, can we really avoid being fair-weather investors? [more...]

Date: 2008-07-16 23:00:00

Emotional, financial and legal advice on surviving redundancy

Keep calm Remember you're not alone Redundancy can be a devastating, sometimes brutal, experience but it's not your fault. "You aren't responsible for the vagaries of the western economic cycle. You didn't start the credit crunch in your own backyard," says Phillip Hodson, a fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 14:45:20

Preparing For Disability Coverage Care

Preparing For Disability Coverage Care Posted on January 12th, 2009 by jamiecollins Although we do not like to plan for accident or injury, ... find that they can reduce their monthly premiums by delaying when the first payment would be made ... extended periods and is called total disability cover, this allows a reduced payment to be made after [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 21:21:08

Why You Should Not Refinance Just to Lower Your Payment

I keep talking with people who don't understand that a higher interest rate on a refinance can result in a lower payment even though the cost of ... (or a House) Based Upon Payment. There are all kinds of games lenders and loan officers can play ... loan five years ago for $300,000 at 6% on a thirty year fixed rate basis. Your payment [more...]

Date: 2008-10-18 14:47:33

Refinancing When The Rates Are Higher

All too often, these days, I have to tell desperate people who've found me on the internet some bad news ... . You say what you need, and then they offer you a loan that makes them the most commission. I had a few people try to talk me into a Neg AM/option ARM loan. I did some math... Total waste of money [more...]

Date: 2008-08-23 16:33:53

Taking Advantage of Low Rates

Continued unrest in the Middle East, unemployment rates at the highest level in recent memory, ... score and a favorable loan-to-value ratio on my house, which will allow me to get the lowest rates ... that don't take advantage are squandering a golden opportunity. My monthly mortgage payment is going [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 20:56:00

After 2 Weeks of Large Increase Mortgage Rates Fall Again

Author : Ki Gray So for the previous two weeks we saw sizable gains in mortgage rates Between May 28th and June 11th 30 year mortgage rates jumped from 4 91 to 5 59 This week we saw rates drop down to 5 38 Although we are still above what we were at two weeks ago it's nice to see mortgage rates moving back down The other major mortgage products all went down as well The 15 year dropped from 5 06 to 4 89 The 5 and 1 year arms dropped from 5 17 to 4 97 (5 year arm) and 5 04 to 4 95 (1 [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 00:25:03

Is Expired Domain Registration A Good Investment Anymore?

Is Expired Domain Registration Still Profitable? After the dot com crash expired domain names have been a source of potential income. It is important to inexpensively obtain the automated tools required to track the thousands of domain name registration and abandoned websites that are removed from the domain registry and become available for [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 06:52:23

Free Debt Snowball Spreadsheet

Vertex42, a site devoted to Microsoft Excel templates, spreadsheets, and calendars, has posted a free debt snowball calculator ... into the worksheet. This file contains two worksheets: A debt reduction calculator, which allows you to list your debts, their balances, interest rates, and monthly payments. A payment schedule telling [more...]

Date: 2008-08-26 19:51:18

50 Ways to Save $1,000 a Year

Looking for ways to save money this year? Want to boost your savings in a tough economy with little effort or pain? Good. I’ve got 50 (fifty) ... of loot. Raise Deductibles. Get out your policy and raise the deductibles on your car and home ... your insurance costs by about 40 percent. Buy a Cheaper Car. Pimping in a flashy vehicle? A smaller [more...]

Date: 2008-09-03 03:37:35

Rethinking The Early Mortgage Payoff

By Julie Rains The borrow-at-a-low-interest-rate-and-invest-to-get-greater-returns mentality was so embedded in our ... mortgage payoff question is: if you weren't using your money to pay off the mortgage, what would you be using the money for? Here are some alternative uses of extra cash: Pay off non-mortgage debt [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 15:41:42

The Cost of Zero Percent Financing

If we’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s that we don’t get anything for nothing. If it’s good, it probably won’t stay good ... by applying the rebate to the down payment and taking the bank loan. The actual APR on the zero percent ... of the post, if you’re on my website, you’ll see a handy dandy calculator to use in evaluating the deals [more...]

Date: 2009-01-06 00:23:01

A Fool's Errand: Stabilizing House Prices

Yesterday there was a news article on MSNBC that claimed 1 in 6 now owe more on their mortgage then their property is worth ... for borrowers in financial trouble to refinance or sell their homes and pay off their mortgage if their debt ... to Zillow the median household income in the area is about $46,000 while the median home price [more...]

Date: 2008-10-09 07:36:00

Pay a Prepayment Penalty Now, or Wait to Refinance?

Hi Dan wondering if you could help me out I'm getting a lot of different answers from a lot of people and I'm really searching for help I bought my house brand new (three years ago) for 550,000, and (the next year) I refinanced into a mta loan ... expires in (fifteen months) house just appraised for $775,00 balance on 1st loan 440,000 balance on 2nd [more...]

Date: 2008-12-25 16:11:28

Reflecting On Goals For 2008 and Moving On To 2009

Last year, all the goals I set were based on debt elimination and how much per month we could pay to debt ... s student loan under $5500 (snowball calculator says $5847) I more than met both these goals ... in October, and then paid off our remaining car loan in November.  The only non-mortgage debt we have left [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 14:25:07

0% APR, Same As Cash, and No Interest No Payments. Upon closer reading of the final rules adopted by the federal regulators in December, I realized that deferred interest payment plans like “same as cash” or “no interest no payments” are actually banned after July 1, 2010. Good riddance! [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 02:19:07

Is it time to lock in our Home Equity Line rate? I'm Stuck!

average equity loan rate There's not many things i dislike about personal finance, but trying to "time the market" is definitely one of them! ... rate is lower than ANY OF OUR OTHER LOANS. It beats out our 1st mortgage, our car loan ... Similar to my car dilemna, now going on 4 months w/out a decision, it's enough to drive a person [more...]

Date: 2008-06-20 16:18:18

Let Me Tell You About The Loan You Could Have Had

Not interested? Most people aren't when it's talking about how they got taken advantage of in the past ... of this article is about: educating you in how to shop for a loan and what the tricks are, and if you've never had a real estate loan but want one someday, chances are you'll benefit from reading it too [more...]

Date: 2008-12-18 15:00:47

Back to Basics: Reduce your debt

Being in debt simply means that at one point you borrowed money to fund some purchase, and are now paying it back over time. (For the purpose of this post, I’m not going to lump in “profitable” or “good” debt that is used to make money reliably for the borrower through some other vehicle.) The debt can be, for example [more...]

Date: 2008-11-16 07:24:43

Our first Scripps Ranch home - A trip down Market Cycle Memory Lane

Rhonda Porter at Rain City Guide penned this recent post in which she talked about her first house, then and now ... purchase involved the requisite 20% down and a 30-year fixed rate loan. It wasn’t that we were smarter than anyone else; it’s just that those were the programs that were available. The loan [more...]

Date: 2008-10-23 16:04:08

Beyond Mortgage Payments, The True Cost of Home Ownership

When considering how much house you can afford, you’ll need to look beyond mortgage payments for the true cost of home ownership ... condition and to avoid having it end up like this: mortgage payment, home ownership ... expenses. Many hopeful home buyers assume that a sufficient down payment is all they require to qualify [more...]

Date: 2008-08-11 16:19:01

Stop Home Foreclosure Now By Applying These Steps

High foreclosure rates are a sad measure of the condition of our economy ... . Credit Card companies will often reduce your minimum monthly payment. Mortgage lenders can make a loan modification that can make your mortgage terms more affordable. Find a foreclosure specialist [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 09:34:41

Best Guidelines to Home Mortgage Loan: 5 Options To Consider When Purchasing A House

Purchasing a house can be extremely stressful as it involves a lot of different things like looking for the good one, ... home mortgage options to to consider. 1. Fixed rate mortgage loan This mortgage loan ... what happens to the market over time; you will pay the same sum of money every month until your loan [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 15:50:46

Fast Home Equity Loans - Getting Approved Online

div style=’float: right; width: 100px; padding: 5px; margin: 5px; background-color: #FFFFCC;’font size=1font color=’#cc0000′bTip! ... the interest on the outstanding amount./font/divpA home equity loan is a great way to put extra cash ... or taking a long overdue vacation. If you are looking to get a home equity loan, consider applying [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 19:15:47

Naval Base Kitsap | Tax Breaks with Tax Free Money - How is that Legal - BAH!!!

If you are in the United States Military and receive BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) it is. This is a huge financial opportunity that not many Military members take advantage of for fear of the real estate market and the lack of education concerning real estate ownership [more...]

Date: 2009-01-02 03:09:02

The Least Important Bill

Recently, I happened to be leafing through Elizabeth Warren’s worthwhile personal finance book, All Your Worth, ... . Your car payment. Credit card bills. Phone service. Food. Electricity. Internet service. Netflix. Maybe ... s necessities, such as your mortgage, your food, your electric bill, and your car payment. Next, cross [more...]

Date: 2008-09-17 20:00:13

Negotiating Your Way to the Best Remortgage Deal

by Neal Dawes It is undisputable that finding a good remortgage deal for your house is going to be a difficult task to do ... in is currently going towards the principal of the loan. If you don’t have your loan stubs handy, you can check the Internet for a calculator that will figure out the numbers for you. When you see how much [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 19:52:33

On-Line Mortgage Calculator

Are you looking to make more profit from investment property? Learn how you can by using some of the best buy to let mortgage products. Using an on-line buy to let mortgage calculator will help you work out your monthly repayments ... calculator to help you assess the funding situation before you begin. Firstly, you need [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 03:56:34

Refinance Breakeven & 4.5% Fixed Mortgages

The Treasury Department is working on a plan that would lower interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages to 4.50% APY ... calculator (assuming only 1% for closing costs, which matches some quotes online) and the results were good. After eight months, the money saved on my lowered monthly payment would exceed the closing [more...]

Date: 2008-12-15 12:05:07

Nevada Mortgage - How Much Can I Borrow?

This is typically the first question our Las Vegas Mortgage clients ask when applying for a new home loan ... , type of credit borrowed, and recent inquiries. Debt-to-Income Ratio The (DTI) is calculated ... The DTI would be 42%. Most mortgage guidelines require a 45% or lower Debt-to-Income ratio. Loan [more...]

Date: 2008-12-31 21:02:55

Prepping Kids (Part 3)

Essential Money Skill #4: How to manage bills and other paperwork ... a payment on a credit card, being late with a bill payment, or not keeping track of her paperwork ... with him. Create a Student Loan File which includes all student loan information, a projection of how much [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 11:48:49

Major Milestone for Zillow Mortgage Marketplace

Earlier this week, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace reached a major milestone: Since the service launched in April 2008, more than 100, ... borrowers find the right loan and connecting them with lenders.  In a recent survey, 30% of borrowers stated that they have either closed a loan or expect to close a loan soon with a lender [more...]

Date: 2008-12-11 21:50:31

Carnival of Debt Reduction: Tips via Twitter Edition

Welcome to the Carnival of Debt Reduction, a traveling weekly roundup of the best articles in the blogosphere covering credit cards, consumer debt, mortgages, and the elimination thereof. Here is more information about the Carnival of Debt ... to be featured in today’s Carnival of Debt Reduction. What follows is the best of those submissions [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 13:00:59

Credit care debt solution - eliminate debt with personal loan

Talks is always easier than done, every credit care debt solution will suggest to eliminate your biggest debt first or to consolidate all your debt ... . This is where the personal loan come in. There are tone of ways to allocate the funds you receive under the terms of a personal loan. You may use it eliminate credit card debt. A personal loan offers [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 14:15:59

Net Worth: JUNE - I lied, I'm still flying solo this round!

That's right, i'm way too lazy/unmotivated to combine our financial lives as yet ... . I used a new calculator for this one. My brother says he'll only need 2 more months, and then he'll ... . Auto Worth (kbb): Well, well, well - I actually paid MORE off this month than my car lost [more...]

Date: 2008-07-03 15:19:04

Five Tips for Getting Out of Debt

  If the thought of paying off your debts is simultaneously appealing and overwhelming, ... you saved on taxes toward your loan. Use Bankrate.com’s loan calculator to figure out your repayment ... as many payments toward the principal of the loan as you can. If you receive a monetary gift, send [more...]

Date: 2008-09-29 10:00:22

How To Draft A Basic Financial Savings Plan

When it comes to long term financial planning, my wife and I don’t really have one ... to a new house, buying a car, buying a new computer, major vacation, having children, paying ... #2. Calculate Saving Needs Aurora SC180 Calculator Now that you have each expense listed, you’re going [more...]

Date: 2008-09-16 13:55:25

How To Get A Good Consolidation Loan

If you have debt that has become unmanageable, you might need to check into consolidation loans ... you were paying and pay more towards the principle instead. If you have one credit card with a ten ... you. Quicken has a good program for figuring out savings and payments. By consolidating the debt [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 21:34:52

Unbiased Road Map to Why Swapping Mortgage Rates Sometimes Isn’t The Best Way To Saving Outgoings

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each type of mortgage ... not change over the life of the loan. A fixed rate mortgage has the benefit of a predictable payment ... now but predicted to rise in coming years, you should definitely consider this aspect of the fixed rate loan [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 12:36:23

Study More About Mortgage Loan: 3 Tips To Find The Cheapest Rates

There are a lot of things to do when planning to acquire a home but the most important is to find the most interesting home mortgage loan rates available on the market. When asking for a loan, having a high credit score allows ... your home mortgage loan, it should not stop you to research the cheapest one. Nota Bene [more...]

Date: 2009-01-11 17:16:02

California Mortgage Loan Disclosure Statement

California has replaced the one page federal Good Faith Estimate with a two page Mortgage Loan Disclosure Statement ... all of the games loan providers play with the federal Good Faith Estimate intact, as well as adding a couple ... . The first major difference is that there is no explicit loan or rate quoted at the top, and the broker [more...]

Date: 2008-11-05 14:43:51

Loan Shark iPhone app

A big thank you to kottke.org's first RSS feed sponsor, FoggyNoggin Software, makers of the Loan Shark iPhone App (check it out in the iTunes Store). Loan Shark is a tricked out loan calculator for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Here are a few capabilities from the web site: One-tap Extra Payment Making an extra payment on your loan each year [more...]

Date: 2008-10-24 23:00:17

FDIC Insurance Coverage: Limits and Strategies

recent history of bank failures in the United States. Unfortunately, just over a week later, the graphic that I put together is already out of date… Just yesterday, the FDIC announced that two more banks failed: The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank N.A [more...]

Date: 2008-07-24 10:06:53

Free Guide to Mortgage Loan: Mistakes To Avoid That Can Be High-priced As A Homebuyer

Buying a home is stimulating and overwhelming at once ... t prevent them from having a loan is amazing! In order to not be in the situation of “hope and wait” ... , it is almost guaranteed that you will have to apply for a home mortgage. Not getting pre-approved for a loan [more...]

Date: 2009-01-03 07:13:49

Best Guidebook to A Few Tricks To Raise Your Credit Score

Raise Your Credit Score Your beacon report can be your most prize possession or your most annoying hindrance. The fact still stands that you can not live comfortably without having a good credit score. The is no way to avoid the issues of your credit score, one way or another your credit score report will become a topic of discussion [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 14:14:02

5 Expenses You Can’t Afford If You Have Credit Card Debt

You need to cut down your monthly expenses and live frugally if you ever want to get out of debt ... to a low interest credit card or apply for a debt consolidation loan If you still doubt in what I say ... . Let’s assume you have a $20,000 in credit card debt and you current minimum payment is around [more...]

Date: 2009-01-13 20:52:59

Refinancing Mortgage Loan Options - How to Refinance and Keep Your Terms

Refinancing can save you money, but the downside is that you have to restart amortization. Once again you are paying mostly interest at the beginning of your loan. But there are ways ... for even lower rates. You can also pay off your loan sooner, further increasing your interest savings [more...]

Date: 2009-01-16 01:09:49

Questions You Should Ask Prospective Loan Providers

Mortgage - Questions you must ask every provider about every loan when you are shopping ... ?" but a broader question) Is the payment interest only, or principal and interest? (if interest only) how long ... (the balance increasing) if I make the minimum payment? (See my post on the Negative Amortization [more...]

Date: 2008-10-31 13:39:06

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