You may be looking for some extra money to fix up the house, go on a vacation or buy a new car, and you want to take some equity from your home to do it. To do this you could either refinance your home and take some of your equity or apply for an equity line of credit instead. The question is which one is right for you? There are some things to consider about both options when determining how you should obtain the money.
Refinance Your Home
-Are you currently paying a high interest rate and would like to reduce it?
-Does your lending company charge closing costs or points to refinance?
-Consider that you will be borrowing this money and be paying interest on the full borrowed amount for the duration of your mortgage
-Is the interest tax deductible? Speak with your tax advisor.
Equity Line of Credit
-You are only charged interest for the money you take out.
-You may repay the minimum amount or additional monies without penalty.
-What are the interest rates? Are they lower then the current mortgage rates?
-Are there any fees associated with opening an equity line of credit with our financial institution?
-Is the interest tax deductible? Speak with your tax advisor.
The increase in the real estate market has provided people the opportunity to borrow money against their residences to generate cash for the things they need. Financial institutions are making it easier for people with equity in their homes to borrow money. If you are looking for extra money and own a home, you may want to consider one of the two options, either refinance your existing mortgage or take an equity line of credit against your home.
About the Author
Ashlee Hovsepian is the publisher of http://www.anything-loans.com where you can find the right mortgage and refinance companies to finance your mortgage online.
You may freely distribute or publish this article provided you publish the whole article and include this copyright notice and links in full.
Written by: Ashlee Hovsepian
Showing posts with label managing money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label managing money. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Managing Your Finance Once You Are Married
It's important to plan for your financial future beforehand so you have idea of what to expect. Once you get married, most newlyweds' open a joint checking/saving accounts
Below is a list of 4 easy steps to take when determining your financial future.
Step 1-Determine your net worth
Net worth is the difference between assets and liabilities. Make a list to figure out your net worth, make a list of all the things that you own and assign approximate values to each one. Then make a list of all your debts. Subtract these two numbers and you will have your net worth.
Step 2- Family accounting
You will need to decide who is going to manage your accounting. Is one partner going to manage the finances or will this be a shared responsibility? Are you going to choose to handle the finances independently, if not you will need to create a system of whose going to pay the bills.
Step 3- Set goals
Statistics are showing that 95% of senior citizens can't afford to retire. Set goals and start saving for your future today. Create short-term goals and long-term goals. Make sure when you set your goals that you are actually striving for them so they should be adjusted to your spending lifestyle
Step 4- Plan for adjusting your finances once married
Many couples get married without having a financial plan in mind. It's very important to discuss your financial situation before tying the knot that way everything is out in the open. If you don't want to deal with thinking of financial strategies get help from a financial planner for any needed advice.
About the Author
Read more marriage and finance articles at http://marriedfinances.com - View our marriage and finance resource directory at http://successfulmarriageresource.com
Written by: Kelly Kennedy
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Managing Finances As A Couple
You may find it difficult to manage finances together when you've been acustom to managing your finances alone. But when you become part of a couple, many things change, and your finances are no exception! Some couples take the traditional path of blending all their money together, however today more and more couples are deciding to keep their finances separate.
What are the benefits of each way? The benefits of combining funds into one checking account includes easier record keeping, simplified money management (you hope), and less paperwork when applying for credit. In addition, the blending of finances can create a "unified front" in that aspect of a relationship that simply can't be argued with. Obviously, the drawbacks are that both people are actively using the account and that will make it harder to track all the transactions and keep up with your balance when you don't know what the other is doing.
If you choose to maintain separate accounts, this will allow each person more freedom, because they won't have to run purchases by the other person. In addition, doing so may create fewer complications in the relationship, allow each person to build their own good credit, and quite simply allow them to maintain a sense of independence. The most obvious downfall to a his and her finance arrangement is that it can be disproportionately unfair. If one person makes $80,000 per year, and the other $35,000, the person making the lower salary may not like the arrangement!
If you do decide to keep "his and her" checking or savings accounts, then you'll need to find a system for paying bills and handling other joint finances together. One option that has worked great for many couples is to create a third checking account and designate it as the "combo" fund. You can set up your separate, individual checking accounts to have money automatically withdrawn from them each month at most financial institutions. You will have to sit down together and decide what amount needs to be in the joint account every month in order to cover the "combined" expenses. In a situation like the above--where one person makes significantly more than the other--it is usual for the higher wage earner to pay a larger portion of the expenses.
Another aspect to consider with his and her finances is credit. This can be considerably good or bad, depending on your individual credit ratings. However, at some point you may want to apply for joint credit with your spouse. You will most likely want to make big purchases together throughout the marriage such as a car, a house, or appliances, and it's much easier to do that if you have joint credit. With joint credit, you will both be 100% responsible for the debt, even if you co-sign a loan with your spouse or add your name to your spouse's credit card account. On the other hand, if you decide to maintain separate credit, the general rule is that you are not responsible for each other's debt. (The exception to this is if the debt is considered a house hold expense.)
If one person had bad credit prior to getting married, then the person with good credit may want to keep their credit separate. Why? Because if you apply for credit together, the lower credit score will bring down the higher one.
The best advice? Be upfront about your financial weaknesses, and discuss a plan--before the big day--to handle them. Once you have identified the potential pitfalls, it will only take a small amount of planning to overcome them.
About the author:
If you would like to get more credit information you can visit our website which contains many credit resources. http://www.my-credit-report.info This article is copyright 2005, but can be freely reprinted, as long as no changes are made, including hyperlinks.
What are the benefits of each way? The benefits of combining funds into one checking account includes easier record keeping, simplified money management (you hope), and less paperwork when applying for credit. In addition, the blending of finances can create a "unified front" in that aspect of a relationship that simply can't be argued with. Obviously, the drawbacks are that both people are actively using the account and that will make it harder to track all the transactions and keep up with your balance when you don't know what the other is doing.
If you choose to maintain separate accounts, this will allow each person more freedom, because they won't have to run purchases by the other person. In addition, doing so may create fewer complications in the relationship, allow each person to build their own good credit, and quite simply allow them to maintain a sense of independence. The most obvious downfall to a his and her finance arrangement is that it can be disproportionately unfair. If one person makes $80,000 per year, and the other $35,000, the person making the lower salary may not like the arrangement!
If you do decide to keep "his and her" checking or savings accounts, then you'll need to find a system for paying bills and handling other joint finances together. One option that has worked great for many couples is to create a third checking account and designate it as the "combo" fund. You can set up your separate, individual checking accounts to have money automatically withdrawn from them each month at most financial institutions. You will have to sit down together and decide what amount needs to be in the joint account every month in order to cover the "combined" expenses. In a situation like the above--where one person makes significantly more than the other--it is usual for the higher wage earner to pay a larger portion of the expenses.
Another aspect to consider with his and her finances is credit. This can be considerably good or bad, depending on your individual credit ratings. However, at some point you may want to apply for joint credit with your spouse. You will most likely want to make big purchases together throughout the marriage such as a car, a house, or appliances, and it's much easier to do that if you have joint credit. With joint credit, you will both be 100% responsible for the debt, even if you co-sign a loan with your spouse or add your name to your spouse's credit card account. On the other hand, if you decide to maintain separate credit, the general rule is that you are not responsible for each other's debt. (The exception to this is if the debt is considered a house hold expense.)
If one person had bad credit prior to getting married, then the person with good credit may want to keep their credit separate. Why? Because if you apply for credit together, the lower credit score will bring down the higher one.
The best advice? Be upfront about your financial weaknesses, and discuss a plan--before the big day--to handle them. Once you have identified the potential pitfalls, it will only take a small amount of planning to overcome them.
About the author:
If you would like to get more credit information you can visit our website which contains many credit resources. http://www.my-credit-report.info This article is copyright 2005, but can be freely reprinted, as long as no changes are made, including hyperlinks.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Handling Your Personal Finance Easily
All too often people make the mistake of thinking that they are capable of handling their own finances without any worries at all. However, in most cases people learn rather quickly they cannot handle their own finances without help or assistance from anyone else. However, with some simple tips and advice people can now be assured that they can handle their personal finances quite easily.
College students are usually the worst people at managing their money and they need the most assistance. Some college students are away from home for the first time and they are eager to start spending their money on the various things that they want. Here are some tips that can help these people handle their money better and make it last longer. When you are in college it is very important to make your money stretch as far as it can.
There are some simple rules to personal finance that are intended to help and if used correctly they will lead you on your way to financial comfort and freedom.
1. You should always put money away for an emergency. The recommended amount of time that you should save money is anywhere between six months to a year. This should be put into an account in which you cannot withdraw money for a specified amount of time or for a specific reason. By having the money in such an account you know it will be there any time you need it.
2. You should always pay off credit cards that have the highest interest rates first. While doing this you can continue to make the minimum payment on the card that has lower interest rate while paying a little more each month on the higher card.
3. If you are not sure where you are spending all of your money then it might be a good idea to start keeping a diary of some sort where you record your spending each day. You should record everything that you spend than at the end of the week or month you can sit and determine where you spend the most money and if there are any areas that you can cut out.
4. While you are trying to save money people sometimes make the mistake of thinking that charging things to a credit card will help them save. This is completely wrong. If you want to save money then you need to stop charging and pay cash whenever you can. The cash may be gone but you don't have to worry about making continuous monthly payments.
5. Avoid pressure to spend money. IF you do not want to spend the money then don't. That is the simplest of all rules. Do not let others pressure you into spending money unnecessarily.
About the author:
James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at www.1st-for-perso nal-finance.info
Written by: James Hunt
College students are usually the worst people at managing their money and they need the most assistance. Some college students are away from home for the first time and they are eager to start spending their money on the various things that they want. Here are some tips that can help these people handle their money better and make it last longer. When you are in college it is very important to make your money stretch as far as it can.
There are some simple rules to personal finance that are intended to help and if used correctly they will lead you on your way to financial comfort and freedom.
1. You should always put money away for an emergency. The recommended amount of time that you should save money is anywhere between six months to a year. This should be put into an account in which you cannot withdraw money for a specified amount of time or for a specific reason. By having the money in such an account you know it will be there any time you need it.
2. You should always pay off credit cards that have the highest interest rates first. While doing this you can continue to make the minimum payment on the card that has lower interest rate while paying a little more each month on the higher card.
3. If you are not sure where you are spending all of your money then it might be a good idea to start keeping a diary of some sort where you record your spending each day. You should record everything that you spend than at the end of the week or month you can sit and determine where you spend the most money and if there are any areas that you can cut out.
4. While you are trying to save money people sometimes make the mistake of thinking that charging things to a credit card will help them save. This is completely wrong. If you want to save money then you need to stop charging and pay cash whenever you can. The cash may be gone but you don't have to worry about making continuous monthly payments.
5. Avoid pressure to spend money. IF you do not want to spend the money then don't. That is the simplest of all rules. Do not let others pressure you into spending money unnecessarily.
About the author:
James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at www.1st-for-perso nal-finance.info
Written by: James Hunt
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