Budget Baby Steps
by Tammy Harrison
You are a two-income family, sharing and spreading the wealth amongst yourselves. All of a sudden, baby one comes along, and you find your heart pulled in a different direction than you ever imagined. Your emotions run high, and you make a decision that will change your life and the life of your family forever -- you quit your job and your checkbook has a heart attack!
Helping Daughter With Debt
by Scott Bilker
Our daughter, who is 31 and single, has $15,000 in credit card debt that would we like to help her get out from under. This debt consists of two different maxed out credit card accounts that are both charging very high interest rates, as well as late charges and over the limit fees. We are considering refinancing our mortgage, which currently has a balance of $47,000 and a 5.75% rate. Is this a good solution or not?
Temporary Downsizing?
by Gary Foreman
We're wondering if we should sell our house. Our mortgage payment is $1,030 a month--no problem when we were both working full time. Now that his income has been drastically reduced, the mortgage feels very steep. What about selling the house, using the equity to pay off our $20,000 second mortgage, and moving into a place that costs less per month?
Equity Used For Down Payment
by Scott Bilker
My husband and I want to buy a home being built in a new development. Our present home worth $260,000 has no mortgage except a $30,000 home equity loan. We need about $15,000 down payment for the home being built. Should we open a home-equity line of credit to pay the down payment? If not, where is the best place to get the $15,000?
Signs of Wealth
by Gary Foreman
Everyone from songwriters to psychics to traffic engineers will tell you that it's important to 'read the signs'. And they're right. Take driving for instance. Traveling without signs would be difficult and dangerous. Our financial affairs are another type of trip that requires watching signs. To help us avoid trouble and make progress towards our goals. So let's take a look at some common financial road signs.
Household Math™: A penny paid is more than a penny earned
by Scott Bilker
How much is a penny really worth? When it comes to repaying debt it is certainly true that every penny counts! Say you have a $100,000 mortgage at 7% for 30 years. The monthly payment is $665.30. How much money would you save by adding just one cent to your monthly payment?
Living On the Edge
by Doris Dobkins
What is your lifestyle like? Do you sometimes feel like your finances are out of control and you are living on the edge? Our lifestyle today has become one of "buy and charge". Society pounds this message incessantly, wherever you turn. It is even easier for us to make money than to keep it.
Trimming the Fat From Your Budget
by Nancy Twigg
Fat in your family budget is very much like the extra pounds around your waistline: it sneaks up on you! Those little, seemingly insignificant expenses here and there add up to big chunks of your income that could be used otherwise. If you're looking to put your budget on a diet, the first step is to...
What is Better? Fewer Cards with Higher Balances, or Many Cards with Smaller Balances?
by Scott Bilker
My husband and I are preparing to buy a new home. We want to clean up our credit card accounts to better our chances for a mortgage. We were considering paying off our credit cards with smaller balances using other credit cards. What is better when your credit is being considered for a home loan--fewer credit cards with higher balances or more credit cards with smaller balances?
Low Overhead
by Gary Foreman
When I was a boy one local department store had a jingle that featured the repeated chorus of "low overhead, low overhead". They claimed to offer lower prices because they kept their 'overhead' down. And the same idea applies to our family finances. The lower your 'overhead' is the more...
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