- Give yourself a mortgage tune-up.
- If you have extra cash, pay it toward principal and confirm that it was properly applied to your mortgage balance.
- Review your credit report.
- Confirm whether the mortgage servicer is paying the insurance and taxes correctly.
- If you pay mortgage insurance, find out if you need to keep paying it.
- Find out whether you should move credit card debt to your home's equity.
- Get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) for emergencies.
- Make sure your homeowners insurance is sufficient.
- Draw up a will if you don't have one, and make sure it's up to date.
- Check smoke detectors and buy a carbon monoxide detector.
For many of us, our home is our largest investment. Yes, there are many personal finance facets of the homeownership and none of them is so easy to understand at first, but my experience is homeownership is THE place that can bring the most meaningful changes to your financial life. As a starter, reevaluate whether you have the best deal for mortgage, and refinance while the rate is still low if you haven't done so in the last two or three years. LendingTree and Bankrate offer some of the best resources to help your comparison shopping.
Why a Real Estate Agent May Skip the Extra Mile(February 21, 2005)
A study by two University of Chicago economists, discussed in depth in this New York Times article, questions whether real estate agents are well motivated to negotiate the best price for their clients. Read
Average Lifetime Spending On Cars: $240,000 or More(January 29, 2005)
According to a American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) study cited by Mototrend, the average American spends between $240,704 to $349,968 on automobile during their lifetime. This does not surprise me too much; after all, I spent a whole $7,504 last year to keep two ... Read
8 Top Auto Maintenance Myths(December 26, 2004)
For many families, spending on wheels is the largest expense category after housing. To keep your cars up and running, you will need to pay for gas, insurance and maintenance. No different from gas and insurance, you can also do your comparison shopping for auto ... Read
More Mortgages To Be "Conforming"(December 03, 2004)
Fannie Mae and Freddic Mac announced their annual increase of "conforming" loan limits this week. Effective next year, the most commonly used single-family property loan limits will be increased from $333,700 this year to $359,650 in 2005. This 7.8% increase is much higher than the ... Read
Gold Channels of the Personal Finance Blogger's Network
• My Personal Finance Journey (1066 posts): Daily personal finance observation, musing and decisions in a journey toward financial independence by 36 with at least a million dollars. (RSS Feed)
• Canadian Capitalist (174 posts): A record of my personal financial experience in saving, debt management and investing (with emphasis on Canadian content). (RSS Feed)
• Naked Picks (33 posts): Can an average fat boy beat experts in picking stocks? (RSS Feed)
• Free Money Finance (463 posts): Free and simple advice on money and finance designed to maximize your net worth. (RSS Feed)
• Reasoned Investing (198 posts): Long term investing advice, focusing on the reasoned steps everyone can take to invest in their future. (RSS Feed)
• Common Cents (33 posts): A common sense approach to understanding the importance of Personal Finance. (RSS Feed)
Others Channels of the Personal Finance Blogger's Network
• Nathan's Financial Mindset (26 posts): My day by day activities to save for most foreseeable events in the future, retire early, and retire rich. (RSS Feed)
• Prospect (34 posts): Personal finance for today and tomorrow. (RSS Feed)
• Personal Finance Café (9 posts): A forum to discuss personal finance issues including taxes, home ownership, insurance, budgeting, and investing. (RSS Feed)
• Coach Coin (55 posts): Simple Tips & Analysis from a Personal Finance & Success Coach. (RSS Feed)
Featured Sites
• payday loans - Payday Loans No Credit Check can offer you with reasonably-priced loans for you financial requirement.We deals in Payday UK, Payday Loans Australia , payday Loans Canada.
• Protected.co.uk compare over 300 life insurance plans to find the best deal from their providers.
• Search 300 life insurance plans from 12 leading providers.
• Bad Credit Auto Loans are loans for people who have a poor credit history and cannot qualify for an auto loan. If you are able to secure a bad credit auto loan, you should consider it to be a second chance to improve your credit rating by making all auto loan payments on time.
• Car Finance - The Uk's leading online car finance company. Buy any car from any UK dealership. Bad credit not a problem.
• SecuredLoansCentre.co.uk - 3 easy steps to compare over 200 secured loan plans for UK home owners in minutes
• Find a fast payday loans in the UK. Even if you have a bad credit history, arrears or CCJ's, Loansite's top lenders can help you compare loans and find a low APR secured loan, homeowner loan or tenant loan with fast approval in principle.
• Legal Helpers experienced bankruptcy lawyers can help you out of debt. Take advantage of our Free debt consultation. Our bankruptcy lawyers will help you understand your best option to eliminate your debt. Ask about our 100% guarantee.
• Student Loan Consolidation - Need assistance with Student Loan Consolidation? Have a personal education finance advisor assist you with rates as low as 4.5%. -Quick, Easy Online Application w/E-sign!
• Cheap Car Insurance - Provides Cheap Car insurance. Receive an instant quote online
• Fleet Dealer - Ford Fleet trucks and vans, cargo vans, cutaway vans, LCFs, work trucks, commercial trucks, ambulances, tow trucks, police squad vehicles, and other commercial vehicles like box vans, delivery vans, box trucks and dump trucks.
• Bad Credit Auto Loans - Auto loans bad credit, bad credit auto loans, guaranteed credit approval, auto financing, credit lenders, car credit, automobile lenders, bad credit auto loans seattle, auto loans bad credit seattle.
• Ford Dealer - One of the World's largest Ford Dealerships. Over 3,000 cars and trucks to choose from. Mega Volume Dealer. $1,000 price guarantee. Large Special Finance Store. Ford Dealer Seattle. Mustang, Edge, Explorer, F150, f250, fleet, build your own Ford.
• Auto Loans Bad Credit - Bad Credit Auto Loans, auto loans bad credit, guaranteed credit approval, car credit car loans, automobile financing, credit lenders, bad credit auto loans seattle, auto loans bad credit seattle. (Home | Apply | Inventory | Credit Help | Contact Us)
• moneyeverything.com - Find the right credit card to suit you with our guide to the right card in the UK
• airaid.co.uk - Looking for credit cards in the UK? Find the right credit card to suit you with our guide to choosing the right card in the UK
• Bad Credit Loans - find out some tips about improving your credit score and choosing the best bad credit lender.
• Consolidate debt with Bad Credit Personal Loans online or Personal Loans, consolidate Bad Credit Personal Loans or apply for Credit Cards including 0% deals.
• We provide personal loans for debt consolidation, home improvement, bad credit loans at cheap rates in the UK.
• If you are buying a car you may want to search for UK Car Insurance to get a car insurance quote online.
• Accepted.co.uk compare over 100 secured loans to find the best deal from their lenders.
• Accepted.co.uk compare over 100 secured loans to find the best deal from their lenders.
• Sending money to family and friends has never been easy. Use iKobo, secure way to send money worldwide
• Payday loan tips at paydayloanreport.net helps you to defeat cash-checking and payday loan traps.
• online casino - reviews of goldenpalace, casino-on-net, and more. onlinecasinobluebook.com review guide.
• Student Loan Consolidation - the student loan solutions provides students and their families with information and resources to help students get out of default and better manage their student debt.
