finances – $aving Money Tip$

So, you’ve decided to take the leap and buy a home. Congratulations! But have you given some thought to what kind of mortgage you can afford? Think about the price of the home as well as the monthly payment you’ll pay to own that home. Banks take your ability to pay the monthly payment into consideration when deciding whether or not to grant you a loan. If you use the same principle that banks use to narrow your search to homes that you can afford, you will be one step ahead of the game. So how do you do that? Read on to determine how much mortgage you can afford. How Much Can You Spend on a Mortgage? Buying your dream home is a milestone in life

Debt Management, Relief & Consolidation

admin March 30, 2015 Budgeting, finances

What to do When Your APR Goes Up

I’ve written a great deal about credit cards over the years, from credit card security to disputing charges to what to look for in a credit card. I recently realized, though, that I haven’t said much about APRs (Annual Percentage Rates = interest rates) and what you can do when they go up. And chances are, at some point your APR will go up. Fortunately, though, credit card companies are required to notify you of an impending APR hike – which gives you some time to decide how to handle the change. Why the Hike? Common Reasons for an APR Increase Before we talk about what to do when your APR increases, let’s talk about why your APR might be going up. Three very common reasons include:

Frugal Living, Saving Money & Life Hacks

admin December 15, 2014 finances, home buyers

How Much It Cost to Buy Our First Home in Southern California

I know whenever I read about other bloggers buying homes, I want to know the financials. It helps me better understand and see how much different the home buying landscape is in other states. I will say that our area–Southern California– is still a very strong sellers’ market. I wish that Eric and I had been able to buy back in 2010 when the prices dipped for the first time in like 20 years, but alas, we had just gotten married and were $45K in debt. Even now, it is completely crazy to me that Eric and I decided to buy a home. It was not our plan at all to buy right now, but when do things ever go according to plan? Originally, we thought we

Frugal Living, Saving Money & Life Hacks

admin December 10, 2014 finances, relationships

How Our Marriage Survived Escrow

Putting the tree up in our new home! I alluded in my last post that the escrow process can be stressful. I think this is partly largely due to my Type A personality, especially when it comes to finances. I also have a really hard time with change and uncertainty. Even if it’s change that I’m looking forward to (like buying a house!), it makes me very uneasy to not have any control over when things happen, like having no control over when escrow closes. I also felt like I was cut out of the process because the realtor communicated mostly through Eric, which was largely our fault because I had Eric act as my messenger and asked any questions through him. This was really bad