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Common Mistakes When It Comes To Refinancing

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April 30, 2010 at 5:24 pm

There are many reasons for refinancing your mortgage. Refinancing can reduce your interest rates, your monthly payment, or both. Often, refinancing is an effective way to consolidate debt and to reach your long term financial goals.

However, there are many common mistakes when it comes to refinancing, some of them so serious they could cause you to lose your home. Identifying pitfalls is the best way to make a refinancing decision you will not later regret.

When refinancing, you do not want to eliminate all the equity you have worked so hard to build. Home ownership is all about building equity it is the equity in your home that makes it one of, if not the most valuable investment you will ever make.

This does not mean refinancing your home is always a bad financial decision in fact, often refinancing can be a big step toward reaching your long-term financial goals. And it is the equity in your home that allows you to refinance in the first place. What you want is a loan that allows you to borrow against some but not all of your equity.

The most common mistake homeowners make with regards to canceling equity is cash-out refinancing. On the surface, cash-out options can appear extremely attractive, because they allow you to take cash out of your loan amount and put it in your pocket. You can use the cash to pay off debt, but taking cash out reduces the equity in your home, and can even eliminate it altogether.

To avoid this refinancing pitfall, consider a second mortgage as an alternative to refinancing with a cash-out option, especially if the interest rate is higher on the new cash-out loan. Already have a second mortgage? Then refinancing with a cash-out loan is very likely to eliminate all your equity. Instead, you can refinance both mortgages into one new mortgage with a cash-out option.

Another form of refinancing homeowners might regret is refinancing from a fixed rate mortgage (FRM) to an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM). Homeowners often do this to lower their monthly payments, but with an ARM, the interest rate is not locked in. Sure, the payments may be lower now, but if interest rates go up, future payments could be higher than the payments you were trying to reduce.

Refinancing options that homeowners are not likely to regret include refinancing from an ARM to an FRM in order to lock in a low interest rate. This is a decision that is usually made with long-term financial goals in mind.

Another refinancing decision that is generally sound is refinancing to the same type of mortgage with a lower interest rate than the current loan. So long as the borrower expects to remain in the home long enough for the interest savings to cover the cost of refinancing, the borrower usually will not regret this decision.

Low interest rates and a lucrative real estate market have prompted many homeowners to consider refinancing. But with predatory lending on the rise, it is up to you, the homeowner, to protect your investment. Fortunately, the Federal Truth in Lending Act is a safeguard for those who refinance a loan on their primary residence with a different lender. This Act guarantees borrowers the right of rescission, meaning they can cancel the debt within 3 days of closing. Not many borrowers take advantage of this option, but those who do are not stuck with a refinancing decision they will come to regret.

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The Case Against Paying Points

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April 30, 2010 at 9:42 am

Points seem like a good idea, after all, the interest rate is lowered. But if you don’t have cash on hand in advance, paying points can seem just out of reach. Do you need to pay points?

For most people, paying points just doesn’t make sense.

A point, often called a discount point or origination fee, is equal to one percent of the loan amount. Points are paid to the lender at the time of closing.

By paying points, you are buying down your interest rate. The more points you pay, the lower your interest rate. Lenders started offering points in the early 1980’s when mortgage rates were 15%. The housing market just went dead as people were unable to afford such high interest rates on mortgages.

To stimulate business, lenders offered discounted rates with fees attached, called discount points. Many sellers began to pay the points charged by the lender in order to sell their home. This gave the buyers an affordable mortgage and owners were able to get their homes off of the market.

But times have changed. Interest rates are no longer anywhere near 15% on mortgages — they are more like 7%. The need to fork out a ton of dough in order to get a lower rate isn’t really there for the average home buyer.

Let’s look at the numbers. For example, you find a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at 6.50% with two points. For the life of the loan, you have a fixed rate of 6.5%. But you will have to pay the points at closing. If the home you want to purchase is $192,000, you will have to find an extra $3,840 at the closing to cover the points.

Another lender is offering you a 7% interest rate on the same mortgage.

Which deal is better for you?

You put the standard 20% down on the loan. The monthly payment and interest payment for the 6.5% mortgage is $1,207. The 7% monthly payment increases to $1,270 per month. That’s a difference of $63 per month. If you divide the $3,840 by $63, you will find that it takes 61 months, or five years and one month, to recuperate your points in the form of a lower payment. This is your payback period.

You could put that $3,840 in the bank to earn interest. If your bank is paying three percent interest, you would earn approximately $10 per month. If you pay the points, you are loosing money that you could have made interest on. So, subtract $10 from the $63 savings. Now divide $53 into $3,840 and you will find that the payback period increases to 72 months, or six years.

So you have to stay in that home with that particular mortgage for six years to make back the money you pay in points. Most people won’t stay in a home for over six years today.

And with rising home costs, many home buyers don’t have the extra cash on hand to pay the down payment, closing and points. That’s why many lenders have started offering lower down payment mortgages — they understand how hard it is to save that money.

If the seller wants to pay points, that’s great and extremely rare in today’s market. If you aren’t positive that you will stay in the home long enough to recuperate the cost of your points, it would be best to choose the mortgage without points.

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7 Tips on Preventing Identity Theft

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April 26, 2010 at 1:07 am

In the course of the day, you do many activities that put your personal information at risk – from writing a check at the store to charging merchandise in person or over the phone. You may not think twice about these transactions, but others might.

Identity theft – when a perpetrator assumes someone’s identity for personal or financial gain, like stealing a credit card to make financial transactions in the victim’s name – is the fastest-growing crime in America.

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, there were almost 10 million cases of identity theft in 2004, which cost consumers $5 billion.

The National Citizens’ Crime Prevention Campaign, sponsored by the National Crime Prevention Council, aims to educate consumers about what they can do to prevent identity theft. The council offers the following tips.

* Do not give out your personal information unless you initiate the contact or know the person or company with whom you are dealing. Also, never disclose personal information, such as a Social Security number or bank account number, in response to an email. Legitimate businesses will not ask you to do this.

* Do not disclose your credit card number to an online vendor unless it is encrypted and the site is secure. Look at the first part of the Web address on your browser. It should read “https://.”

* Do not write your Social Security number or telephone number on checks or credit card receipts.

* Remove all documents with personal information from your hard drive before discarding your computer or sending it in for repair.

* Shred discarded documents, including preapproved credit card applications, bank statements, store receipts and utility bills. “Dumpster divers” can gain access to your personal information if such items are thrown in the trash.

* Cancel all credit cards that have not been used in the last six months. Open credit is a prime target for thieves.

* Order your credit report at least twice a year and report any mistakes to the credit reporting agency in writing.

If you are a victim of identity theft, contact your local police department as soon as possible. If your identity was stolen in one jurisdiction but used in another, you may have to report the crime in both jurisdictions.

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How to Deal with gambling Addiction

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April 25, 2010 at 8:57 pm

They say the first step to beating an addiction is to admit that you have a problem.

Dealing with someone who has a gambling addiction can be painful. They have a tendency to withdraw from family and loved ones, so what are you supposed to do when someone you care about has developed a gambling addiction.

There are several things you will need to do and some of them are very hard to do.

The first thing you have to do is to hide all your valuables, and if this person lives with you, then you need to keep them behind locked doors and if that is not possible then take them to a bank and lock them in a safety deposit box.

If this person is you child or your spouse then you need to limit there access to your money. In many circumstances people have spent their family’s savings and kid’s college funds. So if at all possible try to get that persons name of the accounts if it is not already too late, and cancel all their credit cards.

At some point you will have to confront them. When you do confront them it is important to not yell and do not get angry just tell them how what they are doing affects you. Make sure that all the persons close friends are there to help with this.

It is important that everyone take turns and tell the person how his gambling has affected their relationships, but in a non angry, caring manner. This will help the person realize that the people that care about him see something that maybe he does not and hopefully will take an honest look at his gambling.

Remember the goal of confronting someone is not to make them stop gambling, it is to help them recognize they have a gambling problem and to encourage them to seek professional help.

Some people recommend that you try to get your friend to go to a gamblers anonymous meeting, but I do not recommend this. Gamblers Anonymous is a great organization that truly helps those with gambling problems stay away from gambling, but before you are ready for this most people need one on one sessions with a psychologist or a counselor trained to deal with gambling addiction.

After all is said and done, you must be prepared because most of the time the gambler continues to gamble, maybe they will make a brief attempt to stop before starting again in secret.

With most addictions the person with the problem needs to hit what they call a “bottom”. This is when the gambler has lost everything that really meant anything to them, such as family and friends, and it is only at this point many will see the problem and seek help.
If you know someone who is unwilling to admit their gambling problem I recommend that after you have tried your best to get this person to seek help if they do not, you may have to be prepared to leave them, remember at some point you have to abandon a sinking ship before you go down as well.

To find more information on gambling addiction search gamblers Anonymous and
Codependence websites.

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Children’s Bank Accounts – Planning Your Family’s Future

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April 19, 2010 at 3:20 am

Everybody wants to give their children the best possible start in life, and make their future as secure as possible. Two ways of helping them, money-wise, are by encouraging them to save with their own bank account, and by making investments on their behalf.

Childrens Accounts

Most high street banks offer childrens accounts, usually a straightforward bank account with a moderate interest rate. These often come with incentives like free piggy banks that are intended to help children develop a sense of responsibility and prudence about money from an early age. You may like to give your child a financial education by opening them their own account though theres nothing to stop you using a normal adult account with better rates of interest.

National Savings

The Childrens Bonus Bonds are a tax-free savings account specifically aimed at children. You can invest between 25 and 3000 a year for five years and get guaranteed interest, plus a bonus. Many people choose to give Premium Bonds as gifts for childrens birthdays. If they win, it could give them the best present ever!

Child Trust Bonds

The government have introduced a special scheme to give children a savings account from the very beginning. Any child born after 1st September 2002 is entitled to a voucher worth 250 to be invested in a savings account. Visit www.childtrustfund.gov.uk for details.

Its a good idea to invest for your childrens education as early as possible whether that means private school fees or supporting them when they go into higher education. Long term investments, such as bonds with a ten year term, are a good choice for this purpose.

Children are taxed in the same way as adults, and have their own personal tax allowances. If you give money or assets to your own child and it produces an income of 100 or over, the income is counted as yours and taxed at your top rate. You can avoid this rule by choosing investments with tax free returns or capital gains, rather than income.

If people other than parents give gifts then the income counts as the childs own, and in this case its a good idea to ask grandparents or relatives to send a letter or card with any money gifts. That way you have proof of whom the money came from in case the tax office demands it. For a detailed explanation of childrens tax issues, look up the Inland Revenues website at www.hmrc.gov.uk

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3 Ways to Save Money Instantly Online

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April 16, 2010 at 8:47 am

In today’s world, shopping in “brick and mortar” stores seems so backward, dated, and boring. Millions of people each year sit in their jammies while drinking wine and shop for clothes, household goods, gifts, and just about anything else you can imagine.

One of the great benefits to shopping online is the various coupon, rebate and dollar-back programs available. If you click through a link, or use a coupon code, your savings can be substantial. In addition, you get all the myriad benefits of shopping online – no children to drag through stores, no gas costs to get there and back, and no hassle of dealing with crowds.

So, once you’re convinced to shop online, where can you find the savings? There are several ways to save money online. Let’s start with coupons.

Coupons

This is a fairly standard. Go to one of the coupon sites (many will be provided below) and look for the store you want to shop with, or search by category, depending on your needs. Be sure to click “apply” when you enter the coupon during checkout.

Although in the early days of online shopping, coupon codes were plentiful and generous (frequently you could find $10 off a $10 purchase with free shipping), good coupons these days are hard to find. Some stores (like Lands’ End) rarely offer coupons while others (L.L. Bean) often offer free shipping on any size order. When you order, or even if you don’t order, be sure to sign up with the website either by registering or signing up for coupons. These direct-email coupons are often some of the best you’ll ever find.

Here are some excellent coupon sites to get you started:

MyBargainBuddy.com — Here, a mom compiles good deals and coupon codes for you. Some of the best deals need no coupon at all, but if there’s a good deal and a coupon to go with it, all the better.

FatWallet.com — Lots of codes here along with active message boards where other deals can be found.

MyCoupons.com — The most beneficial part of this site are the message boards, which are alive with the sound of people saving money. Check out the posts that have stickies on them at the start of each forum – there are often some good links to printable coupons here for favorites like Toys R Us and Chuck e Cheese.

One note: If you are looking for a code for a certain store, don’t assume that if it’s not available at one website, it doesn’t exist. There are different codes at different sites. Visit several coupon sites before giving up hope that a code does in fact exist for that store.

Rebates

Here’s how the big daddy of online rebate programs works. Go to Ebates.com and sign up for an account. There’s a sign up bonus of $5, so you already have a free $5 coming to you. Then, when you go shopping, check Ebates before heading directly to an online store. Even if you have a coupon from another site, click through the store link on the Ebates page for more savings.

Let’s say you choose a new jacket from Kohls and you have a $10 off a $75 purchase. Great. Keeping the coupon code in hand, you head to Ebates and find Kohls among the list of stores. This store offers 2% back, so you click through the Kohls link on the Ebates page, and make your purchase. Not only do you benefit from the coupon code you applied, but also got an extra 2% back on your purchase. Not a bad deal. Ebates will send money to your Paypal account or send you a check.

Points

Not everyone knows about the various point programs available, but since you can earn points without doing any shopping, the points programs are worth knowing.

Visit MyPoints.com and sign up for an account. My Points will send emails (sometimes daily, sometimes several in one day). You click a link in the mail and automatically get 5 points. Sign up for an offer or make a purchase through that link and earn even more points, from hundreds to thousands of points per offer.

My Points is most useful, however, when you’re shopping online. It’s like Ebates in that you click through a link on the My Points site, and you get points for your purchase. Most stores offer a certain number of points (2 to 4 on average) per dollar spent. Once you have at least 1,000 points, you can redeem the points for gift certificates for restaurants, gas, travel and clothing.

You can’t use Ebates and My Points in the same purchase, so if a store is linked through both Ebates and My Points, you have to decide which is the better deal for you. Whenever possible, try to combine a coupon code with the My Points or Ebates deal.

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How to Become Motivated to be Frugal

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April 15, 2010 at 2:56 pm

You might really want to save money and be frugal, but just can’t seem to get started. How do you jump start yourself into a frugal life?

Whether you are just starting to be frugal or need a little motivation to keep on saving, sometimes it is hard to keep in focus why you choose to live frugally. I am a firm believer in writing things down. I believe that once you see things in writing, they are a little more concrete in your mind.

Make yourself a frugal living notebook. This is a record of your goals, plans and actions. In the future, you can look back and see how your frugal living has benefited you over time. For example, I can flip back through my notebook right now and see how our financial goals have been met over the last year. It helps motivate me to keep going.

So gather a notebook, a pen and your budget. Your budget will help you choose your goals. If you don’t have a budget, then now is a great time to start one. It can be as simple as a list of the bills that come out of each paycheck. I list each payday on a separate page. Each bill that comes out of that check is written down. When non-monthly bills come in they are placed on the appropriate page. When I pay bills, I cross them off the list. This way, I am sure that every bill is paid each month. Anyone can pick up my book and see what has and hasn’t been paid. I subtract the total bill amount from each paycheck and allot the left overmoney towards savings and spending money. It’s a paycheck by paycheck budget. Since I know approximately how much each paycheck will be, I am able to plan ahead.

In your notebook, make a list of every debt you owe. List what it is, the interest rate, the total amount left and the monthly payment. Every once in a while, you will update this so that you can visually see how your debts are going down over time. It is a good feeling to see how much you are paying off.

Now, define and list your goals. Goals change over time, so be sure to update your list. You will be checking off things you accomplish and adding new goals. Be realistic and honest with yourself. Start small. At one time, my list included “pay off highest interest rate credit card.” Now all my cards are paid off, so my new top goal is to devote 10% of each paycheck to savings.

When you look at your finances, you have to wear blinders. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Every financial situation is unique. Just because your friends are driving new cars, you don’t need to go into higher debt to have a new car. You don’t know or want anyone else’s financial situation. Only look at your goals when you are planning how to spend your money.

Be realistic and reasonable. For example, my husband wants a new car so bad he can taste it. But we only owe eleven more payments on our vehicle. It runs perfect and is in great shape. We could go and trade it in and have a car payment of about the same amount on a new vehicle. Or we could wait eleven months, pay it off and then buy another vehicle. Then we would have two nice vehicles with one car payment. It is worth the wait, as most things are financially.

Being frugal doesn’t mean starving yourself. It doesn’t even mean living within your means. It means living life to the fullest while spending only what is necessary. We all are allowed niceties. You may be saying, why would someone who preaches frugal living be talking about a new car? That’s our perk for living frugally — bought sensibly and reasonably. Living frugally gives us the option of having a new vehicle if we choose. It’s about choices. Many of us live frugally when we don’t have choices, so that later in life we will. You have to treat yourself. It may just be a bubble bath or a free walk in the park. Its about spending life to the fullest. You can’t do that burdened by money.

Don’t fret and worry about money. Thinking about it will not change anything. Taking action will. Make a plan, refer to it often and take back your financial freedom.

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Your Credit Card Payment Is Rising: Warning & Tips

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April 12, 2010 at 10:26 am

Summary: Did you know your minimum credit card payment is rising? A new government program working to get Americans out of credit card debt is pushing credit card issuers to raise minimum monthly payments. Will you be able to make the higher monthly payment? Here are some tips for getting by.

If you’re an American, your minimum monthly credit card payment may soon be doubling. If you’re only paying the minimums now, you’ll have to be careful to adjust your budgeting to pay more.

Who’s Raising Your Monthly Minimum Credit Card Payment?

Whose idea was it to increase credit card minimum monthly payments? The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department that has become more and more involved with reigning in the abuses of credit card companies. Yes, this credit card minimum payment increase was thought up by people trying to help you.

Who will be raising their monthly minimums? So far, some of the largest credit card issuers have agreed to the new standards. Bank of America has already been asking for the higher monthly minimum payment. MBNA, Citigroup (a.k.a. Citbank), Discover, and Chase (on some of its cards) will be breaking the news to their cardholders as Fall 2005 progresses.

How Much Will Credit Card Minimums Increase?

For many credit cards, such as MBNA and Bank of America, the new rates mean that monthly minimum payments will double.

Right now, the monthly minimum payment is only 2% of the balance on most of these cards. The new rate will be around 4% (the actual number may vary from card issuer to card issuer). This means that if you have the average American credit card balance of about $10,000, your minimum monthly payment will go from $200/month to $400/month.

Of course, if you have any additional fees, whether a late fee or a cash advance fee or any of the other fees that the credit card guys cook up, you will have to pay that, too.

Why the Credit Card Minimum Payment Increase?

You may be wondering why anyone would want to make you pay a higher minimum monthly payment. The basic reason for making you pay more is: for your own good.

According to Mike Peterson, co-founder of American Credit Foundation, by doubling the amount you pay per month toward credit card debt, you will cut down on what you pay toward interest by much more. Look:

Old monthly minimum payment of 2% of balance, $2,000 credit card debt at 18% percent interest:

* Time to pay off debt in full: about 30 years.

* Interest paid: about $5,000two and a half times what you initially borrowed!

New monthly minimum payment of 4% of balance, same debt:

* Time to pay off debt in full: about 10 years. Time saved vs. old payment: 20 years.

* Interest paid: about $1,100slightly more than half what you originally borrowed. Amount saved vs. old payment: $3,900.

Tips for Paying Double Easily

How do you pay off your new, higher credit card balance?

Stop Charging

Yes, you will have to make major sacrifices to stop using your credit card. But just look at all the money you’ll have in ten or thirty years that you wouldn’t have if you had to pay all that credit card interest. If you have trouble resisting the temptation to charge, here are some solutions that have actually worked:

* Give your credit cards to a friend or family member to hold in safe keeping.

* Freeze the cards in a block of ice.

* Never carry more than one credit card with you.

Economize on the Small Things

According to Michael Peterson of the American Credit Foundation, even tiny savings really add up when it comes to debt. His favorite example is the Diet Coke example:

* If you buy one Diet Coke a day at $1/day, that’s $365/year.

* If you instead invested that one dollar a day at 10% interest (the average yearly return on major stocks over the last half century), you would be a millionaire within 56 years.

* Of course, with credit cards, this logic works in reverse: if you are lucky enough to be paying only 10% interest, fifty years of charging Diet Coke to your credit card will mean you’ve lost the same amount, not only in interest paid, but in the lost opportunity to save and invest.

* You don’t have to put aside one dollar a day for fifty years to see a big difference. One dollar a day is $30/month, 15% of the average $200 increase in credit card minimum monthly payments.

* In order to get that entire $200 increase out of your daily budget, you would only have to save $200/30 or less than $7 a day. OK, maybe you aren’t drinking seven Diet Cokes a day. But there are very few credit-card-holding Americans who can’t cut $7 a day out of their spending.

* Saving weekly rather than daily, $200/month works out to about $45/week, or the cost of a restaurant meal for a small family–another luxury you might want to skip until you’re debt-free.

Bigger Savings

* Taxes. Most Americans could pay hundreds of dollars less tax each year if they just took all the deductions they were eligible for upfront, rather than waiting to get a refund in April. By April, you will have spent a big chunk of money on interest on debt that you wouldn’t have spent if you’d had the money at hand.

* Pleading. Call the credit card companies and ask if they can allow you to set up a payment plan, or at least provide a brief extension. Simply calling and letting them know you haven’t forgotten about them can help keep you out of the worst trouble.

* Credit counseling. Credit counselors can talk with credit card issuers to help you get a repayment plan you can keep up with. They can also open your eyes to untapped sources of income you never knew you had, like kicking the $1,000,000 Diet Coke habit.

In short, don’t panic. With only a little bit of planning, you can make the higher minimum monthly payment work to your advantage, just as the policy’s authors intended.

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