We’re in contract to buy a house!
Our sellers signed the contract a couple of days ago and made it official. We’re extremely excited about owning a home. We’re also a little scared. A house is a big commitment that comes with a ton of expenses. We’re confident we can handle the payments and such but our finances will be tighter than they have been. It probably means no vacations for us for a bit. At least no big vacations, maybe a day trip or two here and there instead.
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Glen, just wrote a great article discussing the differences between Term and Permanent Life Insurance, and to my amazement he was very fair when it came to permanent life insurance. Most financial bloggers aren’t as partial, and spout (without ever running numbers) the standard “buy term and invest the difference” kool aid.
So I asked Glen for the opportunity to actually run the numbers between term and permanent life insurance.
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Having excellent credit scores has helped my wife and I save in many ways over the years. We didn’t always have great credit scores. Both my wife and I had our periods of credit card debt. Along with that came the occasional late payment and the regular stealing from Peter to pay Paul lifestyle. But we both wised up and, over time, eliminated our credit card debts. With that came better and better credit scores. We’ve discovered that having a good, or great, credit score has its benefits.
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What is the first thing that pops into your head when I say the word frugal?
Do you see an image of grumpy, old Ebenezer Scrooge sitting alone at his desk counting his money? Or perhaps you imagine yourself shivering in the dark, afraid of wasting money on heat or electricity?
If that’s what you think frugality is like you’re way off!
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Did you wait until the last minute? Did April 15th creep up on you too quickly? Don’t sit there waiting, get working on completing and filing your taxes!
You have until midnight, April 15th, to have physical tax forms postmarked before they are late. Of course you need to make sure you get to the post office in time, and trust me, there will be lines!
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As someone with a bunch of regular expenses, I know that they add up. I also know that you’d have to pry my laptop from my cold, dead fingers before I’d voluntarily give up the internet. In my husband’s case, cable is a necessity. How do you choose between one recurring expense and another? Prioritize.
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“What are these home costs?!?” you scream to yourself as you start your life in your new home. You went through your budget with a fine tooth comb, making sure you could afford the mortgage payments. You negotiated the house price and got a good interest rate on the mortgage. You know what your local taxes will be and you home insurance costs. You thought you were set. Then the OTHER costs rear their heads. You quickly realize that owning a home isn’t all about being able to pay the mortgage.
There are a number of other costs you need to consider before you buy a house:
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I had the pleasure to interview Anja Winikka, editor at the well-known wedding website TheKnot.com. We discussed affordable weddings and how the current economy is affecting wedding decisions.
Hope you enjoy!
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There are a number of different kinds of bank cards a person may come across in the course of their financial life – ATM cards, debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid debit cards.
All of these, as one may gather, work differently – and how they differ is an important thing to know in order to wisely use each kind of card.
