How Much Credit can you Afford?

Before making the decision to add more debt, you need to make sure that you:*Allocate sufficient money for your essentials.*Borrow only for items that you need and can afford.*Borrow only if you're spending less each month than you take home.1. Start with your monthly take-home pay.This is the amount you have left after taxes and other deductions have been made.2. Subtract the amount you need for necessities and fixed expenses.This includes savings, your mortgage or rent payment, utilities, food, transportation, child care, medical care, clothing,...

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Planning for Your Financial Future

Two heads are better than one, so sit down with your spouse and plan out your financial future together.Prioritize your bills.By determining which bills to pay in which order, you'll get in the habit of making sure your essentials are always paid first.Be careful using credit. Sometimes a financial crisis will come not because of a layoff, but because you're overextended. Most people can afford to devote 10 percent of their net income (after taxes) to installment debt, not including mortgage or rent payments. If you pay out more than 15 percent,...

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Mortgage Refinance: 4 Ways To Know Its Time to Refinance Your House

You may want to refinance your home for several reasons.1)Mortgage Rates might be lower now. The biggest reason that people refinance their mortgages is to save money. No matter what has happened to you, there is always a good reason to start saving money. A lower rate on your mortgage can help you stretch out the payments so that every month you are paying less to live in your house than the previous month. When interest rates are low and you had previously locked your mortgage into a higher price, it might be a good idea to shop your rate around...

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