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It’s almost 2016 and the start of a new year and new beginnings. It got us thinking, is the “American Dream” what it used to be and is it in fact, still alive? Making up ⅓ of the American workforce, the millennial generation is working hard to pursue what they love and aren’t afraid to change the status quo set by former generations. They value old ideas, while striving to make a few new ones of their own.
Indeed, the idea of the “American Dream” is unique to everyone and that’s an awesome thing.
So now’s your chance to chime in. We want to hear what the “American Dream” means to you. All you need to do is take a few seconds to fill out our survey, share your brilliance with your friends using the hashtag #MyMintDream, and we will select a few lucky survey takers to win some Mint swag.
1 Dream. 4 Questions. Start here: What is YOUR American Dream Survey
*Survey will end on Monday, November 30, 2015
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The advent of fall serves as a good reminder that you may need to correct course and keep your financial responsibilities in mind. On the first day of fall, the autumnal equinox, the lengths of day and night are roughly equal, and the daylight grows shorter from there. Use the diminishing sunlit hours to get you and your money back on course after a summer of sun and fun.
Start over
Every year at back-to-school time, there are ads for notebooks, fancy pens and backpacks. Even if you don’t have children, the fall season brings to mind stacks of blank paper, waiting for you to write your story….or re-write it! Are you financially off-track and your money goals are nowhere in sight? Start with a clean slate and get back to basics. Create fresh goals. Redo your monthly budget. Commit anew.
Become a night owl
We turn our clocks back on November 1. Use that hour to reflect on your day, unwind and set action items for tomorrow that will keep you on the right financial path.
Spring cleaning isn’t just for spring
If you live in a cold climate, now is the time you are pulling winter gear out of storage. Purge ill-fitting or never-worn garments and gear and have a fall yard sale. You’ll clear space in your life and earn a bit of money you can put towards your saving goals.
Give your bills a checkup
Scrutinize your bills. Are you paying the right amount for utilities, cable or broadband, phone, and other recurring monthly expenses? Are there any hidden fees? This is a good time to get organized, adjust your data plan or cut some channels out of your satellite TV package to save a few more bucks.
Pay attention to open enrollment
Many employees benefit plans run open enrollment — the period when you can make changes or sign up for new benefits — at this time of year. Instead of ignoring those flyers or emails, open them! Make sure you are taking advantage of vision, dental, and health insurance, and contributing to your employer’s retirement plan. Look at how much you spent this year on healthcare costs and see if a healthcare savings account may benefit your family. Keep in mind that Health Insurance Marketplace open enrollment for 2016 is from November 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016.
Stock up for next year
Now is the time to purchase used summer gear like patio furniture, pool toys and bikes. When others are deciding what doesn’t get to stay in the garage for another year, you can snag a great bargain on something you’ve wanted to add to your warm-weather activities. Grab it now and look forward to using it next year.
Resist the pumpkin spice latte
You can’t open your eyes in September without seeing an ad for a pumpkin spice something. It can be tempting to embrace the fall flavor, but did you know that a pumpkin spice latte can be as much as $5.25? I don’t know about you, but every year I succumb to the advertising pressure and long for the tasty warm treat. It’s a good reminder to skip the coffee stop and make your latte at home and save a fiver. Or at least custom order yours, which could save you half the cost!
Watch the calendar
The countdown to Christmas is alive in social media feeds. Whatever winter holiday you celebrate, plan accordingly. They happen at the same time every year, so now’s the time to make your plan — don’t let them sneak up on you and force you into overspending on food, travel, or gifts at the last minute.
Snuggle and save
When it gets cold outside, we tend to stay in, watch movies or invite friends over. While this routine may get old by March, at least you’re not out somewhere spending money! Silver lining, right?
Kim Tracy Prince is a Los Angeles-based writer. If she didn’t have a husband and 2 young boys who love sports, she’d save money by staying in and reading all the books that she never has time for.
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Being a personal finance writer, I thought a lot about how my husband and I (who I married just a few short weeks ago) would merge our finances. Despite writing about finance daily over the last seven years, it may shock some that even after living together for a year and a half pre-marriage, we waited until we were legally husband and wife to merge any element of our finances.
But that’s not to say we didn’t discuss money along the way. In fact, having open and honest discussions pre-marriage has helped us sail smoothly into our first year of married life, although getting there wasn’t without its trials.
#RealMoneyTalk When You’re Dating
As privy as I am to the most intimate details of people’s finances, getting to the point where I felt comfortable talking about my own took longer than I thought. I’d never been at the point in the relationship with anyone else prior to meeting my husband.
I always admire couples who know they’re getting serious and decide to just lay it all out there. My friend and fellow blogger and author Erin Lowry famously calls this “getting financially naked.”
But for me and my now-husband, our overall approach to money talk was like peeling back the layers of the onion. Slowly, as we became more comfortable, we began to let one another “in” to our respective money situations a little bit more, and perhaps now I prefer this approach.
Here are the most common money conversations couples have when they’ dating:
As the relationship progresses, eventually you’ll discuss more serious conversations like moving in together, and how much you can afford jointly and how you’ll split the bills. You’ll have to discuss credit scores (if you apply jointly for a loan) and how you’ll split payment for items like furniture or a new television.
#RealMoneyTalk in Marriage
The #RealMoneyTalk you and any new partner you’re dating might be initially uncomfortable, largely because everything is so fresh and you’re still getting to know one another. But it can be awkward still once you’re married and the “real money talk” becomes “actual money practices.”
Here’s what my husband and I have covered so far in the short time we’ve been married:
Our savings goal and how we’ll get there together
How we’ll spend for our fixed expenses and utilities
How we’ll handle our personal spending (video games for him, Sephora runs for me)
Saving for retirement
But it hasn’t been a breeze.
For example, my husband and I applied for a mortgage and for the first time he found out my actual credit score (it’s 720) but his was over 800 and my score cost us a lower interest rate. He teased me about it, but I still remember feeling slightly anxious and embarrassed. Revealing details about your personal money situation is no joke, even if you’re willing and prepared.
I also remember those first feelings of indignation when my partner would see packages from Sephora arrive and comment on their frequency or remind me to pay the water bill.
We were both older when we met: both in our 30’s, we both owned homes, had both (unsuccessfully) lived with other partners, both paid off significant amounts of debt (him his law school student loans, me and my credit card debt.) The slow pace of our financial merger was due, in part, because we’d both been managing our finances completely on our own for over ten years and were comfortable and strongly preferred doing things a certain way.
We’d cleared the hard money convos, but we were both set in our own financial patterns and habits. In the end, it took us coming to the table with our feelings around money, instead of actual numbers that helped us get on the same page and start fresh managing money as a team. It’s different than how others would do it, but it’s how we’ve done it and it works for us – which is the most important goal.
Perhaps, I’m so enamored with how couples manage money because, quite frankly, I’ve never met two couples who managed it in exactly the same way. There’s the couple where one partner is the only earner, and the other stays at home yet completely controls the bank account. I met a couple who even after having several children still split everything 50/50 (“Do you Venmo one another for diapers?” I asked, “Yes.” She replied.) I even met a couple who has just one joint bank account and both agreed they’d never spent a day fighting about money.
Fascinating, right?
No matter how you and your partner decide to manage your finances, remember that the first step is getting the courage to have the talk.
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Apartment hunting can be a real hassle. Newspaper listings don’t give you enough information, apartment guide magazines are almost always out of date, and driving around town looking for “For Rent” signs wastes time and gas.
Apartment search engines aim to make finding a new apartment easier by showing listings from multiple sites in a single, easy-to-read format. Some sites hit the mark, while others miss it by miles.
As a renter, here’s how I rank apartment rental sites from best to worst:
PadMapper
PadMapper is the one site I’ve had the most success with because you can customize your search results in nearly every way imaginable. The basic search goes by price, number of bedrooms, and type. The expanded search lets you enter in your own keyword or look for pet-friendly spots. But the best feature of PadMapper is the super-secret setting (seriously), which is a blue bar called “Show Super-Secret Advanced Features.” With this setting, you get a crime map, walk score, neighborhood layout, and mass transit map for each listing.
MyApartmentMap
If you’re looking for a specific type of rental, MyApartmentMap is the site to search. It sorts results by pets allowed, military housing, college apartments, or affordable housing. You can also refine your search within each option, such as, choosing cats, small dogs, or large dogs under the “pets allowed” subsection. The listings themselves are the easiest to browse of all the sites. Each listing has a photo and the rent price clearly marked.
HotPads
If you’re an organizational nut like me, you’ll love the interactive map on HotPads. Each apartment listing appears on the map as a color-coded “hotspot.” Clicking a hotspot pulls up the listing, and from there you can hide the apartment or add it to your favorites. Hiding a listing removes the hotspot, while adding to your favorites puts a star on the map. After sorting all the listings, you’re left with one easy map showing you which apartments you want to look at.
RentLinx
RentLinx does have some cool search features. You can look for income-based, Section 8-approved, handicapped-accessible, and smoke-free rentals. The site was harder to navigate than the others, and even after sorting by most recent listing, all of the ads I saw were a year or two old.
MyNewPlace
MyNewPlace is pretty bare-bones. The site does have some advanced search features that will let you sort by rent price or show you pet-friendly apartments, but the available listings are sparse. My ZIP code only showed 27 listings, whereas PadMapper, MyApartmentMap, and HotPads showed hundreds. After searching, the site required I give my email before I could view any of the listings. The signup sheet had a disclaimer that basically promises to spam my email with advertisements from the site. It adds, “Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications.”
Rentals.com
In my area, Rentals.com mainly listed sponsored ads from corporate apartment complexes with a few private rentals mixed in. While the site listed tons of complexes, the listings themselves weren’t all that comprehensive. None of the ads had floor plans, the photos included were mostly of the complex, and the pricing usually said “Varies.”
RentCompare
RentCompare was a navigational nightmare. The site’s two search options, sort by ZIP code or sort by city name, both came back with errors no matter how many different combinations I tried. When I finally got a search to work, the site required me to sign up before I could see the listings. Sign-up took four separate tries with four separate errors. In the end, I was able to see a few listings with some decent information, but the site wasn’t worth the hassle.
While I tried to cover most of the popular sites, there’s no shortage of others out there. Do you have a favorite site I didn’t mention, or one to avoid?
“The Best and Worst Apartment Rental Sites” was provided by MoneyTalksNews.
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If you’ve paid off debt, congratulations! Paying down debt is the top goal for many Minters when they start monitoring their finances. Getting out of the red takes focus and discipline, and luckily, there are many free resources to help you. But what happens after you’ve paid off debt and freed yourself from that burden?
Check out these steps to ensure you stay on the right financial path even after your circumstances have changed for the better.
Understand Your Debt Triggers
Staying debt free can be as difficult as getting into debt. So before you make any changes to your financial behavior, it’s important to assess and understand how you fell into debt in the first place. The answer might be as easy as student loans; however, for most people the answer is not so obvious. First, take a moment to think about how you approach your finances and how people and experiences influence your attitude towards money. Then, identify the behaviors and choices that led to your prior financial situation. You’ll likely identify some patterns. A deeper understanding of how you think about money will help keep you out of debt.
Re-establish Your Budget
A monthly budget is now more important than ever. Having a plan for where to spend and save your new discretionary cash flow will help you from falling back into old habits – especially when newly available funds may tempt you into spending on unnecessary extravagances. You used to pay creditors first; now you can pay yourself first. Consider saving 20 percet of your disposable income. Even though you are no longer in debt, make saving non-negotiable.
Set New Goals
Once you establish your new commitment to saving, you must determine what you are you saving for! Here are the first two goals you should considering setting:
Emergency Fund: Most people don’t have an emergency fund, which can protect you in case of sudden unemployment, a medical emergency or other unexpected expenses. This fund should be the equivalent of 3 to 6 months of your net income, which gives you enough to live on without taking out loans. However, don’t discount the cost of risk. Make sure you can pay off your credit card bills so that you don’t pay unnecessary interest that could otherwise be going to your emergency fund.
Retirement Fund: When it comes to retirement, the sooner you start saving, the better. A good place to start is with your company’s 401(k) plan which is free money! In most cases, you can have deductions from your paycheck automated and put into your 401(k) account. This simplifies the process and many companies will even match your contributions to your 401(k) account.
If you are self-employed or a full-time parent, consider opening an IRA account. This can be done at a discount brokerage firm such as Charles Schwab. Discuss whether a Roth or Traditional IRA is best for you, then set up a monthly automatic draft payment system. Similar to the 401(k), automate your savings by specifying an amount to be automatically withdrawn from your checking account each month. Be aware that the government limits how much money you can put tax-free into retirement savings annually.
Once you hit the maximum, it is time to move on to your next savings goal: perhaps buying a home or a well deserved vacation.
What’s your life after debt story? Share with us at @mint on Twitter!
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Our #MyMintMoment Instagram contest has come to an end. We are grateful and inspired by all of you who shared special moments when your life and finances aligned.
Your moments included everything from visiting the Grand Canyon and glaciers, to celebrating a new home or the last student loan payment, and starting a new family or that new college fund! And we were proudly celebrating your accomplishments right along with you.
And the winner of the $1,000 Visa gift card to help fuel their next dream is Kathryn Dyer!
Kathryn had this to say about winning and her finances: “I’ve never been good at sticking to a budget. It seemed like a complicated process and I had trouble keeping it up on the go. This past year a budget became more necessary for me as I was diagnosed with cancer and spent the year traveling for treatments and adding in unexpected expenses. Thankfully, with Mint everything you need is in one easy to use app! I set a goal to spend Thanksgiving, after completion of my chemotherapy, at the beach with my husband. With Mint I was able to watch myself get closer and closer to this goal and finally meet it! My husband and I spent Thanksgiving being thankful for so many things!”
And while there could only be one winner, we wanted to share a few more of our favorite entries. We hope these stories will inspire you to keep working toward and celebrating your future Mint moments.
@mrileyjm: “Mint.com has helped me to be a better steward over my own finances. There is no better feeling than knowing exactly where you stand with your cash, debt, and investments! One of my most memorable moments using Mint.com was setting a goal to save for a destination wedding in Jamaica with the love of my life, Kellie. We watched our cash balance go up and up as we cut back on all unnecessary purchases, and in less than a year we were on the beach…hand in hand…kissing as husband and wife!”
@jaime_jetaime: “I have been a Mint.com user since 2013. Through keeping track of my spending habits I am able to see how tangible actions like DIY car maintenance, brewing coffee at home, forgoing cable and many other financial saving actions can add up to much sweeter financial rewards, like a down payment for a car or a vacation.”
@kristine.whittington: “Mint has helped me to be aware of my spending habits, and alerts me to any spending that is out of the ordinary. My money saving habits and budgeting has definitely improved thanks to Mint. I almost have the money to go to Japan even though I am living on the income of a graduate assistant & paying my way through graduate school. Thank you, Mint! :)”
The contest may be over, but we know you have more financial goals to conquer! Please continue to share your special #MyMintMoment with us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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Who needs hotels anymore? One of the internet’s greatest travel perks is that it’s much easier for those looking for a place to stay to connect with someone who has a room to spare.
Rental sites like Airbnb.com let anyone put their spare couch, bed or house up for rent. The upsides for hosts: Greet people from all over the world, and pocket some cash for their efforts. The benefits for guests: Stay at unique places for a fraction of the price of a hotel room.
But staying at someone’s home isn’t quite the same as a hotel. There’s etiquette for both host and guest to follow so that both parties get the most out of the experience.
For Hosts:
Charge less first, then raise your rates, but be realistic. Figuring out how to price your place can be tricky. Charge too much and you won’t get any bookings; charge too little and you won’t be making as much as you could. Keep in mind that Airbnb earns its cut by doing a 6 to 12 percent markup on the listing price, so if you list a room for $100, Airbnb lists it for $106 to $112 and takes that extra money. But because it can be tough to get bookings on a site like Airbnb without a solid base of reviews, you may want to undercharge at first.
Jane Hodges, a business journalist whose new book about renting versus buying a house will be published this spring, listed the basement of her West Seattle home in April. Initially, she charged $55 per night and immediately got a ton of interest. Now her rate is $61, with a two-night minimum. She probably could charge more but the basement is not completely finished, particularly in the walk between the bedroom and bathroom, and she’s upfront with guests about that.
Chris Williams, a retired teacher in the former gold mining town of Nevada City, California, decided to list the granny flat and a few spare rooms in her home on AirBnB to create extra income. She, too, started low on the pricing, but as her guests left rave reviews on the website, her rooms started showing up higher on the search listing, and she eventually had a full calendar of bookings. Still she keeps her rates lower than she could — $35 to $45 per room, with a two-night minimum – because the kitchen, living room and outdoor patio are all common areas, and she doesn’t serve meals. “I realize that the rooms aren’t as private as hotel rooms, so I don’t feel I can charge as much.”
Use the professional photographer. Airbnboffers to send one to new listings so that quality photos of your room appear on the site. Both Hodges and Williams had photographers who routinely shoot for realtors’ property listings come to their homes. Take advantage of that. Because the photographers know what they’re doing, they generally will do a better job emphasizing the assets of your home better than you can. Also, Airbnb-commissioned shots feature a “Airbnb.com Verified Photo” watermark on the site, which makes potential guests believe that your killer apartment actually exists.
Consider a two-night minimum. Of course, if you’re starting out as a new listing, it’s wise to go short to build up your list of reviews. Once you earn those, it’s better financially to go for longer-term guests. “I’ve turned down requests for people who need a place to stay for a night, will arrive at 11 p.m. and leave for the airport at 6 a.m. Ditto for people who want the place on the same day. It takes time for me to get the place ready — wash up, dust, vaccum, shop for breakfast” says Williams. It’s not worthwhile to do that day-in, day-out, especially if you’ve got a life, and daily maintenance will eat into those rental fees.
Ask guests to contact you first. Atthe top of your listing, ask that people send you a note inquiring about availability before trying to book. This serves as a test for whether they actually read your listing before attempting to book, or were simply dashing off requests to everybody in a five-mile radius. It also allows you to communicate with potential tenants, so you can decide whether or not you feel comfortable taking them as guests. But respond to every message, even if it’s only to say that your place isn’t available. Airbnb tracks and publishes what percentage of messages you reply to as your “Response Rate,” so having a high number makes you look like a more receptive host, and it puts you higher up in the search rankings.
Fill out a detailed profile. That means a real photo of you (smiling, of course), and a bit of information about who you are. A filled-out profile reminds potential guests that you’re a real person. Also, make sure you list your neighborhood. Airbnb listings allow you to tag your place by neighborhood. It allow users who are searching for particular neighborhoods (say, the neighborhood of Williamsburg in the vast borough of Brooklyn) to find you.
Screen potential guests. If somebody who contacted you via Airbnb has no reviews or an incomplete account, ask them to send a bit of info about themselves. You want to know as much about a potential tenant as possible because you are letting them into your home, after all.
Also, you want to make sure it’s a good host/guest fit. Some hosts like to hang out with their guests and show them around town, other prefer that guests be as self-sufficient as possible. Williams is the former. She asks guests what brings them to town, so she knows what advice to give them to make their trip more fun. “I’ve found that just about everybody is happy to share that info. If they refuse or ignore the request, I consider that a warning sign, and I move onto the next person.”
Offer the basics. Good linens and towels (including washcloths) are a must. Hodges recommends good bedside lighting and a table or stand to put a book and a glass of water down on at bedtime. She also includes a coffeemaker and a cold breakfast of granola bars and fruit (cheap and easy to purchase). Williams puts hairdryers in every room, and takes mini bottles of shampoo and conditioners from her hotel trips to put in her guest bathrooms. “I can’t tell you how many guests told me that I just saved them luggage space. Anything you can do to lighten their luggage load is a plus, and makes them feel like they are staying in more of a hotel-like environment.”
For Renters:
Do not try to book without communicating first. Airbnb is not Expedia or Travelocity. Just because a date appears to be available on the calendar does not mean you can stay there that night. Message the host, introduce yourself , tell them what brings you to town, then ask politely if your requested dates are available.
Read the entire listing before messaging. Don’t waste the host’s time by asking questions with readily available answers like “are you near the airport?” or “do you have a kitchen?” You look like a undesirable guest and you’re far more likely to have your request rejected. “I don’t want to be their mom,” says Hodges. “If they book decently in advance and do research on the area, I am happy to fill out the cracks.”
It’s not a hotel. That means you should have some basic courtesy when it comes to cleaning up after yourself and making noise. Remember that your hosts have lives, too. One of Hodges’ biggest annoyances is guests who don’t say what time they’ll arrive. “Some people are not specific when they’re coming, so I’m stuck in the house waiting for them. Now when they book, I ask them to give me a two-hour window so I know what time to be here when they arrive.”
Williams’ pet peeve is guests who bring “extra guests” home at night. “You’re a few steps up from being a stranger in my home. I don’t want total strangers as well.”
Fill out your profile. The same rules apply to guests as hosts. “If your profile makes you look friendly and decent, I’ll usually allow you to book,” says Williams. That means a real (non-threatening) photo of you, and some information about who you are and where you’re coming from. More than anything else you do, this will raise the percentage of your reservation requests being accepted.
Vanessa Richardson is a freelance writer in San Francisco who writes about small business and personal finance.
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John Ulzheimer, a MintLife personal finance expert, is answering questions straight from fans of the Mint.com Facebook page. Here’s what he has to say about short sales and credit scores:
Q1: How exactly does short selling your home impact your credit and for how long?
A short sale is a more recently popular way to dispose of an underwater mortgage, which is a mortgage where you owe more than the home is worth. According to some sources, about 30% of mortgages are currently in this situation, including the mortgage belonging to yours truly, a humbled credit expert.
A short sale occurs when a buyer makes an offer on your home but that offer doesn’t cover the amount of loans taken against the house. So, if you owe $250,000 but are offered only $200,000, then you’ve been made a short offer. If your lender agrees to accept the offer to dispose of the home, then the home has been sold short. The good news is you’re out of the loan and don’t owe that $50,000 deficiency balance.
The news isn’t all good. Short sales are reported to the credit reporting agencies as a settlement, which is an accurate depiction of the loan. The lender settled for less than your really owe, hence the settlement credit reporting. And, yes, settlements are considered to be derogatory by credit scoring systems.
Don’t believe the marketing by real estate agents that short sales are better for your credit than foreclosures. That’s not true. Settlements will remain on your credit reports as long as foreclosures do and they have the same impact to your credit scores. The only difference is if the lender doesn’t report the deficiency balance along with your settlement. If that’s the case, then the impact to your credit scores isn’t quite as bad as a foreclosure.
Q2: Why does not paying our bills drop our credit, but paying them does nothing? I shouldn’t have to have debt to get credit, it seems stupid and backwards!
I appreciate your frustration when it comes to credit ratings/scores. They are maddening if you expect them to function like common sense suggests. This isn’t going to change your mind but credit scores are completely driven based on what’s predictive of your risk as a borrower. Some things matter and some things don’t.
Now, having said that, your comment about having debt being necessary to get credit is absolutely incorrect. In fact, not having debt is much better because of the infamous “DTI” ratio. DTI, or debt-to-income, is the amount you pay each month to satisfy debts, relative to your income. The fewer debts you have, the better your debt-to-income percentage and the more likely you are to be approved for large loans, like mortgages.
Additionally, I can assure you as someone who spent seven years with his hands deep inside the FICO scoring system, that paying your bills is handsomely rewarded by FICO. The most important factor in your FICO score is your payment history. The absence of negative information, which means you always pay your bills on time, is worth 35% of the points in your scores.
The issue of having debt in order to have a good credit score or get more credit is widely misreported, mostly by people who simply don’t understand credit scoring. You don’t have to have one penny of debt (or ever had one penny of debt) to have FICO scores well into the 800s. FICO scoring has no memory, so they don’t know what your debt was yesterday, the day before, or 5 years before.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: When you apply for credit you’re getting into debt. That’s incorrect. Every single credit card you have ever opened starts off with a $0 balance. And, if you pay your bill in full each month, then you never have credit card debt.
Taking out loans, such as mortgages, auto loans, student loans or personal loans, certainly does mean you’re getting into debt. However, this is certainly considered a very different type of debt than that vile credit card debt, which, incidentally, is much less as a country than our student loan debt. And, FICO weighs that installment form of debt very differently than it weighs credit card debt. It’s quite easy to have great FICO scores even with large amounts of installment debt.
John Ulzheimer is the President of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com, the credit blogger for Mint.com, and a contributor for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. He is an expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft. Formerly of FICO, Equifax and Credit.com, John is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry. The opinions expressed in his articles are his and not of Mint.com or Intuit. Follow John on Twitter.
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We recently asked you to share what the “American Dream” means to you. And share you did! From coast to coast, twenty-somethings to those “older than dirt” (direct quote), you all defined the American Dream, shared if you’ve achieved it and got candid about what’s holding you back if you feel you are not there yet.
Historically, the American Dream has been symbolized by the idyllic house complete with a white picket fence, a married couple and two kids. Some of you identified with that.
However, for many in our survey, the new definition of the American Dream is grounded in the themes of happiness, being debt-free and having a fulfilling career – in fact 61% of you polled on Twitter identified being financially free as your version of the American Dream.
Many of you also place a high value on investing in higher education and investing in others with a goal of helping people.
When it comes to goals associated with achieving the American Dream, your responses varied. The majority is digging out of debt and focused on raising a family… comfortably. Still others expressed interest in traveling the world, starting a business and retiring early.
Inspired by your words, we hit the streets to learn more about how some people are defining the American Dream. Take a look at what they had to say:
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Like we’ve said, this notion of the American Dream is as unique as each one of us. Here’s another example of how this is varied amongst our Minters: A 24-year old woman from Detroit has achieved her dream of becoming a baker. And for her, achieving one dream has led her to another one. Her new goal is coming up with new flavors people love. In her own words, she wants to “… reinvent old classics and create new tastes.”
And isn’t that in some way how we should be thinking about our own dreams and money? Stay true to who we are while never giving up on the dream of doing what we love.
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Refinancing your mortgage is a great way to save money. As both a real estate investor and homeowner, I’ve refinanced mortgages about ten times in the last ten years. My wife and I are in the process of refinancing our mortgage on our primary residence now, for the second time in 12 months.
Through this process, including one failed attempt at a refi, I’ve learned a lot about how the process works. I’ve learned that it’s easy to mess up a home refinance. So, with that in mind, here are seven ways to wreck your next mortgage refinance.
Failing to Shop Around for the Best Rates
While home mortgage rates typically fall within a tight range from one bank to the next, they can and do vary. Even a small variance of 25 basis points can have a significant financial impact over the course of a 15 or 30-year mortgage. It’s important to compare mortgage rates before locking in a loan.
Failing to Consider Fees
Costs are a critical component in determining whether it makes sense to refinance a mortgage. In some cases, banks will attempt to make their rates look very attractive by adding in significant costs to the loan. As a result, make sure you keep a close eye on the fees charged for the loan. Fortunately, costs for different loans are easy to compare because banks are required to provide you with a “Good Faith Estimate” that itemizes all of the costs of the loan.
Neglecting Your Credit Score
Your FICO credit score plays a significant role in determining the interest rate you can get. As a general rule, a FICO score in the mid to high 700’s will secure the lowest mortgage rates available, so long as you otherwise qualify for the loan. As your credit score goes down, however, the interest rates can rise significantly. If your credit is less than stellar, you should considering improving your FICO score before refinancing your mortgage if at all possible.
Acquiring More Credit During the Refinance
I learned this one the hard way. During our current refinance, we applied for and obtained a new credit card. While this did not scuttle our loan application, it required significant documentation about the new card and any balances on the card. In some cases, new credit or debt obtained after you have been approved for the loan could wreck the refinance. Avoid new credit if at all possible, and at a minimum, discuss the issue with your bank or mortgage broker before applying.
Ignoring Your Savings Account
I was surprised by how much money we need to have available for closing. While the fees for our loan are minimal, we are required to bring enough cash for prepaid items (insurance and taxes), as well as interest on the loan from the date of closing to the end of the month. These items can easily add up to several thousand dollars and banks are required to document where you obtained the cash for closing. In our case, they required a copy of our most recent bank statement along with an explanation of the source of any large deposit. As a result, it’s important to maintain sufficient savings to handle the closing costs.
Changing Jobs During the Refinance
Sometimes we have no choice but to change jobs and in some cases, an opportunity comes along that’s too good to pass up. If you are in the middle of a refinance, keep in mind that a new job will, at a minimum, add a lot of documentation requirements to your loan. If you can hold off until closing, that’s ideal. Otherwise, like taking on new credit, speak to your mortgage broker about the situation.
Yo-yo Refinancing
This is my term for those that refinance their house repeatedly. Having refinanced our house twice in 12 months, one could easily accuse us of committing this sin (a 30-year fixed rate south of 4% was too hard to pass up!). The key to remember, however, is that refinancing back into a 30-year mortgage adds a lot of time and interest to your mortgage. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself at the doorstep of retirement with a hefty mortgage still remaining on your home. One alternative is to refinance into a 15 or 20-year mortgage if you can handle the payments. You can compare the differences between a 15 and 30-year mortgage here.
We stuck with a 30-year mortgage, but my wife has informed me that it’s the last time she is agreeing to a refinance. I sure hope rates don’t go below 3 percent!
This article comes from Rob Berger, the founder of the popular personal finance blog, the Dough Roller, and credit card comparison site, Credit Card Offers IQ.
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