For me, I am taking it day by day. Each day without incurring more debt is a step in the right direction. My husband and I have absolutely enormous debt issues - credit cards and a student loan payment the size of most people's mortgage. We are at the beginning of our journey... Thanks for this post!
Lots of people will relate to this article. Everyone's situation is unique, Little House has her own perspective, and like she said, she's not a pro, just someone writing her own story and what worked for her.
People have all sorts of different, personal reasons for having financial difficulties. I hope the commenter above Little House continues to have a perfect, event-free life with no bumps in the road(job loss, illness, divorce, business failure, etc) so that he/she can continue to pay the bills in full each month. Good for you.
Be carefull with the spring assisted knives. I got stopped by a police officer and when he asked me if i had any wepons i told him just my pocket knife. 20 mins later they told me that my knife met the legal deffintion of a switch blade because it was spring assisted, in nevada its a gross misdemerner. stick to a gerber or leathermen its just safer.
oh and dont worry, the officers let me off with a warning.
Good points, Julie. After I sent the email to you, I got to thinking that the bank may prefer accepting a debit card payment rather than a credit card. Since debit card is immediate, and virtually the same as a check. They are saying that checks will eventually become obsolete. I'll see what they say tomorrow.
I have never paid my mortgage with a credit card, though I am a user of cc's b/c of rewards and fraud protection. I would think that those would be the benefits of paying with a credit card (mainly greater reewards); those and a grace period from when you incurred the charges and when you actually have to pay the charges.
I would think that the bank that is servicing the mortgage can set the rules for how payments should be made, what forms of payment are acceptable, and if there are any fees involved. The bank may be like my utility company -- it accepts payments via cc but charges a fee. Actually I read up on this a bit -- the utility company figures it is not going to sell more energy by taking a credit card but it still incurs merchant fees so it passes the fee along to the consumer. I would think the same idea applies to the bank -- it doesn't gain more from you by accepting a cc so there may be some resistance. Or they may be happy to accept the card.
The bankers may also be concerned that someone is using a cc card to make a large payment (and possibly build a cc balance) but many won't make that connection: they'll just follow the policies.
Thank you, Julie. I have determined that making a double payment to my 30-year mortgage will not really help me since I am not concerned about paying it off earlier.
One other question: I've heard that using a credit card to make your mortgage payments is a good idea. I'd like to have them charge my credit union VISA card which I pay off monthly. Do you agree that it is a good idea? And, what are the benefits?
I'm thinking of visiting my bank tomorrow and talk to them about doing so. Can you give me any tips? Will the bank charge me any fees to do so? I have a feeling the bank won't do it willingly. It originally required that I have the monthly mortgage automatically withdrawn from my checking account.
Again, thanks.
Intended use is as a writers tool/word processor. I did purchase an external Optical Drive that runs off of the USB port for an extra $49 that reads both DVD and CD formats so putting music on the book will be easy.
Just waiting on some new wrtiers software to get here to load on it.
I have used Net Spend for about 4 yrs now. I was so tired of my other credit cards. As I get closer and closer to retirement (9 yrs and counting) I find it a great way to live within my means. After a messy divorce 11 yrs ago I was lucky enough to live in a state where no matter who the debt was from (husband or wife) I got it. It took me 3 yrs before I had all of it paid off including the IRS for our last yr of marriage (I paid my part but she didn't). I have my pay check directly deposited, signed up for on line bill pay and they do the rest. When there is no money left I am done spending. It also makes me think about what I really need vs what I want. I have like other people have said recieved others such as pay pals etc but I will never be without my Net Spend card. Also more importantly I will never be in debt since it is just like cash.
This year I knit all Fall & made EVERYONE scarves! (my hubby even got a hat...) It was relatively inexpensive - & justified my expenditures on my yarn stash!
I've had a Dell Mini-9 (no longer made - unfortunately) for over a year and can't believe how much I use it. It goes everywhere with me. Only things I added was 1 gig of memory (really easy to do on this model), broadband usb and an external optical drive. Most days it gets more use than my full sized laptop.
I live in Ukraine, and we have had boxed wines from Georgia and Moldova within the past year, and both were surprisingly good. Even here, with typical salaries a fraction of those in the U.S. and thus a huge emphasis on saving money, many people have yet to try boxed wines. Dinner guests have been pleasantly surprised at how drinkable these particular wines have been.
The moral, I think, is that just as you have discovered, it is well worth doing a little exploring to find inexpensive wines that are worth buying a second time.
I have used an Acer netbook since May - heavy internet and word processing use, light photo processing. I 100% love it and will never buy a high priced laptop again. Some cry at the lack of a DVD-drive, but I download every program I need from the internet (including all printer drivers), including streaming movies. It doesn't get hot, is easier to take on trips, etc. TOTALLY the way to go, esp for the price (often $300 w/ free shipping on Tiger Direct). Acers tend to last for years and years. And no, I don't work for Acer!
I started using a net spend debit card 7 months ago. I found them online while searching for a debits card. I lost my Bank account and I can not open a new one. My job requires a Direct Deposit so I had to find some thing to have my money put on. I have been pretty happy wiht the card. There are a few fees like .50 to check your balance over the phone or at an ATM but it is free to check if you do it online. With the Premier service you pay 5.00 for no fee transactions and 2.50 fee for ATM service. They also offer a payday loan through the card of a 100.00 for a fee of 12.50. Not bad considering it cost 20.00 for every 100.00 at pay day loan stores.
This was simply a matter of someone entering the wrong number for text alerts. You can simply reply stop. Its no ploy it was the error of the card holder or a number the card holder had and never changed on their net spend account.
i have had net spend for about 5 years now and they have saved me in may situations. Its a great service and i am sure what has happened to you was not with the intentions to steal money or violate. I deposit money on my account or you can have it direct deposited if your job offers it. also from the website you can send money orders manage your bills and send money to other card holders you can have multiple accounts no overdraft or low balance fees. I have two accounts and when ever my daughter needs some money i just transfer it to her card and i can keep track of her spending and her allowance. I dont have good credit so withou this card i would not be able to make CC purchases or reserve hotel rooms or anything that requires a card. BUt now i can Its great i Recomend it to the avarage guy who just needs to carry on like the other with good credit.
Paying ahead on a traditional, fixed rate mortgage typically won't lower the mortgage payment; instead, you'll pay off the mortgage earlier (which is sort of lowering the payment after many years but that doesn't sound like what you want to do). Extra payments will lower the principal so that the outstanding loan balance is lower, and then more of each payment will be applied to the principal and less to interest but the payment remains the same. So, you will reduce your interest payment sooner and have less to deduct.
If you have a variable rate mortgage, then when the rate resets, the payment would be less than it would have been otherwise if you hadn't made extra payments. Or if you refinance, then you'll refinance on a lower balance.
Paying extra basically reduces the overall payments but it does tie up your money in the house.
I know it would never make it to a brief comparison article like this, but I'm using a Dell Mini 10v running OS X (the classic Hackintosh) and I can't recommend it enough. Gizmodo's article on how to set it up is easy to follow and just plain works.
I've been buying Black Box wine exclusively for about five years. The price made me try it and when I discovered it is quite an acceptable wine, I decided the "snob" factor just wasn't worth throwing my money away on. I'll stick with Black Box, although I may try another boxed wine just to compare taste.
I bought my wife a netbook for her birthday this past year, and she loves it. While it isn't really meant to be used for graphics intensive programs like photoshop, or video editing suites, it works great for surfing the web, checking email, doing facebook -or a variety of other basic tasks. We have taken it on several trips now -and it is so small and portable that we really don't have to worry about the weight or size. It's small!
I wrote about our netbook - the MSI Wind U100 - here.
I am wondering how making a double mortgage payment will help me. I've been in the house for 12 years. I rented at first and purchased in April-2000. The original 30-year loan was $176,302.00 with 8.75 interest. I have refinanced 3 times with the final interest rate of 5.375 and the balance was $174,557.03. It is still a 30-year loan.
Would it do me any good to make a double payment? I'm not concerned about paying off the mortgage soon because I really appreciate the interest deduction on my taxes and have no plans to move.
I'm thinking that making a double payment to principal only would reduce my payment which also reduces my interest to deduct.
So, it may be better to just continue my monthly payments as usual. Please give me suggestions.
Thank you very much.
What a great way to get a snapshot of your finances. I am going to start on this tonight. At first I was depressed about my financial worth until I realized that my savings and retirement accounts counted!
For me, I am taking it day by day. Each day without incurring more debt is a step in the right direction. My husband and I have absolutely enormous debt issues - credit cards and a student loan payment the size of most people's mortgage. We are at the beginning of our journey... Thanks for this post!
What's with the self-righteousness, people?
Lots of people will relate to this article. Everyone's situation is unique, Little House has her own perspective, and like she said, she's not a pro, just someone writing her own story and what worked for her.
People have all sorts of different, personal reasons for having financial difficulties. I hope the commenter above Little House continues to have a perfect, event-free life with no bumps in the road(job loss, illness, divorce, business failure, etc) so that he/she can continue to pay the bills in full each month. Good for you.
At my local place, they make them in order all the time, and also any coupons offered through the e-club are usually just done as the weekly special.
Be carefull with the spring assisted knives. I got stopped by a police officer and when he asked me if i had any wepons i told him just my pocket knife. 20 mins later they told me that my knife met the legal deffintion of a switch blade because it was spring assisted, in nevada its a gross misdemerner. stick to a gerber or leathermen its just safer.
oh and dont worry, the officers let me off with a warning.
Good points, Julie. After I sent the email to you, I got to thinking that the bank may prefer accepting a debit card payment rather than a credit card. Since debit card is immediate, and virtually the same as a check. They are saying that checks will eventually become obsolete. I'll see what they say tomorrow.
I have never paid my mortgage with a credit card, though I am a user of cc's b/c of rewards and fraud protection. I would think that those would be the benefits of paying with a credit card (mainly greater reewards); those and a grace period from when you incurred the charges and when you actually have to pay the charges.
I would think that the bank that is servicing the mortgage can set the rules for how payments should be made, what forms of payment are acceptable, and if there are any fees involved. The bank may be like my utility company -- it accepts payments via cc but charges a fee. Actually I read up on this a bit -- the utility company figures it is not going to sell more energy by taking a credit card but it still incurs merchant fees so it passes the fee along to the consumer. I would think the same idea applies to the bank -- it doesn't gain more from you by accepting a cc so there may be some resistance. Or they may be happy to accept the card.
The bankers may also be concerned that someone is using a cc card to make a large payment (and possibly build a cc balance) but many won't make that connection: they'll just follow the policies.
Thank you, Julie. I have determined that making a double payment to my 30-year mortgage will not really help me since I am not concerned about paying it off earlier.
One other question: I've heard that using a credit card to make your mortgage payments is a good idea. I'd like to have them charge my credit union VISA card which I pay off monthly. Do you agree that it is a good idea? And, what are the benefits?
I'm thinking of visiting my bank tomorrow and talk to them about doing so. Can you give me any tips? Will the bank charge me any fees to do so? I have a feeling the bank won't do it willingly. It originally required that I have the monthly mortgage automatically withdrawn from my checking account.
Again, thanks.
Netbook this week...an HP Mini.
Intended use is as a writers tool/word processor. I did purchase an external Optical Drive that runs off of the USB port for an extra $49 that reads both DVD and CD formats so putting music on the book will be easy.
Just waiting on some new wrtiers software to get here to load on it.
I have used Net Spend for about 4 yrs now. I was so tired of my other credit cards. As I get closer and closer to retirement (9 yrs and counting) I find it a great way to live within my means. After a messy divorce 11 yrs ago I was lucky enough to live in a state where no matter who the debt was from (husband or wife) I got it. It took me 3 yrs before I had all of it paid off including the IRS for our last yr of marriage (I paid my part but she didn't). I have my pay check directly deposited, signed up for on line bill pay and they do the rest. When there is no money left I am done spending. It also makes me think about what I really need vs what I want. I have like other people have said recieved others such as pay pals etc but I will never be without my Net Spend card. Also more importantly I will never be in debt since it is just like cash.
This year I knit all Fall & made EVERYONE scarves! (my hubby even got a hat...) It was relatively inexpensive - & justified my expenditures on my yarn stash!
I've had a Dell Mini-9 (no longer made - unfortunately) for over a year and can't believe how much I use it. It goes everywhere with me. Only things I added was 1 gig of memory (really easy to do on this model), broadband usb and an external optical drive. Most days it gets more use than my full sized laptop.
I live in Ukraine, and we have had boxed wines from Georgia and Moldova within the past year, and both were surprisingly good. Even here, with typical salaries a fraction of those in the U.S. and thus a huge emphasis on saving money, many people have yet to try boxed wines. Dinner guests have been pleasantly surprised at how drinkable these particular wines have been.
The moral, I think, is that just as you have discovered, it is well worth doing a little exploring to find inexpensive wines that are worth buying a second time.
I have used an Acer netbook since May - heavy internet and word processing use, light photo processing. I 100% love it and will never buy a high priced laptop again. Some cry at the lack of a DVD-drive, but I download every program I need from the internet (including all printer drivers), including streaming movies. It doesn't get hot, is easier to take on trips, etc. TOTALLY the way to go, esp for the price (often $300 w/ free shipping on Tiger Direct). Acers tend to last for years and years. And no, I don't work for Acer!
I started using a net spend debit card 7 months ago. I found them online while searching for a debits card. I lost my Bank account and I can not open a new one. My job requires a Direct Deposit so I had to find some thing to have my money put on. I have been pretty happy wiht the card. There are a few fees like .50 to check your balance over the phone or at an ATM but it is free to check if you do it online. With the Premier service you pay 5.00 for no fee transactions and 2.50 fee for ATM service. They also offer a payday loan through the card of a 100.00 for a fee of 12.50. Not bad considering it cost 20.00 for every 100.00 at pay day loan stores.
This was simply a matter of someone entering the wrong number for text alerts. You can simply reply stop. Its no ploy it was the error of the card holder or a number the card holder had and never changed on their net spend account.
i have had net spend for about 5 years now and they have saved me in may situations. Its a great service and i am sure what has happened to you was not with the intentions to steal money or violate. I deposit money on my account or you can have it direct deposited if your job offers it. also from the website you can send money orders manage your bills and send money to other card holders you can have multiple accounts no overdraft or low balance fees. I have two accounts and when ever my daughter needs some money i just transfer it to her card and i can keep track of her spending and her allowance. I dont have good credit so withou this card i would not be able to make CC purchases or reserve hotel rooms or anything that requires a card. BUt now i can Its great i Recomend it to the avarage guy who just needs to carry on like the other with good credit.
Paying ahead on a traditional, fixed rate mortgage typically won't lower the mortgage payment; instead, you'll pay off the mortgage earlier (which is sort of lowering the payment after many years but that doesn't sound like what you want to do). Extra payments will lower the principal so that the outstanding loan balance is lower, and then more of each payment will be applied to the principal and less to interest but the payment remains the same. So, you will reduce your interest payment sooner and have less to deduct.
If you have a variable rate mortgage, then when the rate resets, the payment would be less than it would have been otherwise if you hadn't made extra payments. Or if you refinance, then you'll refinance on a lower balance.
Paying extra basically reduces the overall payments but it does tie up your money in the house.
I know it would never make it to a brief comparison article like this, but I'm using a Dell Mini 10v running OS X (the classic Hackintosh) and I can't recommend it enough. Gizmodo's article on how to set it up is easy to follow and just plain works.
Thanks Lynn!
I realized I didn't know what a netbook actually was. They seem priced low and are perfect for heavy internet users who want portability.
John DeFlumeri Jr
I've been buying Black Box wine exclusively for about five years. The price made me try it and when I discovered it is quite an acceptable wine, I decided the "snob" factor just wasn't worth throwing my money away on. I'll stick with Black Box, although I may try another boxed wine just to compare taste.
I bought my wife a netbook for her birthday this past year, and she loves it. While it isn't really meant to be used for graphics intensive programs like photoshop, or video editing suites, it works great for surfing the web, checking email, doing facebook -or a variety of other basic tasks. We have taken it on several trips now -and it is so small and portable that we really don't have to worry about the weight or size. It's small!
I wrote about our netbook - the MSI Wind U100 - here.
I am wondering how making a double mortgage payment will help me. I've been in the house for 12 years. I rented at first and purchased in April-2000. The original 30-year loan was $176,302.00 with 8.75 interest. I have refinanced 3 times with the final interest rate of 5.375 and the balance was $174,557.03. It is still a 30-year loan.
Would it do me any good to make a double payment? I'm not concerned about paying off the mortgage soon because I really appreciate the interest deduction on my taxes and have no plans to move.
I'm thinking that making a double payment to principal only would reduce my payment which also reduces my interest to deduct.
So, it may be better to just continue my monthly payments as usual. Please give me suggestions.
Thank you very much.
$12 for costco? it's 9.95 here in socal and it will easily feed 4-5.. not the best in taste but it is the best bang for you buck
What a great way to get a snapshot of your finances. I am going to start on this tonight. At first I was depressed about my financial worth until I realized that my savings and retirement accounts counted!
Have you looked at www.RedBubble.com, www.CafePress.com or www.Zazzle.com ?