Home Ownership When You Are Single

It’s the American dream, owning your own home. When I was married we had a house built, when we got divorced he wanted it and I didn’t want to fight about it. My ex husband lost it a few years later and ruined my credit in the process. I thought I would never own a home, I so badly wanted Hailey to have a home, not an apartment to come home to. When you are single it is even more important that you don’t let someone talk you into a home that will stretch your budget. When you are still … Continue reading

Home Sweet Home

It’s the American dream, owning your own home. When I was married we had a house built, when we got divorced he wanted it and I didn’t want to fight about it. My ex husband lost it a few years later and ruined my credit in the process. I thought I would never own a home, I so badly wanted Hailey to have a home, not an apartment to come home to. When you are single it is even more important that you don’t let someone talk you into a home that will stretch your budget. When you are still … Continue reading

Your Thrift Store Purchases Can Affect Your Credit Cards

I read a very interesting article on CreditCards.com this morning. In it, the author explains that making credit card purchases at certain stores, including thrift stores can negatively affect your ability to get credit as well as how much credit you will get and even interest rates. Basically, although the credit card companies can’t see exactly what you are purchasing, they may consider it risky behavior if you spend money at casinos, fast food restaurants and thrift stores. Okay, let’s put aside for the moment all of that data mining and how scary it is that there is all sorts … Continue reading

Will Your Home Sell in a Recession? Broad Appeal

Are you wondering if it is the right time to sell your current home? Are you worried about all the information and opinion in the media that tell us that this is the wrong time to put a home on the market? There are certain elements that will sell a home, no matter the overall housing market. So far, I’ve talked about the following factors: Carrying costs, trends, location, sidewalks and septic, and durability. Now, let us consider broad appeal. Broad appeal is just what it sounds like. You want you home to appeal to the broadest selection of buyers. … Continue reading

Stemming Credit Card Debt

Do you need to get a hold on your credit card expenses? Credit cards are one of the leading causes for financial problems. I can’t say enough about paying them off as soon as possible and not racking up new debt. Here are some ways to get the outward money flow under control. Many experts tell you to freeze that credit card in the freezer or leave it at home so you won’t be tempted to use to to spend, spend, spend. But, what if you have an emergency that requires a credit card while you are out? Perhaps your … Continue reading

Home Week in Review: February 11th Through February 17th

From scary weather to Valentines fun, this has been a busy week here in the Home blog. Did you have a good one? How did you spend your time in your home? Here we have been busy prepping and priming up the family room. I’ll be writing more about that. But for now, why not check out the articles we shared this past week. February 11th Scary Weather The wind has been howling so badly this week and into the weekend. Our neighbors and ourselves have lost large tree limbs and some trees, too. One large tree cracked in two … Continue reading

Buying a Home with Bad Credit: Part 2

Earlier I started answering a question by one of our members here at Families.Com. She asked: “We have really bad credit, should we find a realtor that will help us fix/rebuild our credit before buying a house. Or should we try to fix it ourselves?” We are now in the second part of answering this question. If you missed the first part, you can read it by clicking here: Buying a Home with Bad Credit. Now, let us continue. Begin to work on repairing your credit. As much as you can, pay off old debts and loans. Start with the … Continue reading

Buying a Home with Bad Credit

Yesterday, I received the following question about buying a home. It is a good one. Houses are plentiful and discounted in today’s market, so provided that you can pay in cash or get a good interest rate, it is a good time to buy. Bad credit can affect your ability to get a good mortgage. On to the question. “I have a question! “We have really bad credit, should we find a realtor that will help us fix/rebuild our credit before buying a house. Or should we try to fix it ourselves?” While a realtor can advise you on ways … Continue reading

How Important Is My Credit Score?

Our society has become overly concerned with credit scores. If you have a bad credit score then you do need to be concerned. If you have no credit score, then you really do not need to worry. You may consider getting a credit card to help to build your credit score, but I would only recommend that if you were sure to never carry a balance on the card. Credit scores are used to determine the interest rate that most companies are willing to offer you for a loan. The time that people worry most about their credit score is … Continue reading

Parents Listen To Your Instincts

Have you ever had an experience where you allowed yourself to be influenced by what another parent was doing instead of listening to your gut? How did that work out? If your experience was anything like the experience that I had today, it probably did not work out too well. It started at the grocery store. Before we went in I reminded Dylan that since we had just had a snack, he would not be getting a snack at the store. To his credit, he did not ask me for a snack while we were at the store. He did … Continue reading