When you are thinking about getting a mortgage or refinancing, consider the rate, the term (length), and the fees. There are lots of fancy mortgages out there and you want to be an informed consumer. The old addage applies, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” I’d go for a fixed rate mortgage, not a variable rate because rates are more likely to go up from here, and you don’t want to be caught by surprise 2 years down the road with a big interest rate adjustment. Calculate the total cost of the mortgage and try to put down at least 20% of the purchase price. For a refinance, it is better not to extend out your term too long, because it will really cost you in the end, and figure out what your break-even point is adjusting for fees. If you are saving $200 per month in the new mortgage payment but you are paying an extra $2000 in fees to do the refi, then obviously it will take you almost a year before you will breakeven. There are tax benefits from paying interest on a mortgage, but that shouldn’t be a primary consideration.

The three most important words in personal finance are SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! Start an automatic savings program for yourself by shifting $10 per day or $70 per week (if it’s $40 or $50 per week that’s okay, too). After 6 months you’ll have $1200-$1500 saved and after a year almost $3000. If you make small moves consistently in your spending behavior then you’ll hardly feel the lost money, and I’m sure most of us can find a way to save a few dollars each day. Let me know how it goes!

I heard this morning that the REAL unemployment rate isn’t 10.2%, what the government report said last week. If you consider the full-time work unemployment rate which includes people who are only working part-time because they can’t get work full-time, those who aren’t on unemployment because their benefit period ran out, and those who just stopped trying to find a job, the REAL rate is over 17%! Now of course productivity is up because fewer people are doing more work, and profits are starting to rise because the companies have cut their expenses by a lot (fewer workers). Supposedly the good news is that temporary job openings have increased slightly. This naturally follows because it is the cheapest way for employers to fill in their hiring needs with the least commitment.

With all of the news about the home buyer’s tax credit, it is important to evaluate the total cost of a home versus a rental. Many potential home buyers compare the expected monthly mortgage to what they pay for monthly rent, but it’s not that simple. When you own a home you pay the mortgage but you also pay insurance, taxes, and probably repair costs, lawn maintenance, pest control, alarm service. These other expenses can add another 30% on top of the mortgage payment. Of course a house is theoretically an investment-an asset- but as we all know by now, that asset vaue can go up and down. Take all of these factors into consideration when thinking about buying versus renting, and do your homework regarding locations, comparative housing prices, rental prices, and the population characteristics of the town you are in or moving to, (Is it an older or younger population? Do most residents work in one industry? Is the town’s tax revenue going up or down? Is the school system good?).

The Senate passed the extension of the home buyer tax credit bill last Thursday and this afternoon the House also passed the bill. This bill increases the income eligibility limits and adds a credit for homeowners who are looking to upgrade houses. Make sure you understand the terms and conditions before making any decisions.

Whether you are 18 years old or 45, your credit report will rule your life on many levels. Over 75% of today’s employers will check your credit report before hiring you. That goes for high level jobs, fast food servers, telephone pole climbers and secretaries. Employers figure that if you are irresponsible with your debt you will be and irresponsible employee and if you have too much debt you are more likely to steal from their company. In addition, most landlords will check your report before offering you a lease. Car, mortgage, credit card, insurance and bank loan companies will determine your interest rate based on how “risky” they believe you are. SO…. check your report every 4 months; you are entitled to a free report every year from each of the 3 credit bureaus. You should check for errors, any inkling of identity theft and to find out if there is a debt in collection that you weren’t aware of, like a long past-due emergency room bill. If you think you are going to be job or apartment hunting in the next 6 months, be sure to pull your credit report so you have time to correct errors. Make sure to put your disputes or correction requests IN WRITING. To get your free report go to annualcreditreport.com.

With the holidays arriving soon, I thought it would be a good time to give you some creative ways to get the most mileage out of leftover turkey. So visit me weekly from now until Thanksgiving for great recipes that will turn those leftovers into delectable low cost meals.
The following ingredients will provide you with a basic turkey dinner. Keep in mind that some stores give FREE or low priced turkeys and that store brands can be cheaper in cost but provide the same quality as major brands. Shop smart and take advantage of all sale items.

Ingredients:

1 16 lb turkey $19.80
1 box of store brand stuffing 1.00
1 large yellow onion 1.00
1 small onion for the stuffing .70
4 yams 1.85
1 head cauliflower 2.00
Mixed bag of Salad 3.00
Italian sausage 2.00
Fresh parsley 2.00
2 tbsp butter for stuffing and cauliflower .50
2 tbsp salad dressing, olive oil
1 tbsp flour, brown sugar
Total cost $34.85

Turkey Directions:
Chop the onion into small pieces and surround the turkey in a roasting pan.
(The cooked onions will be used in making the gravy.)
Sprinkle the turkey and onions with salt and pepper before placing in the oven.
Cook the turkey according to the directions on the packaging (approximately 3 hrs).
Add 1 cup of water to the pan when turkey is ¾ cooked (the first step to making gravy).
When the turkey is fully cooked remove it from the pan, place in serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
Place the roasting pan on stovetop and make the gravy as follows:
For thick gravy, mix 1 tbsp of flour and 1cup of water until all lumps are dissolved.
Mash the cooked onions and combine water and flour mixture with the drippings of the turkey. Cook over medium heat until gravy thickens, add salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley. For thinner gravy, add more water.

Stuffing:
Prepare the stuffing according to the directions on the box about 1 hour before you serve the turkey. In a small pan you can sauté the chopped small onion, Italian sausage and parsley in butter and add to the stuffing mix for a more flavorful stuffing.

Yams:
After the turkey is in the oven for about 2 hours wrap the yams in tin foil and place in the oven with the turkey. They will only need 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. Poke them with a fork, and when the center is soft take them out of the oven. Serve them cut in half or sliced with a little butter and brown sugar.

Cauliflower:
Cook one head of cauliflower in the microwave or on top of the stove until soft. Add one pat of butter or garlic and olive oil when the cauliflower is cooked. You can separate the flowerets or serve whole.

Add a nice green salad and you have a wonderful low cost Thanksgiving meal!

When it comes to constructing a bridge, you certainly want solid materials not liquid ones. When it comes to constructing a separation agreement you want to get as many “liquid assets” as possible, not mostly “hard” ones. A liquid asset is something of value that can be turned into money very easily, like cash (obviously), CD’s, savings, and investments in public securities (like stocks and bonds). Hard or “illiquid assets” are items of value that can’t be easily turned into cash, like a house, time share, boat, car. Frequently when a husband and wife are trying to split up their assets, the wife wants to stay in her home, usually for the sake of the children, so she gets the “house value” in her part of the agreement and the husband then gets an equivalent value in cash or investments. The split is equal in theoretical value but not in a real long-term valuation. The wife needs to have income to maintain the house, pay the utilities, insurance and taxes, and maybe all or part of the mortgage. (We’ll talk about considerations while dividing up debt later.) Meanwhile the liquid assets that the husband has are actually paying him interest, they don’t “cost” him anything, and he can cash them out whenever he wants. When making up a separation agreement, be very mindful of the liquid and illiquid asset distributions. FOCUS ON THE MATH!

Food can be the third largest expense in your budget after shelter and car/transportation costs. Luckily it is an expense that can be somewhat controlled. The key is to make a 7-day meal plan at the beginning of the week and only go shopping once per week. Don’t take the kids and don’t go when you’re hungry! If you check the online promotions and create your menu ahead of time, you can make healthy,low-cost family meals for $1-$3.00 per person. Double-up on the recipe and you can eat part for one dinner and either freeze the rest or use it as another lunch or dinner. If your budget is super tight and you are eating Ramen Noodles 5 times a week, there is a great nonprofit food distribution organization called Angel Food Ministries. They operate throughout most of the U.S. and don’t require any application or income level to participate. Go online to angelfoodministries.com to locate a distribution center near you (usually local churches are the distribution centers) and to see the month’s menu choices. You must order in advance and then be able to pick up the food when it is at the distribution point. At a cost of approximately $35 you will get good quality food made up of fresh and frozen meats, vegetables, starch and fruit, enough to feed one person for a month or a family of four for a week.

As a credit counselor for a nonprofit credit counseling agency, I heard about credit card “debt repair” solutions my clients had chosen that ended up being nightmares. It is not possible to “eliminate” or “cut by 50%” your debt, which was mostly credit card and medical debt in my clients’ cases, and have no consequences. As they say, “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.” If you speak to a salesperson at a debt consolidation company that isn’t part of an accredited nonprofit organization, what they want you to do in order to get rid of your debt, is to stop paying on your cards and unsecured loans (like medical debt) and start depositing a certain amount of money into the consolidation company’s coffers. They claim to be able to talk the creditors into accepting a lot less money as settlement of your debt. What they are really doing is waiting until your accounts are so delinquent that they go to a third-party collection agency who buys your debt from the original creditor at pennies on the dollar. During this time, by the way, your credit score is tanking. Then they use the money that you have been paying them every month to pay the collection agency an agreed upon amount per month until the debt is paid off. Unfortunately, it can take a long time for the account to be passed on to a collection agency, and some collection agencies won’t deal with the consolidator. So as months and months go by, you think that your debt is being eliminated-problem solved. Actually, your credit score has suffered a beating very similar to filing for bankruptcy, some debt isn’t being paid off at all, and here’s a real surprise- the debt that was “settled”, say you owed $20,000 and you were able to cut it down to $10,000 through the consolidation program- Uncle Sam considers the $10,000 you didn’t have to pay as INCOME and you will owe taxes on it. Bottom line: talk to an accredited counselor at a nonprofit counseling agency where there are programs that reduce your monthly interest and payments, and you pay off ALL of your debt. If you are in real deep, income is down, debt is going up and this solution doesn’t work either, the counselor may suggest bankruptcy. Your credit score will suffer and it will be on your credit report for 7-10 years, but your score will be awful anyway and you will have a fresh start with no tax liability.