If you have been in your home for a while, you might be thinking that perhaps it’s time to add a couple of upgrades. This might be especially true if you think you might like to sell in a couple of years (after the housing market has recovered a little bit). Or, perhaps you are planning on buying a fixer-upper for a great deal. No matter your reason for a remodel, you should realize that the chances of actually getting back what you paid, dollar for dollar, is slim. Therefore, it helps to remodel your home the smart way. Here are 5 tips that can help you maximize your return for your remodeling dollar:
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When I was a kid, purchasing school supplies meant getting a new notebook, a couple of pencils and pens, and a back pack. Today, you get a huge list of supplies the school expects you to buy for each child a few weeks before school begins. Have several kids, and it can be rather expensive. Here are a few ways that I’ve come up with to save money on buying school supplies.
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Do you ever wonder how your monthly mortgage payment is calculated?
…I am buying a house and received a huge package of disclosures from my lender. There’s an amortization schedule table in there with a ton of numbers. My lender said it’s just standard procedure to send them and for me not to worry. Do I need to care about this? And why is less of my money going towards principal at the beginning? Is it their tactic to make more money?
– Writes Kathy
Participants of an amortizing loan (aka a fixed rate mortgage) should get to know the amortization schedule, a table that details each periodic payment and how much of it gets applied to the principal and interest. In order to illustrate what this schedule tells us, let’s start off with an example. A $100,000, 30-year fixed loan at 5% interest will have the schedule as follows:
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You know that if you want to make it through retirement, you need to plan now. And that planning should involve an investment plan. Your goals and individual needs will be a big part of the kind of investment portfolio you have to get you through your retirement years. Here are some steps to take in order to create your retirement investment plan:
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Everyone seems to have a gym membership these days. Whether you stick with the same place year after year or hop around, a gym membership can be expensive, especially if you opt for a full service institution.
When you are single, you might be able to justify spending $50 or even $100 per month on your membership, but once those kids start coming along, you find yourself rethinking that sum of money. There are many ways you can cut back and still find a good gym for your workouts, and here are a few suggestions.
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I was wondering if you can offer me any information about investing in stocks and real estate. I am tired of doing this shift-job. My hours are 7-3, and getting a salary with one minute you have it and the next minute its all gone. Please help.
– Writes Beckie
First of all, good job with wanting to do better. The drive to have financial stability is an important (and seldom talked about) first step in financial independence. But here’s the reality. What you need to figure out first is not how to invest, but to learn how to live below your means and save. Investing requires capital, and that comes from money you have. It could come from savings, or from a side hustle. Either way, money doesn’t grow on trees.
And don’t listen to everyone who tells you that you can make money in investments out of nothing either. While there are examples of people who seem to be stock picking geniuses, the odds of someone having those abilities seem to rival winning the lottery. The majority who become wealthy with investing do so from income generated through managing other people’s assets. Getting rich solely with the stock market, or other investments, is largely a fantasy. It’s possible, but chances are slim that you could do it. Investing will help your money grow, but if you need it to explode to the upside to replace your job, I hate to say this, but don’t bet on it happening. Again, save, save, save, and put it in online savings accounts first.
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