Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Week 12

Written by on December 14, 2011 · 4 Comments
cute house

This week's class was on Real Estate and Mortgages. I liked this class a lot. Dave has a ton of great information about real estate since he's been in the industry his whole life. He has lots of funny and interesting stories. Dave is anti-mortgage, no surprises there. He would love it if everyone paid cash for their mortgages but he acknowledges that that's not going to happen. He does encourage everyone to pay off their house early, after paying off their debt and saving for retirement. In this lesson he gave tips for selling your home. Things like to clean it perfect, including the windows and the front door. Basically life in your house as if it was a model home. You are moving anyways so pack up most of your personal belongings. You want the new buyer to feel like it's their home as soon as they walk in. That won't happen if you still have your ceramic rooster collection on display. Read more »

Should You Buy Points to Lower Your Mortgage Rate?

Written by on September 7, 2011 · 1 Comment
red house

With interest rates at the lowest they’ve been in most of our adult lives it’s a pretty tempting time to buy or refinance your mortgage. One option you often have when negotiating a home loan is whether or not to buy points. What are points? Points are basically pre-paid interest. You will pay 1% of the loan amount to bring down the rate by .125%. So if you are financing $150,000 you will pay $1,500 for one point. The lower your interest rate the lower your payment will be and you will pay the less interest over the course of [...] Read more »

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Mortgage Free – Why This is Essential for Traditional Retirement

Written by on May 20, 2011 · 5 Comments
retirement house

Who in their right mind would argue that being mortgage free is the only way to be if you expect to retire in some traditional way, with a house of your own? That would be me. As they say, "opinions vary" and "results vary." But, if you pay off the mortgage before you retire, that eliminates a large financial obligation essential for living - someplace to live. That's one of the big reasons it makes sense to me. From my vantage point, as an early self-retired individual, I see being 100% debt free as an essential part of having peace of mind when you retire, and I'm up on my soapbox to explain why. Gather 'round my financially fit friends and lend me your ears. Read more »

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Home Ownership – Should You Buy or Should You Rent?

Written by on February 10, 2011 · 4 Comments
home

Ahh, the controversial subject of buying versus renting. Many of you know where I stand on this topic, but I wanted to share this article with you submitted by a guest contributor that offers a basic, common sense approach. I think the housing crisis has changed a lot of minds about what it means to own a home, but the important thing is that you make the right decision for you and your family. On one hand, right now is a great time to buy a home, but on the other, it might make more sense to rent until your [...] Read more »

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My Story: A Mortgage Nightmare Confession

Written by on October 7, 2010 · 36 Comments
house

Have you ever looked back in time and wished you could do something all over again, or not at all? Hindsight always objectively highlights mistakes that we make, and often causes us to play the “if I knew then what I know now” game. Fortunately for us, this story has a light at the end of the tunnel. If anything, we learned a very valuable lesson in home ownership, specifically in terms of getting the right mortgage. As most of you know though, my wife and I decided long ago that once we were free from the bondage of mortgage [...] Read more »

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Book Review & Giveaway: The New Rules for Mortgages

Written by on August 25, 2010 · 9 Comments
new rules cover

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a magnificent week so far! Before I get started, I feel I need to clarify a few things about my views and beliefs concerning a mortgage. As most of you know, I am against debt, but I do realize that not all people are going to go out there and save, save, save, in order to pay 100% cash down. Some people, if not most, would even consider that to be impossible. I’ll save that discussion for another day, but I just want to point out that I understand that the average [...] Read more »

Should You Grow Your Nest Egg Or Pay Off Your Mortgage?

Written by on May 4, 2010 · 31 Comments
freedom alone

If you have ever found yourself in a position to ask yourself, “Should I save more money or pay off the house?”, first I should congratulate you because you are gem in matters of personal finance. With the majority of people living paycheck to paycheck, having this problem is a pleasant one indeed. Be sure to check out the other articles written by my fellow Money Mavens team listed at the bottom of this post. A little diversity on the subject can’t be bad.  So…should you grow your investments or pay off your mortgage? Just as I tell anyone that [...] Read more »

Does Taking Advice From An Expert Relieve You Of Responsibility?

Written by on April 30, 2010 · 23 Comments
bank

Ever since I wrote My Beef With Rich Dad Poor Dad Author Robert Kiyosaki, I’ve been thinking. When it comes to taking advice from anyone, even if they are considered to be an expert, should we just do what they suggest without doing our own homework? I believe that we are still responsible for making sure that any advice that we follow is sound advice. Doctor’s are considered experts and you still hear people say “Did you get a second opinion?”. Being an expert doesn’t mean that you always have the right answers, it simply means that you should be [...] Read more »

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The American Dream Is Only As Good As Your Plan To Achieve It

Written by on April 29, 2009 · 15 Comments
taxdisadvantage

Go to www.daveramsey.com/fpu to learn more! Decisions, Decisions! The American dream is to own a home, but at what cost?  Should you sacrifice financial security just to buy a home?  Should you take advantage of creative financing in order to bypass the red flags?  Should you buy a home if you have absolutely no savings and no down payment?  The answer is NO to all of the above.  If you attended the Town Hall For Hope event then Dave Ramsey attempted to teach us a new word.  That word is “NO”. His point was that we need to learn how [...] Read more »

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Buying vs. Renting – What Should You Do?

Written by on August 20, 2008 · 6 Comments

I think a majority of people would say it is better to buy simply because of the “I own it”, way of thinking. I used to believe the same thing. I think people do not take into consideration all of the things that should change that “normal” way of thinking. Dave Ramsey believes that if you are in debt, have no savings and no plan you SHOULD NOT buy, and I am right there beside him in agreement. You need to consider insurance costs, property taxes, as well as being responsible for ALL repairs. All of which does not enter [...] Read more »

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