One of my favorite bloggers posted something like this and I got to wondering if I could possible come up with 25 things- well, here you go!
1. My middle name is Peralta,
2. It used to be Martinez.
3. I was a mariachi when I was younger. No, you will never see a picture.
4. I have more dresses than most people have clothes. No, you haven't seen them all.
5. My favorite designers are Kate Spade, Adrianna Pappel, and Eliza J.
6. I will be a millionaire by the time I'm 40.
7. Yes, I have a plan. :)
8. I'm allergic to almost everything! If I ever go down in front of you there is an
epi-pen in my purse.
9. My pet peeve is lazy people.
10. I almost always have a packet of fruit snacks in my purse.
11. My life is a musical- we sing to wake up, go to sleep, eat, go up the stairs, down
the stairs, clean- you get the picture...
12. I'm extremely girly, but I can still use a hammer.
13. My first car was a Toyota.
14. My greatest ideas come in my sleep- usually at 3 am.
15. I sleep with a pen and paper next to me- for that reason.
16. I like my house clean, but my car is almost always dirty.
17. My favorite color is royal blue, followed by plum.
18. I sew, and garden for relaxation- yes, I realize how boring this makes me.
19. Decisions I make are almost always Bible or financially based.
20. I cut every one's hair in my family- including the dogs- this saves us about
$1000/year!
21. I can remember the price of almost anything I have ever bought.
22. I don't remember most of anything else, including what I wore yesterday.
23. I have never had a drink of alcohol, smoked, or done anything questionable much less illegal.
24. I don't think enough people smile so I try to do my part and smile at or compliment
everyone I meet. This drives Kiohud nuts because I end up with admirer's...
25. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE polka dots!!!
This was surprisingly easy for me to do. I think this is in part because I am such a hermit and don't usually share much about myself with anyone... If anything, hopefully this amused you for a little part of your day! Feel free to comment and tell me something(s) I dont know about you! :)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Auto Refi
One of biggest complaints when leaving the auto lot is you got a good car, bad loan. Auto dealer finance departments know that you are too excited about that new car or the price to worry about the interest, or term of the loan. Before you know it you have a bad loan, with a huge payment and terrible rate! Good news, you can usually do something about that!
Auto Refinance
Auto refinance is simply a loan that pays off your auto loan. The loan has new terms and is usually done to either lower your payment, lower your interest, or both. Refinancing your loan for a lower payment will generally extend your term, (more interest) but can make that car a lot more affordable. Lowering your interest will usually lower not only the amount of interest that you will pay over the life of the loan but lower your payment as well.
DetailsAn auto loan is usually one of the easiest loans you can qualify for, the application can be done over the phone and a qualification can be given as quickly as a few minuets. Auto loan terms are commonly from 36 all the way to 72 months. The lowest amount any company will refinance is generally $7,500 and the most $75,000.
Will there be a fee?
There is generally no fee to refinance your auto IF you are using a reputable company. There may be small fees for example to transfer title but they should be very small in comparison to the amount of money you are saving.
Warnings!!!
The auto refinance is NOT for everyone! A refinance should never be an impulse buy. I recently walked into my bank and my personal banker went into this whole bit about how much money I could save without ever pulling my credit or knowing the specifics of my current auto loan. The truth is personal bankers and tellers are there to make money for the bank. Don't believe me? I used to hire them! With that said, never leave the bank with something you didn't go intentionally go in for. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Also, only take out the amount you need to pay off your auto loan. Many bankers will try to get you to pay off other debt or give you spending money using the equity you have in your auto. This makes the amount of the loan bigger (more commission for them) but leaves you with a bigger auto loan which equates to more overall interest. I have seen to many people that should have cars paid off in real financial trouble or even lose their cars because of this.
My Views
While the auto refinance may be a great option for some, it is not for everyone. Remember to do your research before you make any financial decisions. Compare rates, terms, and fees to make sure you are getting the best deal out there. I am always an advocate for my local credit union which usually has not only the best rates but a real person I can yell at if I need to!
Good luck my friends! :)
Auto Refinance
Auto refinance is simply a loan that pays off your auto loan. The loan has new terms and is usually done to either lower your payment, lower your interest, or both. Refinancing your loan for a lower payment will generally extend your term, (more interest) but can make that car a lot more affordable. Lowering your interest will usually lower not only the amount of interest that you will pay over the life of the loan but lower your payment as well.
DetailsAn auto loan is usually one of the easiest loans you can qualify for, the application can be done over the phone and a qualification can be given as quickly as a few minuets. Auto loan terms are commonly from 36 all the way to 72 months. The lowest amount any company will refinance is generally $7,500 and the most $75,000.
Will there be a fee?
There is generally no fee to refinance your auto IF you are using a reputable company. There may be small fees for example to transfer title but they should be very small in comparison to the amount of money you are saving.
Warnings!!!
The auto refinance is NOT for everyone! A refinance should never be an impulse buy. I recently walked into my bank and my personal banker went into this whole bit about how much money I could save without ever pulling my credit or knowing the specifics of my current auto loan. The truth is personal bankers and tellers are there to make money for the bank. Don't believe me? I used to hire them! With that said, never leave the bank with something you didn't go intentionally go in for. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! Also, only take out the amount you need to pay off your auto loan. Many bankers will try to get you to pay off other debt or give you spending money using the equity you have in your auto. This makes the amount of the loan bigger (more commission for them) but leaves you with a bigger auto loan which equates to more overall interest. I have seen to many people that should have cars paid off in real financial trouble or even lose their cars because of this.
My Views
While the auto refinance may be a great option for some, it is not for everyone. Remember to do your research before you make any financial decisions. Compare rates, terms, and fees to make sure you are getting the best deal out there. I am always an advocate for my local credit union which usually has not only the best rates but a real person I can yell at if I need to!
Good luck my friends! :)
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Harp 2.0- Is it for you?
One of the many things we have been working on is refinancing our home. We bought this home at just about the worst time, and so our loan to value (amount of your loan vs. the amount the home is worth I will now call this LTV) went from being 80% to about 200%- yes, that is REALLY bad! Anyways, since we make enough to cover the loan that we initially took out our mortgage company is not willing to do any kind of modification. We applied for a modification since we could not do a conventional refinance and were immediately shut done because we are current on our payments and we can afford our home. Home modifications usually include lowering payment, interest, term, or balance, you do have to show some kind of hardship or that you can not afford your payment- we can provide neither. I set out in search of another way, mortgage rates are at a low and I would really like to take advantage of that. What did I find? The Harp 2.0- looks like this may be our answer so maybe this will help you!
What is the Harp 2.0?:
Harp stand for Home Affordable Refinance Program and is a program set up by the government to help people that like us, have no equity in their homes, but would like to refinance.
Do you qualify?:
I found this criteria on HARP's site:
The mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
The mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009.
The mortgage cannot have been refinanced under HARP previously unless it is a Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced under HARP from March-May, 2009.
The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be greater than 80%.
The borrower must be current on the mortgage at the time of the refinance, with no late payment in the past six months and no more than one late payment in the past 12 months.
Our process so far:
First, we had to see if our loan was FreddieMac or Fannie Mae. (links provided) It was, this is important because you can not refinance under this program unless you are one or the other. Next, we called out local federal credit union to apply, you can also contact your mortgage provider to see if they offer the Harp 2.0. Application was really quick over the phone and I was pre-approved in about 5 minutes. My loan officer gave me a list of document to fax in; taxes, w2's, pay stubs, home owner's insurance, and bank statements. I was relived to find out that ours could be done without my business income (always a headache), and because of our high credit score we did not need an appraisal. After, they verify that everything matches up in underwriting our loan will be approved. We are set to sign at the end of the month.
My thoughts:
While not as low as a modification that would be offered for hardships, this really is a great option. For us, our new loan is at the best rate available 3.5 and keeping our same term will reduce our payments $300/month! We also have the ability to keep at the normal payment and pay off about 5 years sooner or for a few hundred more pay off about 10 years sooner! The process has been extremely easy and while we still have quite a balance on our home, this does make me feel that there is an end in site! Most of all, I am pretty excited that we finally qualify for something!!!
So, this is what we have been though so far- I will keep you posted on how it turns out! Hopefully, this information can help you save some money as well! :)
What is the Harp 2.0?:
Harp stand for Home Affordable Refinance Program and is a program set up by the government to help people that like us, have no equity in their homes, but would like to refinance.
Do you qualify?:
I found this criteria on HARP's site:
The mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
The mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009.
The mortgage cannot have been refinanced under HARP previously unless it is a Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced under HARP from March-May, 2009.
The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be greater than 80%.
The borrower must be current on the mortgage at the time of the refinance, with no late payment in the past six months and no more than one late payment in the past 12 months.
Our process so far:
First, we had to see if our loan was FreddieMac or Fannie Mae. (links provided) It was, this is important because you can not refinance under this program unless you are one or the other. Next, we called out local federal credit union to apply, you can also contact your mortgage provider to see if they offer the Harp 2.0. Application was really quick over the phone and I was pre-approved in about 5 minutes. My loan officer gave me a list of document to fax in; taxes, w2's, pay stubs, home owner's insurance, and bank statements. I was relived to find out that ours could be done without my business income (always a headache), and because of our high credit score we did not need an appraisal. After, they verify that everything matches up in underwriting our loan will be approved. We are set to sign at the end of the month.
My thoughts:
While not as low as a modification that would be offered for hardships, this really is a great option. For us, our new loan is at the best rate available 3.5 and keeping our same term will reduce our payments $300/month! We also have the ability to keep at the normal payment and pay off about 5 years sooner or for a few hundred more pay off about 10 years sooner! The process has been extremely easy and while we still have quite a balance on our home, this does make me feel that there is an end in site! Most of all, I am pretty excited that we finally qualify for something!!!
So, this is what we have been though so far- I will keep you posted on how it turns out! Hopefully, this information can help you save some money as well! :)
Monday, August 6, 2012
Change is upon us!
I finally found time to blog!!!! Ok, ok, not at the hour I planned but we are still adjusting our new schedule. I've been away from blogging for so long it feels like I have way too much to catch up on- so I'll do my best to summarize!
Summer:
Despite the heat, summer is one of my favorite times of year. The whole family is home and so extra hands plus no commuting makes the work fly by and leaves us with lots of time to play! We got out of town a few times this summer but mostly took advantage of local places for fun, it was really a wonderful break with tons of family bonding!
Back to school:
For some one like myself that hates change- we sure have a lot this school year! To start- this year is the first time that ALL of my children will be in school!!!! Cecelia and Emily were both accepted to ASU Prep. Jacob will be at Faith North at the end of August and Hannah will start at the end of September when she turns 3. This has us on a pretty crazy schedule (keep in mind both schools are downtown about 25 mins away) Everyone goes in at the same time but Jacob and Hannah will get out at noon, Emily at 3:30 and Cecelia 4:10 or 5:45 when she has sports. (See why I love summer!? ) Thank God we have figured out a pretty good carpool system so I may not have to commute as much as last year!
Financial Changes: Business changes, selling properties, changes in leases, and hopefully buying a much needed new car- we have lots we still would like to do this year!!! Once I find the best way to do them I can share it with you and hopefully save you some hard earned cash!
I think that is all for now my friends. I would like to ask you: Many of you have sent me requests for blogs on specific financial topics, please resend your ideas either by comment on the bottom or you can message me- I have no idea what I did but I some how deleted the folder I had them in!
I'll be back soon friends- this time I promise!!! :)
Summer:
Despite the heat, summer is one of my favorite times of year. The whole family is home and so extra hands plus no commuting makes the work fly by and leaves us with lots of time to play! We got out of town a few times this summer but mostly took advantage of local places for fun, it was really a wonderful break with tons of family bonding!
Back to school:
For some one like myself that hates change- we sure have a lot this school year! To start- this year is the first time that ALL of my children will be in school!!!! Cecelia and Emily were both accepted to ASU Prep. Jacob will be at Faith North at the end of August and Hannah will start at the end of September when she turns 3. This has us on a pretty crazy schedule (keep in mind both schools are downtown about 25 mins away) Everyone goes in at the same time but Jacob and Hannah will get out at noon, Emily at 3:30 and Cecelia 4:10 or 5:45 when she has sports. (See why I love summer!? ) Thank God we have figured out a pretty good carpool system so I may not have to commute as much as last year!
Financial Changes: Business changes, selling properties, changes in leases, and hopefully buying a much needed new car- we have lots we still would like to do this year!!! Once I find the best way to do them I can share it with you and hopefully save you some hard earned cash!
I think that is all for now my friends. I would like to ask you: Many of you have sent me requests for blogs on specific financial topics, please resend your ideas either by comment on the bottom or you can message me- I have no idea what I did but I some how deleted the folder I had them in!
I'll be back soon friends- this time I promise!!! :)
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