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Personal Finance Information |
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Accessing Funds You Never Knew You Had- Household Utilities and Mortgage Expense Reduction Plan
For most of us the process of getting out of debt and pursuing a venture that would create an income stream leading to early retirement seems just a pipe dream. It goes without saying; it takes money to make money. Most of us have had our eye on pursuing a stock, invention patent, greater education or a small business only to have our goals cut short because of lack of funds. The fact is we may have access to more funds than we realize. In this article we will discuss the three keys to having your money make more money sooner than later. The three keys are: Reducing Expenses By Cutting Costs Reevaluating Your Financial Situation Freeing Up Financing Funds Channeling Funds Toward Your Goal Reducing Expenses By Cutting Costs The key to finding money is freeing up funds from current expenses. We are all accustomed to doing things like turning out the lights, cutting back on gasoline consumption or reducing heating and air use. We use coupons to cut shopping bills in half and do the two for one meal deal whenever possible. But did you know that if you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, it is costing you almost $3000 a year. Over 10 years that $30,000 dollars. What could you do with all that money? Improve the quality of life. Reevaluating Your Financial Situation Take a closer look at your financial situation and goals. Where are you putting your money right now? Did you use it to sink a ship? That is, have you sunk a fortune in stocks that have done nothing but consumed your hard earned money or worse gone belly up? If so move your money to a more secure haven such as everyday household items in the over the counter drugs or computer-tech sector. Enter A Debt Settlement Agreement Do you have a lot of debt? Think about making a settlement agreement with your debtors. In many cases debtors will cut interest and penalty charges off you bill if you agree to pay the bill off completely. For bills of $10,000 or more you may be able to cut costs by as much as $3000 on settlement. Freeing Up Financing Funds We often miss a big expense guzzler, our home mortgage. Currently the average homeowner is paying 20 - 30% more in interest rate charges than is necessary. That represents one third of interest paid out over the life of the loan. These are enormous mortgage amounts that could be saved and channeled toward other essential uses such as making more money. When refinancing a homeowner discovers that he may be able to reduce mortgage payments by almost half the amount and save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. The following chart lists best interest rates of the day. Compare them to your current mortgage rate and note the difference when opting to refinance your home loan. Best Mortgage Rate Chart 30 Year Fixed 5.46% 0.52 5.57% -0.010% 15 Year Fixed 5.04% 0.57 5.25% -0.040% 30 Year Fixed Jumbo 5.73% 0.62 5.84% -0.010% 15 Year Fixed Jumbo 5.29% 0.61 5.48% -0.010% 5 Year Balloon 5.36% 0.83 5.93% 0.000% 7 Year Balloon 5.55% 0.61 5.93% -0.060% 1/1 ARM 4.42% 0.65 6.24% 0.060% 3/1 ARM 4.77% 0.64 5.90% -0.060% 5/1 ARM 5.01% 0.58 5.80% -0.010% 1/1 Jumbo ARM 4.19% 0.87 6.28% -0.230% 3/1 Jumbo ARM 4.92% 0.75 6.02% -0.120% 5/1 Jumbo ARM 5.12% 0.65 5.98% -0.040% FHA 30 Year Fixed 5.35% 0.51 5.46% -0.020% FHA 1 Yr ARM 4.46% 0.60 6.39% 0.040% VA 30 Year Fixed 5.44% 0.41 5.54% 0.000% example of best average mortgage rates as published in 2005 Freeing Up Funds With A Home Equity Loan You can free up funds to invest by taking out a home equity loan. For example, a $200,000 home with a $125,000 mortgage has $75,000 in equity. Now using a mortgage payment calculation tool such as is found at www.bcpl.net/~ibcnet/ compare mortgage payments at current rates with he mortgage rates in the chart. Significant savings? If so, you see the value of opting for home loan refinancing. Many who choose to refinance their home also choose the cash out home refinancing program. This not only frees up funds per month but also puts immediate cash in hand for other purposes such as investing in stocks and bonds or pursuing a business venture or some other income generating pursuit. $600 - $800 A Month Saved Refinancing One client saved over $800 a month, that's almost a $10,000 savings per year. Another saved over $600 per month with the cash out refinancing program and got $75,000 in cash to pursue an investment property. Channeling Funds Toward Your Goal Once the loan is funded borrowers can put a percentage of the funds into a small business venture or stock investment. Soon the money is growing more money. Now you want to use your profits to pay down your home mortgage. Over time you will be able to free yourself from mortgage debt much sooner and save even more money, channeling it back into your business or retirement investment funds. And that is the key to building wealth and raising the quality of life another notch. About the author: Mark Askew is founder and editor of the Mortgage Loan Search Network. An extensive financing and home loan refinancing resource with tips and guides for mortgage rate comparison, establishing and repairing credit, lowering home loan interest rate charges and monthly mortgage paymets and finding bargain home loans.
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