4 Smart Money Moves to Prepare Yourself for Buying a Home

Buying a home is a costly process, but by taking proactive steps to save money you can make it happen sooner rather than later. 

It takes time to save up money, but putting more money down when you buy your home saves you thousands of dollars in interest. 

An added bonus is that if you put at least 20% of the purchase price down you don’t have to pay private mortgage insurance or PMI, which tends to cost hundreds of dollars every month. 

Set a Grocery Budget

Many people don’t realize just how much money they spend grocery shopping. Plan meals ahead of time and only buy what you need. 

A list helps keep your spending in check, and it also discourages you from making impulse purchases such as sweet or salty foods you didn’t intend to get initially. Knowing what you’re spending ahead of time aids in keeping your monthly finances in control. 

Set Aside the Difference

Set aside money in a savings account each month that is the difference between what you’re currently paying for rent and how much you expect to pay for your mortgage. 

Don’t forget to include taxes, home insurance, and PMI if you expect to put less than 20% of the purchase price down. If you currently pay $600/month for rent, but you anticipate the mortgage on a home to be $950, you’ll need to account for that extra $350/month. 

This helps you see if you can truly afford to buy a home in the price range you’re looking at. A realty company such as Century 21 Town & Country can help you analyze your costs to determine what is affordable. 

Cut Down on Entertainment

Satellite or cable television might be convenient, but it’s pricey. Cut the cord on your subscription and consider using a cheaper streaming service to watch both television shows and movies, with significantly fewer commercials. 

Consider eliminating your landline if you still have one or take your cell phone plan down to the basics to cut costs. 

Financial Consulting

Another thing that you should be considering is meeting with a financial consultant. They can look at your personal finances and show you where you can be saving additional money and where you can cut spending. 

Sometimes it is good to have an extra pair of eyes looking at your finances that way you can give yourself the best chance to qualify for your mortgage. 

Look into Assistance Programs

All mortgages are not the same. There are many different types of mortgages that vary with interest rates, qualifications, down payment required and other terms and conditions. 

Some homebuyer programs also offer matching contributions to help build up your down payment. It’s free money and helps you get into your home quicker. In order to get the right mortgage for you, you will want to meet with a mortgage consultant. 

They will be able to help place you with the best mortgage possible depending on what your financial situation is. 

They will also walk you through the process of getting your loan pre-approved. Once you are pre-approved you are ready to start searching for your new home.

With self-discipline and some cutbacks in daily spending, you’ll be able to save enough money for the home you’ve got your eye on. 

And if you don’t have your eye on one just yet, but are looking into the possibility in to buying a new home, these few tips will help you be prepared. Being smart with money is a smart step in the right direction.

Protect Your Property from Snowstorms

Many people invest in property in order to grow their finances in a stable and predictable way. However, property maintenance is something you need to know a thing or two about in order to make it a worthwhile investment. 

Insurance companies deal with millions of dollars worth of claims every year due to snow- and winter-related complications.

Protect your investment by ensuring that you’ve taken care of all the necessary precautions this winter. Here’s a list to get you started:

Make sure all of your pipes and plumbing are ready. Burst pipes from frozen water is one of the most common causes of residential flooding, and it’s just not something you want to have to deal with. 

So, you’ll need to turn off sprinklers, shut off the water main to outside water and drain the lines, cover outside water spigots with insulators, and take precautions to prevent indoor frozen pipes, like insulating the pipes and keeping the house at a certain temp, even if you leave town. 

Remember that you’ll also need to take winter measures if you have a pool or hot tub outside. Even something as simple as a fountain or birdbath can cause damage when the water freezes.

Seal up holes and cracks in your house. These might be large spaces left from wiring in phone lines or ventilation shafts, or just cracks in the molding. Make sure that everything is sealed up and that ventilation areas are covered with solid mesh. 

During the winter, critters retreat from the freezing temperatures by setting up shop in your home, and you really don’t want to deal with a mouse infestation in the winter. Additionally, extra holes and cracks will let your heat out and let you understand the meaning of a “draught.”

There are other things that you should do to winterize your house, too. Make sure you have weather sealing around your doors, with a door sweep at the bottom to keep the cold air out. 

Even double-paned windows can let in a lot of cold, so take additional measures to insulate, like insulating window clings, or insulating curtains. There are also cute decorative draft stoppers that you can get to keep your doors snug.

Get your car ready! This step is essential, since car safety is the biggest risk in the winter. Get winter tires, and stock your car with emergency essentials. For more details, check out this link.

Keep a snow shovel and rock salt close to your door, entryway steps, and walkway. Simply getting to or from your car or mailbox after a snowstorm can be terrible if you don’t have the right tools to keep things clear.

Keep some food storage. An impending winter storm can wipe the grocery store’s shelves clean in no time. People are concerned about getting snowed in, or treacherous conditions making it hard to travel. 

That’s why it’s always smart to keep a backup of essentials on hand, in case you and your family get snowed in. Simply make it a way of life! Also make sure that your house is well-equipped with extra blankets, flashlights, and batteries in case storms blow out the electricity. 

Speaking of winter storms, stay in the know by signing up for weather alerts, or downloading an app that will let you know about storm systems coming your way, and local road conditions.

Keep your body safe and well in winter. Learn to recognize signs of hypothermia and frostbite, especially with kids who might be too distracted by winter fun to notice. Stay well-hydrated. 

Many of us get dehydrated in the winter due to indoor heaters, and outdoor dry conditions. But sufficient hydration will help your body regulate internal temperature and stay healthy.

Keep your yard safe by keeping an eye on old trees’ branches. Snow can pile up on them and they can crack and fall under the weight. Trim any danger-branches before winter snows hit, and shake snow off of smaller trees whenever possible in order to keep them intact.

Fire hazard and carbon monoxide danger are higher in the wintertime, since we’re using alternate heating sources and not venting our houses as well. Make sure that your alarms are installed and functional so that you can sleep safe at night.

How To Choose Affordable Life Insurance After 50

Let’s be honest, talking about life insurance makes many of us uncomfortable. However, for many seniors, a life insurance policy can be a great way to make sure that their loved ones are taken care of financially if they pass away.

There are so many seniors today who are barely getting by financially. For many of them, a life insurance policy wasn’t affordable when they were younger. Many of them are now thinking about purchasing a life insurance plan but are worried it may be too expensive to fit within their monthly budget. 

However, with the rising cost of burial expenses, purchasing even a small term life insurance policy can go a long way to bringing you peace of mind.

Compare Insurance Rates

According to most life insurance agents, you can still find an affordable life insurance policy after 50 if you do some digging. 

With many life insurance companies now offering life insurance quotes online you can usually compare multiple life insurance rates from some of the best life insurance companies in your state if you’re compare multiple plans. 

Life insurance companies are competing for your dollars and this means savings for you in the long run.

When you want to start comparing life insurance rates it’s usually smart to start close to home. The reason is, many local insurance companies prefer to sell their products to residents within their state first. 

This means that if you live in New York and you’re looking for affordable life insurance, you may want to start with a company like New York Life. AARP also sells life insurance in New York State, so that might be a good place to look as well. 

Again, it’s recommended that you shop around to find the best life insurance rate to fit your needs.

It's Never Too Late

Although buying a life insurance policy is smart when you are young and healthy, it’s still worth looking into a no exam life insurance policy later in life. 

According to a recent study, seniors who are in relatively good health and are non-smoker or tobacco users can get an affordable burial plan for around a hundred dollars or month or so. 

Some of these plans are known as no medical exam policies as well. This can be a very nice option if you’re not close to a clinic or doctor who would typically administer the physical exam.



There are many great reasons to think about purchasing a life insurance policy. For starters, you may want to get a life insurance policy if you have a spouse or children depending on your salary or retirement income. 

This is especially true if you are the only breadwinner in the house. Another great reason to get a life insurance policy is if you have a family member with ongoing health expenses. 

Finally, if you are currently paying a mortgage, purchasing a life insurance policy can help ensure that debt is paid off should you pass away. 

Shop Online for the Best Deal

It used to be that if you wanted to shop for a life insurance plan or even apply for life insurance, you’d have to meet with a local agent. 

However, with the rise of online life insurance quotes from search engines like Bing and Google, it’s easy to compare rates and even enroll in a life insurance policy online from the comfort of your own home.

It’s important to note that prices for life insurance policies will vary by age, state and health. 

Some websites, like Colonial Penn, allow you to compare rates by age, gender and location without giving any personal information.

Please consult with a licensed life insurance agent for other questions that you may have about life insurance in your 50’s.

How to Get a Credit Card with Bad Credit Scores

Most Americans don’t have an impressive credit report, due to which, it becomes difficult for them to get a credit card. A credit card is essential, but if you have bad credit, then it’s difficult for you to get one.

In this article, I’ll discuss the difficulties faced by people, who apply for a card with a bad credit history, and what options are available to them. 

Give explanations

The credit scoring system is called FICO score. FICO doesn’t consider all aspects related to your financial life when it assigns you a score. 

For example, if the card issuer sends the balance statement to the credit bureaus before you pay off the debt on your card, your credit report would show the outstanding debt.

Since there’s hardly any scope for an explanation, you should create the opportunity yourself by adding a statement to all three credit bureaus. Explain in that statement the reasons behind the not-so-impressive credit. 

Try convincing the issuer. If an issuer is convinced that the bad credit is not necessarily indicating that you are unreliable, then you may get a card.

Unsecured cards

There are agencies, specialized in providing unsecured credit cards to people with a bad credit history. There are risks associated with such cards. 

Interest rates are high, not paying the outstanding balance promptly may hamper your credit score, and a slew of fees are associated.

The fees associated with an unsecured card are a one-time processing fee, annual fee, application fee, etc. The fees can add up and you may have to pay a truckload of money.

Hence, proceed with caution when it comes to unsecured cards.

Prepaid credit cards

Nine out of ten who apply for such cards, get it. However, you may wonder whether a prepaid card can be called a credit card in the truest sense. The truth is, it’s not. It’s more like a debit card. 

Unlike a standard credit card, which generates a line of credit whenever you make a purchase, a prepaid credit card requires you to have a deposit account with a bank.

When you buy something, money from your account is drawn. There are two problems with a prepaid credit card. The first is you need a substantial amount of money to put in your bank account. 

Secondly, the card won’t help you to rebuild your damaged credit history. You can use it only for transaction purpose.

Secured credit card

A secured credit card is similar to a regular credit card. The cardholder needs to deposit a sum of money. The deposit is to secure the credit limit funds. 

The credit limit can be the same as the money you deposit in the bank. Or it can be a percentage of that money. It depends on the card issuer.

Having a secured card works in your favor and improves your score. The issuing organization will keep a close watch on your credit score. If the score increases, you’d get a reward; your credit limit would increase too. 

Don’t get too carried away if it happens to you because it’s actually a reminder informing you that you are on the right track, and keep doing what you are doing. 

The setup cost for secured credit card is normally higher than unsecured cards. You may not have to face troubles from collection agencies, but you won’t be able to withdraw money because the funds could be used in case of overdrawn credit limit.

Refinance your debt

This is a solid defence against the debt. Remember, the key reason your credit score dipped is debt. 

Refinancing your debt at a lower interest rate helps you polish your credit history, and makes your candidature for a new card strong.

Start looking for such companies. If you are lucky you’ll find agencies, which offer refinancing option at an interest rate, as low as 4.24%.

Such agencies are called marketplace lenders. They are rivals of credit card companies. Credit card companies seem to have the upper hand. 

They are good at marketing and people with decent to good credit can easily have cards. But the advantage of marketplace lenders is the low interest rate of the refinance option.

With the help of such an agency, you can improve your credit report, and then apply for a credit card, or a debit card, or maybe a charge card.

What do you think of this article? Do you have bad credits? Have you been trying to get a credit card for a while? What new can you add? Let us know in the comment section.

Tina Roth is an experienced personal finance blogger who loves blogging about personal finance and money management tips. You can visit here personal finance blog to find more about her writings.