When Two Thirds of Mortgages Aren't Paid Off, How Can You Pay Off Yours?

According to a recent article on FiveThirtyEight, only one in three home owners have their mortgage paid off. This means that two-thirds of those home owners are still having to pay their’s off. 

Perhaps you’re one of them. As you likely know, not having a mortgage payment has a number of advantages. If you’d like to pay off your mortgage but don’t know how to do it, here are four ideas to get your mortgage payoff started.

1. Refinance

If the interest rate on your mortgage is really high think about refinancing it to get a lower rate. The less you have to pay in interest translates into a mortgage that you can pay off faster. 

For example, if your current monthly payment is $2,376 with an interest rate of 7%, you could save over $1,100 per month if you refinanced your mortgage down to 4%. To find the best rates for refinancing take a look at local banks. like Premium Mortgage Corp, or see if you qualify for membership at your local credit union.

2. Rent It Out

Thirty-two percent of homes with mortgages are occupied by renters, according to the FiveThirtyEight. For someone wanting to pay down a mortgage on a second home renting is a good way to go. 

If you currently have a rental property think about raising the rent slightly. Once you do put that extra money toward the principle of your mortgage. It’ll get paid down faster that way.



If you don’t have a rental property, this plan can still work for you. Rent out any extra rooms you have in your home to make some extra cash to put toward your mortgage.

3. Get a Second Income

Some homeowners apply the debt snowball principle to their mortgage debt. This principle was made famous by financial guru Dave Ramsey in his book “The Total Money Makeover.” 

The debt snowball is a plan that asks people to put any extra money that they make toward their debt. To do this, Ramsey suggests that people get a second job.

Granted, working that much can make you feel burned out. In light of this, you’ll want to keep this in mind. Only work a second job for a predetermined amount of time. 

Once the time is up, go ahead and re-evaluate your ability to work the second job. If you can do it continue working. If you can’t take a break and then pick up another job at a later time.

4. Sell It and Resettle

Depending on where you’re at in your life, you may want to think about selling your home and moving to a cheaper area. This allows you to live in a home with a smaller mortgage. The money you make from the sale of your home can go toward the new home. 

This plan works very well for people who of retirement age or who are just starting out after graduating from school. Ideally, you’ll have enough equity in your home to pay off your new home completely or at least pay down your mortgage significantly when you buy it.

Getting out from under your mortgage would be a huge financial milestone for you. Having that extra money freed up gives you a lot of spending power. If you’re serious about paying off your mortgage, applying any (and all) of these steps will help you achieve that goal.

4 Strategies For Planning Your Family Finances This Summer

Summertime brings new challenges to stretching your family's budget. Expenses like buying groceries, paying for air conditioning costs, and saving cash to take a vacation can take a negative toll on your household's bottom line. 

Rather than barely get by, you can enjoy your summer break by using these four smart and simple strategies to plan your family's finances.

Cut The Cord

Cable TV subscriptions continue to become more expensive. Many families find themselves paying $100 or more each month for a bunch of channels that they do not watch.

Instead of shelling out big bucks for cable, you can safeguard your family's budget by cutting the proverbial cord. Cutting the cord has become an agenda embraced by many households that want to plan their finances better and save big money.

A recent study published by CNBC showed that 52 percent of respondents said that they canceled their cable TV services in favor of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. 

By subscribing to online TV and movie streaming services rather than cable TV, you can keep cash in your budget and have more money with which to support your family this summer.

Take Advantage Of Travel And Vacation Specials

Your summertime vacation does not have to break your budget. When you have a limited amount of money to work with, you can still plan a trip that you and your family will enjoy by taking advantage of travel and vacation specials.


Oftentimes attractions near hotels will offer special or birthday party packages, like these kids birthday parties in Las Vegas.

Shop Discount And Dollar Stores

Dollar and discount stores are becoming more popular with American families. These stores have long shed their dubious reputations and have now stepped into mainstream awareness where they compete with big name retailers like Walmart and Target.

Dollar and discount shops offer clothing, groceries, and a wide array of household products for rock bottom prices. The quality of the inventory is on par with what you would find at department and big box stores. 

Some of these shops also take manufacturers' coupons, allowing you to get name brand necessities like laundry soap, shampoo, bread, and a host of other everyday items for pennies.

When you struggle to stretch your grocery dollars during the summertime, you may head to your local discount and dollar stores to check out their selections. You may find that you can get double the groceries for half the cost by shopping these stores instead of big name retailers.

Be Energy Efficient

Finally, you can lower your cooling costs and keep your home comfortable during the hottest of weather this season by using some common sense energy efficiency strategies. 

Simple measures like running your washer and dryer after the sun sets or keeping your window blinds and curtains closed can go a long way toward trimming dollars off your utility bills.

Likewise, you can keep the temperature on your AC steady by using an oscillating fan to circulate air in your home. These basic tips help you keep your house cool and your bills lower during a season in which many families struggle to pay their utility costs.

Summertime can be a season of increased expenses for which you might find yourself unprepared. Rather than run out of money before you get paid each week or month, you can better plan your family's finances with these four simple strategies. 

These tips help you enjoy your summer without the money worries you may normally experience each year.

Identity Risk: How to Keep Your Social Security Number Safe from Frauds

With all of the technology that is used today and the entering of credit and debit card information or social security card information on an almost daily basis, it can be easy for someone to steal your social security information. 

This means that someone out there could purchase items online, get a loan or get any other financial benefit on your behalf without you knowing. Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can protect your card number so that you are safe from frauds that might occur.

Use a Different Number

Ask the merchant or business if you can use a different number than your social security number. Most businesses will offer this option, especially if you are entering information online. 

You could use your driver's license number or the identification from your passport instead of your social security number as a way to keep the information secure.

Monitor Services

When you use a transcription service from an attorney or another business, such as Caliber Litigation Services, that offers similar documents that you need to obtain, you need to look over the information that is used to ensure the service is legal. 

Most attorneys won't share your information, but you still need to look over the confirmation that you receive. You can view orders that have been placed and the information that you have entered to ensure that the numbers are correct.

Keep the Card At Home

There are few occasions when you're going to need the physical social security card when you complete an application or give someone personal information. 

Offering the number is usually sufficient as the company can perform a background check to see if the information matches the other details that you provide. Keep the card in a secure location at home where only you know to look. 

An option is to have a lock box with a combination that only you know. It's a good way to store all kinds of personal paperwork to prevent others from taking your information.

Never Send the Number in a Message

If someone wants you to send your social security number in a private message and doesn't offer any kind of security feature to keep that number from being viewed by anyone else, then find an alternative. 

Call businesses with your information. Visit the company to write down your number. Don't reveal your number on social media through a message or through an email as these options are usually not secure.

Your social security number is a link to who you are and what you can purchase. If the number is stolen, then it could result in a large amount of debt and other issues that you don't expect. If you protect your number, then you likely won't have any issues.

Avoiding the Middle Age Car Buying Impulse

We've all seen it on countless TV shows and movies. The main character, a middle-aged man, experiences great distress at the thought of getting older so he acts out by buying a flashy sports car or dating a woman much too young for him. 

Approaching middle age doesn't have to be that way and it's much more economical to rent that flashy sports car for a fun weekend getaway with your adoring wife of 30+ years. You can count on her, always. 

Car Buying Impulse

A fast car really won't make you happy. In fact, as you focus on the future, and eventually enjoying retirement, that big ticket splurge will hurt your bottom line. 

The Chevrolet Corvette is probably one of the most common cars that scream midlife crisis. According to Cars.com, a new Corvette will set you back almost $100,000. 

That could represent more than a year of your retirement, relaxation and well-deserved respite.

If you step back for a minute and consider the emotions that swirl around as you approach middle age, the realization that you probably have more life behind you than ahead of you, and that maybe you're running out of time to do everything you wanted to, it's probably tough to see the forest for the trees. 

Avoid the Midlife Crisis Car Buying Impulse

Sure, a new Corvette in your driveway will deliver a surge of immediate excitement, would be pretty fun to drive and will win you the love and affection of many a lady likely incapable of true love and affection.

Avoid the midlife crisis car buying impulse all together. It's not money well spent. The transaction will fly in the face of your hard work and savings efforts for decades. 

With one check you'll sign away more than a year of your future financial life for a fleeting, superficial experience. Your life is really just beginning. You'll see.

6 Office Organization Tips That Boost Efficiency

There are so many distractions and ill thought-out uses of space in the office. These diversions within an office are known to be counterproductive. 

The pointers below are meant to simplify the process of navigating inside of your workplace and in turn increase the speed and accuracy in which tasks are completed. 

Control The Volume

A busy office can be a huge distraction. Make sure that you and other employees have the option to work in peace. It is imperative to have noise cancellation systems in place. 

Depending on the activity in your office, you may need noise cancelling headsets or dividers, cubicles or to shut doors in order for your employees to be able to think clearly above all the racket. 

This doesn’t mean that you should be working in dead silence. Some light background music has been known to create a relaxing atmosphere. This type of environment will boost efficiency.

Organize Your Desk

Each employee should preferably arrange their monitor and other equipment how they like and in a way that is most convenient for their own style of work. However, the desk needs to be neat and tidy. 

A cluttered desk is not an efficient one. It draws your thoughts away from your task. You need to be able to find what you need quickly. There should be a limited number of items on your desk. Only what is absolutely necessary. Anything that is not used daily should be stashed in drawers. 

Create a Common Area

Employees who socialize during or outside of work hours are known to work better as a team. 

Give your employees a chance to get to know each other by creating a welcoming common area. This could be as simple as a table and some chairs. The point is that people will gladly gather around to take a break, get away from their desks, clear their heads and have a chat, therefor forming bonds. 

It could also be an ideal place for solving work-related issues. All of the above makes for a more productive office. 

Rethink Your Layout

Are the desks and other furniture placed in a way that makes sense for your office dynamic? Are the screens of the computer monitors turned away from natural light, therefor lessening the glare? 

Would an open plan arrangement, where ideas can be tossed back and forth, benefit your business? Here is a wild idea. Arrange the desks and computers in a way which enables everyone in the room to see each other’s’ screens. This may seem drastic, but it is a sure way to increase productivity. 

Organize Your Files

We are all too familiar with the fact that documents need to be stored meticulously. This includes digital files. You should use the same sorting system that you use for hard copies and it should be unified throughout the office. 

It will make it so much easier for anyone who needs it to access them, especially in the case of your absence. Whatever system works best; categories, alphabetical, numerical, ect., it is crucial that everyone is on the same page when it comes to filing. 

Documents and papers need to be dealt with the moment they enter the office, otherwise they will get lost. 

Keep It Within Reach

Each item in your office should have a designated space. The things you use several times a day should be within arm’s reach- cutting down on the time it takes you to get them. 

The things that you use periodically should be easy to find but stored away in cabinets or on shelves. Finally come the things that you do not need at the moment, but cannot throw away. 

If you do need to keep hardcopies, for example (and you almost always do at least for a certain number of years), storage Brisbane based providers suggest that you select a unit that will house all of the archived files until you no longer need them.

Creating a pleasant and organized atmosphere will most definitely have a huge impact on your productivity at work. 

These tips will not only make your office more efficient, they will make it more bearable to come to work each morning, knowing that you are walking into a work-friendly space.

Deal With Small Business Debt Now For Better Results

If you are spending sleepless nights jut by worrying about your business debt, then remember you are not the only one. Nearly 49% of the small business owners find it quite difficult to manage their business debt. 

With passing time, this has been a growing issue, which must be handled as soon as it gets out of hand. In fact, don’t wait for it to linger for long, as the more it stays the worst this scenario can turn into. 

Therefore, it is better to tackle these scenarios in the finest manner possible and no time to be sure. Handling debt can turn out to be the most difficult challenge for any group, and even for the small business owners.

Falling into bankruptcy

Whenever the businesses fail to repay the amount of time and the interest rate keeps on piling up, then they have no other option but to file for bankruptcy. This has been a generic condition for majority of ailing businesses. 

However, this has been a matter of past, as new laws these days have made it quite difficult to declare bankruptcy, just to be out of the piles. On the other hand, bankruptcy is not declared to be an easy way out as it calls for higher price. 

It can cost you thousands of dollars along with added attorney fees. Even that can hamper your credit scores, which means no loan from any financial institution later.

Dig out of the hole

There are some fortunate ways available, which can avert this danger of financial disaster for your small business growth. Some helpful tips are going to work wonder and help you control debt before it gets the chance to control you. 

The first stop has to be to do your homework. Want to know how? If so, then do not forget to check online for the details. Be rest assured to learn everything about the loan before you plunge right into it. 

This can determine the ways, in which you can pay the amount back later. Credit card consolidation loan is a smart way to deal with your debts when they are going out of control. So, check it out and learn about it when in need in order to make things go in your favor.

Calculate the debt ratio

The best way to work on this panel is by calculating the debt coverage related ratio. For that, you have to work hard in dividing the net operating income by principal payments and interest of debt. 

Majority of commercial banks always look for a ratio of 1.15 and anything above this rate. Those are considered optimal and can be handled well off easily. In case, the current ratio is lower than the 1 category or even 1, then it is time for you to boost your current cash flow.

Play it safe

For running a business, no matter how small it is, you have to convince the bank for larger loans. But, you have to play it quite safe. 

In case, the debt coverage ratio talks that the loan you are seeking is likely to be a stretch, then there are high chances that you will struggle while making payments for your loan. Try to consider these facts first before coming into any concluding point, right now.