Archive for 2010
Ways To Eliminate The Mortgage More Quickly – Part 1
Welcome to the latest series at JosephSangl.com – “Ways To Eliminate The Mortgage More Quickly”. It is my hope that this series can help you eliminate what is usually the single largest expense in the household budget and free that money up to much greater things than make a bank rich!
Part 1 Introduction
I remember the day that I signed up for my first home mortgage. I financed such a large amount of money that I could not really comprehend the amount. All I knew was that I wanted to purchase a house, and the bank was willing to lend me the money. When I made my first mortgage payment, I realized just how much this debt was going to cost me. Less than two-percent of the payment was applied to principal balance reduction. The rest of the payment went to make other people and businesses wealthy – banks, insurance companies, and the government.
What I discovered was that if I paid the scheduled payments on my first house for the entire thirty year term, I would end up paying more in interest than I paid for the house. Ridiculous! I set out to find ways to eliminate the mortgage more quickly so that more of my money would be applied to the principal balance.
This will be fun!
Read the entire series HERE
I remember the day that I signed up for my first home mortgage. I financed such a large amount of money that I could not really comprehend the amount. All I knew was that I wanted to purchase a house, and the bank was willing to lend me the money. When I made my first mortgage payment, I realized just how much this debt was going to cost me. Less than two-percent of the payment was applied to principal balance reduction. The rest of the payment went to make other people and businesses wealthy – banks, insurance companies, and the government.
What I discovered was that if I paid the scheduled payments on my first house for the entire thirty year term, I would end up paying more in interest than I paid for the house. Ridiculous! I set out to find ways to eliminate the mortgage more quickly so that more of my money would be applied to the principal balance.
SERIES: Fundamental Rules Of Money Management VI
In this series, I have been sharing some thoughts on some fundamental rules of money management that are time-tested and known to be true. If applied, these rules can help you take your finances to the next level.
Rule #6 Your business idea has a much better chance of succeeding when there is a strategic plan and a financial plan.
As a financial counselor, I routinely meet with small business owners who started their own businesses. Some of them have been wildly successful. Others have not had the success that they had expected and desired. There are always a few exceptions, but it has become very apparent to me that individuals who take the time and effort to prepare a strategic business plan AND a “Seed Fund” for their idea have a better chance at succeeding.
A strategic plan includes developing critical milestones that must be achieved and establishing detailed action steps necessary to achieve them. It should also include financial targets that must be achieved for the business to be considered a successful effort.
Having some money available to start the business with is essential as well. I have seen too many good business ideas fail before they could mature simply because the business was too highly leveraged with debt.
And of course, one should always remember Warren Buffets number one rule of money management – “Don’t lose money.”
Are you eligible for the Federal Housing First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit?
Many 1st-time home buyers have benefited from receiving the Federal Housing Tax Credit. If you are in the market for your first-time home purchase, you should definitely become informed because this credit can be a deciding factor in purchasing your first home!
To find out if you are eligible, you can visit the National Association of Home Builder’s website HERE. The IRS also has more information about it HERE.
Book Reviews: What Everyone Should Know About Money
I am blown away by the book reviews written about my new book What Everyone Should Know About Money Before They Enter THE REAL WORLD.
Check them out:
- Moneymonk wrote about it HERE.
- Keith Tackel wrote about it HERE.
- Cy wrote about it HERE.
- Coupon Girl Confessions wrote about it HERE.
- Tom at RusticTom wrote about it HERE.
- ProBikeWrench wrote about it HERE.
This book is helping us accomplish our mission to help others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances.
Free Samples
Like everyone else – I LOVE A DEAL! I wrote the “I Was Broke” part of my book by always paying full price for items. I was able to write the “Now I’m Not” part by demanding a deal.
I have been learning a lot about obtaining great deals from The Saving Freak.
One way to save money is try out free samples. A good site to check out is Shop4Freebies (link has expired).
Since Jenn and I are expecting a baby boy in early February, I signed up for a bunch of free diaper samples!
Hope you find some deals!