Put Your Mortgage Under the Microscope
Each and every day brings news of more homeowners falling behind on their mortgage payments as adjustable rate and other more exotic mortgages reset to higher rates.
Are there hidden risks in your mortgage that you or your spouse are unaware of? There just might be.
Get out your mortgage agreement and start reading.
If you've already spent more than 28% of your pretax income on principal, interest, insurance and property taxes, or if adding your other debts to this pushes you above 36% of your gross income, you may be heading for a fall.
So now is the time to refinance to a fixed rate. Go to www.myFICO.com and get your credit rating. If your FICO score is no lower than 620 to 650 you should be able to switch to a fix. If your score is lower than 620, start cleaning up your debt. Lenders are tightening their lending practices now, and more people are in need of some help.
If you want to get smarter about everything money, here’s what we want you to do: Sign up for our FREE email tip-letter, Smart Money Moves with the Dolans. It’s loaded with advice to make your life simpler and more rewarding—and it’s FREE. Click here.
Insurance
- What to do About Rising Medical Costs
- Hurricanes Take Their Toll: How to Win the Claim Game
- Why You Need Renter's Insurance
College
Family & Money
 |
 |
|
Dolan Recommended: College Resources |
||
 |
 |
|
|
|
Child Savings AccountsWhen opening a savings account for your child, make sure their Social Security number is used as the account's tax identification number. That way, as long as your child is under age 14, interest earned will be taxed at your child's lower tax rate, not at your tax rate. This rule holds true as long as your child earns less than $1,300 a year in interest. |
||
|
|
Advertisement
