If you and your family are ready to construct the home of your dreams, then with the help of building loans, you can make that dream a reality. Also called a self-build mortgage, lenders will give homeowners the funds to cover the cost of land, materials, and the contractor who'll be working on your new abode. Unlike home loans, construction loans are a bit complicated, and the money you receive is in disbursements, rather than one lump sum.New construction loans are much harder to qualify Read more [...]

Although creating a sample budgeting plan is a complex process, it helps you plan your finances. A third of Americans maintain a household budget while 30% of Americans have a financial plan. In this plan, most households have included their investment and savings goal.Years after the Recession, half of Americans are still living paycheck to paycheck. As such, they are not prepared for any financial emergency. Simply put, they have nothing to set aside to cover unexpected emergencies.The Read more [...]

The median American household has a savings account that's only worth about $4000.00. That's bad news because that leaves millions with limited recourse if they need to get their hands on money quickly.Think about it... What if you desperately needed to cover medical bills or car repairs? As a less dire example, what if you wanted to launch a new business that was going to require a little bit of start-up cash?Without adequate savings, how would you navigate those wants/needs?Fortunately, Read more [...]

When choosing a home loan, it’s obvious that you’ll go for the lowest rate, which is why we’re not bringing it up for discussion in this article. What we’ll give you are 3 more crucial things to consider when choosing the right home loan.Purchasing a home means that you’re in it for the long haul. You’ll incur a mortgage payment for 15, 20 or 30 years, so it’s best to shop around and choose the best mortgage lenders out there.Understand what you needWhen applying Read more [...]

According to YouGov data, 86 percent of Americans say they sometimes pay with a credit card.Even if you pay for certain goods with cash, a credit card is a convenient and safe way to pay. Cards with chips have added security while many credit card companies also offer zero fraud liability. Plus, you can increase your credit score.But if you've never had a credit card or you need to open a new account and you're not sure where to start, the choices can be overwhelming. We discuss what Read more [...]

It’s tax season!Time to freak out about everything!Or... maybe it’s time to read up on all the ways you could be saving yourself a tax-induced headache this year. We’re talking about getting money after taxes instead of owing it.The good news is we’ve done all the hard work for you and researched the many ways you can inch your way towards a better tax season this year.Keep reading if you want to learn how to reduce your taxable income, make the most of the latest Read more [...]

The average American household has a total debt of $135,768. As a country, that's a total of 13.51 trillion dollars in debt.On the other hand, 50 percent of Americans own just under $54,000 in stocks, on average.But what is the smarter move? Invest or pay off debt? Read on to find out.Pros and Cons of Paying Off Debt vs Investing Should I invest or pay off debt? It's a very common question.On the one hand, paying off debt lowers risk for financial hardship in the future. It Read more [...]

About 33 percent of consumers in the United States have bad or poor credit.Bad credit doesn’t just make it difficult to access credit facilities at reasonable rates. It also makes it a lot harder to achieve your financial goals.The good news? Bad credit isn’t a life sentence. Regardless of how ruined your credit score is, it’s possible to rebuild it.Keep reading to learn some fast ways to increase credit score. Know Your Score Did you know more than 30 percent of Americans Read more [...]

While only about 6% of Americans have a home that's worth more than $500,000, the best investment properties are multifamily properties. These often cost more than that and are usually reserved for people who have a lot of money to put down. If you're looking to buy multifamily property with no money down, you're going to struggle to find the money you're looking for.Thankfully, you can pursue one of these four paths to get a multifamily property whatever your financial situation is. 1. Read more [...]

Have you ever been out to eat and looked around at everyone's credit cards? They were probably like a rainbow of different colors. And maybe, just maybe, you spotted a platinum card.Platinum credit cards are the card we've all heard about, but that only a lucky few have the privilege of using. But do you actually know what a platinum card "means?" Why do people want them?Today, we're unraveling the platinum card mystery. Let's breakdown the platinum card meaning. The History of the Read more [...]