The current foreclosure crisis in America threatens to make many more homeowners helpless victims of the banking industry and of their own mistakes or greed. As a result, large sections of the country will end up in the hands of multinational banks unwilling to sell these homes to potential buyers. Most homeowners will not end up completely homeless, but there will be a lot more renters located in far less geographic space, while the multinational banks end up owning vast portions of the country. The fact that the mortgage companies will be unable to sell these properties and uninterested in renting them out will not matter -- they can add trillions of dollars of real estate holdings to their bottom lines, deduct depreciation every year, or sell the properties for very little in order to make more bad loans. But there are a lot of things homeowners can do to protect themselves from this fate.
There are a number of questions that every homeowner who bought or refinanced a house in the past few years should ask themselves. Did you know you had an ARM that would increase in price, or are you talking about refinancing your loan with a fixed rate that turned out to be too high to begin with? We run into numerous foreclosure victims who are losing their homes because of the simple fact that they did not even know they had an adjustable rate mortgage, and could not afford the rate increase.
What about your emergency fund? Most financial advisers, news commentators, and anyone who has been in a financial bind before knows that it is recommended that you have 3-6 months of income stashed away in an emergency fund (preferably in an interest-bearing savings account, money market account, or other liquid account), just in case you need help paying bills. Did you run out of funds and is this why you are now forced to look for ways to stop foreclosure before you run out of time?
And how about lowering your monthly expenses to the bare minimum? Get rid of the cable TV, air conditioning, keep the heat down to a very low temperature, cancel the cell phone, do not take extra trips with the car, grow your own food (even a little bit helps), etc. All of these are modern luxuries, some which did not exist even as little as 50 or 100 years ago, and human were able to survive for several tens of thousands of years without them. If there is a serious choice between watching 24 or saving your home, then you may want to reconsider owning a home at all.
Could you sell any unnecessary assets, like CDs, DVDs, old books, useless items, or otherwise? A garage sale can bring in a month's worth of mortgage payments or more, depending on how much your payment is, or you can unload some items to keep on top of other bills and keep your credit score just that much higher for an extra month or two. That might be all it takes to find a lender that can refinance the loan out of foreclosure. Many individuals tend to buy useless things that they do not need, then sell or give them away for pennies on the dollar. You can take advantage of other peoples' bargain-shopping instincts and sell items that are not as important as keeping your home out of foreclosure.
Of course, if you would have to go without every convenience and sell everything just to make the mortgage payment, then it makes sense to ask if it is worth saving this particular house. If all of your income would have to go towards just paying the loan, then you may be in a loan that is simply not right for you, and it may make sense to sell and move to a more affordable house, even if it is smaller and in a less-desirable neighborhood. Scaling back, in combination with selling unimportant items and lowering your expenses, can have positive effects on your financial stability far into the future, and will help you stop foreclosure now.
It seems that a lot of homeowners were relying solely on "hope" for things to get better or stay normal. But we all know that life happens sometimes, and a financial crisis will hit at the most unexpected moment. There is no way to plan for some hardships, but there are numerous ways to make them less difficult to get through. Hope alone is a pretty flimsy support, though, and it rarely comes through when it is most needed. But homeowners can take back control of their finances and reevaluate their financial habits as a whole, and protect themselves much better from the greed and bad habits that can be developed in a consumption-oriented society.
Financial Education - Should Banks Set Up Mini Courses?
Banks and financial institutions have a responsibility to people and that is to do what the customer wishes with their money. The idea of having a mini course in financial education is to give customers a realistic look at what happens when money is poorly managed, invested, or spent and what happens when you are stuck trying to figure out what to do with your money. Banks actually offer you a chance to talk to their tellers, but usually a personal banker only gives you so much time to work with. Many customers are coming to this country not knowing the language or anything except the idea of making money so there’s that language issue as well so some institutions depending on who it is will in fact offer small crash courses in financial responsibility and what you should do in terms of how your money is managed.
If they can give crash courses in tax preparation and setting up specific accounts they can give someone who is new to country or even a kid fresh out of high school some lessons in sound financial education where they’ll learn proper management of their money and how much they should take out of their paychecks every week to put into their savings account and even utilizing financial details such as stuff on the internet like Pay Pal when you do business to be able to get your money faster and cut down the expense of having checks mailed out only in certain circumstances that it should be done, but something like running an EBAY business and being able to accept online payments and even credit card payments over a secured network. Someone who can advise you on things financially can explain all that and tell you what to expect and what will come out of the deal.
Some banks will offer the information on their website and usually it will be in a PDF file which will require someone to access a program like Adobe to decipher the size of it to be read, saved and printed out for personal or commercial use. Some financial advisors who work for banks or financial companies will in fact set up mini courses teaching basic or advanced types of financial education whether it’s to educate a regular person or doing it to fulfill certifications to work at banks and financial institutions like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley to perform the task of giving potential and current clients advice on handling their finances and helping them to utilize the most out of the advice that is being given to the person(s). Many people who are giving advice out on finances and can’t answer specific questions then you’ll know they’re not real because a legit advisor wouldn’t give you faulty information that is potentially illegal or not in accordance to federal and state laws. There are governing bodies that handle the certification and licensing of financial advisors to hold them accountable when they give financial education advice to people so that the information they have is what it should be accurate and correct and not just being told to convince someone, but what is considered logic from the mind of a person trained to assist people in handling their money.
At the age of 5 Stefan moved to Germany, then at 12 to Switzerland where he ended up studying International Hospitality Management and received a degree in Executive Restaurant and Hotel Management. After several five star engagements his path has brought him and his wife back to the United States where they recently welcomed their first baby girl to the world. He has since then left Corporate America as well as a substantial paycheck behind and followed his instincts to become a successful Entrepreneur and CEO of his own company.
If they can give crash courses in tax preparation and setting up specific accounts they can give someone who is new to country or even a kid fresh out of high school some lessons in sound financial education where they’ll learn proper management of their money and how much they should take out of their paychecks every week to put into their savings account and even utilizing financial details such as stuff on the internet like Pay Pal when you do business to be able to get your money faster and cut down the expense of having checks mailed out only in certain circumstances that it should be done, but something like running an EBAY business and being able to accept online payments and even credit card payments over a secured network. Someone who can advise you on things financially can explain all that and tell you what to expect and what will come out of the deal.
Some banks will offer the information on their website and usually it will be in a PDF file which will require someone to access a program like Adobe to decipher the size of it to be read, saved and printed out for personal or commercial use. Some financial advisors who work for banks or financial companies will in fact set up mini courses teaching basic or advanced types of financial education whether it’s to educate a regular person or doing it to fulfill certifications to work at banks and financial institutions like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley to perform the task of giving potential and current clients advice on handling their finances and helping them to utilize the most out of the advice that is being given to the person(s). Many people who are giving advice out on finances and can’t answer specific questions then you’ll know they’re not real because a legit advisor wouldn’t give you faulty information that is potentially illegal or not in accordance to federal and state laws. There are governing bodies that handle the certification and licensing of financial advisors to hold them accountable when they give financial education advice to people so that the information they have is what it should be accurate and correct and not just being told to convince someone, but what is considered logic from the mind of a person trained to assist people in handling their money.
At the age of 5 Stefan moved to Germany, then at 12 to Switzerland where he ended up studying International Hospitality Management and received a degree in Executive Restaurant and Hotel Management. After several five star engagements his path has brought him and his wife back to the United States where they recently welcomed their first baby girl to the world. He has since then left Corporate America as well as a substantial paycheck behind and followed his instincts to become a successful Entrepreneur and CEO of his own company.
Personal Finance - Time to Analyze Your Finances
Time to analyze your finances? Start with your net worth, or where you stand financially. To do this, create two columns with your assets on one side and your liabilities on the other.
Assets
Assets consist of anything with economic value, especially that which could be converted to cash such as real estate (the total value of your home), the balances in your savings and money market accounts, the value of all investments combined (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.), 401(k) and IRA accounts, and any ownership interest in a business, if applicable.
Liabilities
Liabilities are debts, such as your outstanding mortgage payment, the total due on all credit cards and loans (car loans, school loans, etc.), the total amount due for property settlements, utility payments, and any amount owed for alimony or child support.
Net Worth
Once your columns are created, the next step is to subtract your liabilities from your assets. If the end result is a negative number, take action and implement a budget to pay off all non-mortgage debt. Consider paying for items in cash instead of using a credit card, try to set some money aside each month in a savings account and establish an emergency fund.
Investing
To build wealth, consider placing the money you set aside each month into a: (1) certificate of deposit (CD) which offers a higher rate over traditional savings accounts yet ties up your money for a period of time, (2) money market account which yields a rate of return similar to a CD with the ability to withdraw funds when needed, or (3) 529 educational savings plan which offers a flexible tax-deferred savings plan to cover educational expenses.
Also, consider saving through retirement options: (1) individual retirement accounts (IRAs) where you can contribute between $4,000 to $5,000 per year depending on age and deduct your contribution from your tax return, or (2) 401(k) retirement plans which are offered by many employers as a way to encourage employees to save for retirement. In a 401(k) plan, companies will often match a certain percentage of employee contributions.
A financial area many people forget to consider is life insurance. According to the Insurance Information Institute, millions of Americans don’t carry any life insurance and, if they do carry life insurance, millions more don't have enough to provide sufficient financial security for their families. Following are options to consider: (1) whole life insurance in which the coverage lasts for an entire lifetime and typically offers a cash value that may accumulate tax-deferred, (2) term life insurance where the coverage lasts a specific period of time and can be more affordable over whole life insurance, and (3) annuities where the insurance company provides guaranteed payments at a specific time which are drawn from funds you have entrusted with the insurance company.
Assets
Assets consist of anything with economic value, especially that which could be converted to cash such as real estate (the total value of your home), the balances in your savings and money market accounts, the value of all investments combined (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.), 401(k) and IRA accounts, and any ownership interest in a business, if applicable.
Liabilities
Liabilities are debts, such as your outstanding mortgage payment, the total due on all credit cards and loans (car loans, school loans, etc.), the total amount due for property settlements, utility payments, and any amount owed for alimony or child support.
Net Worth
Once your columns are created, the next step is to subtract your liabilities from your assets. If the end result is a negative number, take action and implement a budget to pay off all non-mortgage debt. Consider paying for items in cash instead of using a credit card, try to set some money aside each month in a savings account and establish an emergency fund.
Investing
To build wealth, consider placing the money you set aside each month into a: (1) certificate of deposit (CD) which offers a higher rate over traditional savings accounts yet ties up your money for a period of time, (2) money market account which yields a rate of return similar to a CD with the ability to withdraw funds when needed, or (3) 529 educational savings plan which offers a flexible tax-deferred savings plan to cover educational expenses.
Also, consider saving through retirement options: (1) individual retirement accounts (IRAs) where you can contribute between $4,000 to $5,000 per year depending on age and deduct your contribution from your tax return, or (2) 401(k) retirement plans which are offered by many employers as a way to encourage employees to save for retirement. In a 401(k) plan, companies will often match a certain percentage of employee contributions.
A financial area many people forget to consider is life insurance. According to the Insurance Information Institute, millions of Americans don’t carry any life insurance and, if they do carry life insurance, millions more don't have enough to provide sufficient financial security for their families. Following are options to consider: (1) whole life insurance in which the coverage lasts for an entire lifetime and typically offers a cash value that may accumulate tax-deferred, (2) term life insurance where the coverage lasts a specific period of time and can be more affordable over whole life insurance, and (3) annuities where the insurance company provides guaranteed payments at a specific time which are drawn from funds you have entrusted with the insurance company.
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