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How our Debt Freedom Plan Prepared Us for the Pandemic

Family Balance Sheet

How Our Debt Freedom Plan Prepared Us for the Pandemic. I am totally paraphrasing the year, but had it not been for the money in our emergency savings, we would most likely have used credit cards to survive. We’d survived the dip in 2007, carried no credit card debt, and we were contributing to our retirement.

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How Much House Can I Afford? Affordability Calculator

Savings Corner

To calculate how much house you can afford, we take into account a few primary items, such as your household income, monthly debts (for example, car loan and student loan payments) and the amount of savings available for a down payment. How does your debt-to-income ratio impact affordability? Debt and expenses.

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Cash-Out Refinancing: How It Works, When To Do It

Savings Corner

You can use this money for any purpose, including home remodeling , consolidating higher-interest debt , college tuition and other financial needs. Cash-out refinances are generally best for big-ticket costs: Think home renovations or major debt consolidation. This can be a boon for your credit score.

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Mortgage Calculator with PMI and Taxes

Savings Corner

A lot of factors go into that assessment, and the main one is debt-to-income ratio. Your debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of pretax income that goes toward monthly debt payments, including the mortgage, car payments, student loans, minimum credit card payments and child support.

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Meet a Reader | JenRR from the Midwest

The Frugal Girl

While we were still renting an apartment, I researched areas with lower property taxes, scouted out my ideal neighborhoods, and waited for a smaller, less expensive house to come on the market. I live in a fairly transient town with lots of college students. We rented at first, but the rental situation in our new town was poor.

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Mortgage Refinancing: What Is It And How Does It Work?

Savings Corner

This increases your mortgage debt but gives you money that you can invest or use to fund a goal, like a home improvement project. Debt consolidation refinance Caret Down Like cash-out refinances, debt consolidation refinances give you cash. Your credit score will temporarily take a hit.

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How to Start a Budget (and be successful at it!)

Family Balance Sheet

Many years ago, our cash flow sucked, we put Christmas on a credit card, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for a large tax bill. I came up with strategies to help us pay for yearly bills, large expenses, and we were able to pay off debts. During that time, I started to budget for everything.

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