Money Monday: The price of a bagel

You see these kinds of comparisons all the time.  Skip your daily latte and retire early.  Pack your lunch and save your family thousands a year.  Budgeting and keeping yourself from splurging are great ways to find money within your own family that might be spent on other things.

A few days ago, I spotted this infographic on a blog I follow from a site Keeping Current Matters.  As a coffee lover, I got exactly where they were going with this.  I especially like the houses on top of her head.

This infographic is a little bit deceiving.  Now, I know there are people out there who hit Starbucks every day, and if you are one of them, you are likely spending at least $5/day on coffee or coffee and a bagel.  I would say for most of us, Starbucks is an occasional splurge, but are there other things that you buy that could be cut out?  This infographic uses $5/day, so figure about $150 a month.  Use coupons, cut monthly bills, do less online shopping, etc.  In reality, if you plan to stay in your house for the life of your loan, or if you plan to be there 10, 15, 20 years, you can shave years off your loan, and thousands of dollars off the amount you need to repay when you do sell your home.

Talk to your mortgage lender if you have questions, and see what your savings could be, or if this is a good move for you.  Maybe you could discuss it over a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

NAR's Projections through 2014

The National Association of Realtors came out with their Projections through 2014, and my friends over at the KCM blog put it into a nice infographic.   In the interest of keeping you up to date, I am sharing it here.  Sales up, prices up.  Good news for sellers, and good news that buyers are willing to accept these higher prices in the pursuit of home ownership.  Can I help you find your dream home?  Contact me today!  

From Keeping Current Matters:  NAR's Projections through 2014 [INFOGRAPHIC]

Can Credit Affect your Home Insurance Costs?

You probably know that your credit scores have a huge impact on your ability to get a home loan, and you may also know that your credit score affects the interest rates you are eligible for on that loan.  Credit affects your interest rates on your credit cards, your ability to get a car loan or to apply for a rental application for an apartment.  But did you know it could potentially affect what you pay for your home insurance?

It is common practice for insurance companies to do a soft credit check when you apply for homeowners insurance.  What is a soft credit check?  When you apply for a home loan, a car loan, or any other process involving a lender, they run a credit check that shows up as an inquiry on your credit score.  When you have too many of these "pings" on your credit, it can negatively impact your scores.

A soft credit check only accesses your credit score and not your credit history.  These soft checks do not affect your credit.  This means that even if you talk to many insurance companies, it will not change your credit score, so feel free to shop around for home owner's insurance.

Why do they need your credit score?

When an insurance company runs your credit scores, they use it along with other factors to assess your risk potential and assign you an "insurance score".  They take your risk factor and figure out your insurance premiums from there.

Does this seem fair?  Many people don't think so.  The insurance companies claim that your credit score can have an impact on your likelihood to file a claim.  According to their research, people with lower credit scores tend to file more claims.

Fair or not, it is another good reason to keep your credit score up!

You can find the original article here:  Does Your Credit Score Affect Your Homeowners Insurance Cost? | Keeping Current Matters