It is baffling that many people spend more time researching their car purchases than they do researching their mortgage purchase.  A study conducted by Harris Interactive and Zillow showed that individuals average around five hours for researching mortgage loans but average 10 hours for researching available car loans.  This lack of preparation can end up costing homeowners thousands of dollars over their life of their mortgage loan.  To avoid falling into this situation, here are a few tips that can help save you money during and after the mortgage shopping process.

Assess Your Financial Situation

Before you begin shopping for a mortgage loan, you should take a long, hard look at your financial situation to determine what you can afford.  Examining your finances should include obtaining your credit score from the three major credit reporting bureaus, reviewing your income and earning potential, and evaluating the amount of debt already carried.  As a general rule, the amount of your mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, should be less than 30% of your average monthly income after taxes.

Review Mortgage Loan Variations

When choosing a mortgage loan, most people choose one of the two main types of mortgage loan – fixed rate or adjustable rate.  Fixed rate mortgages carry the same interest rate for the entire life of the loan, ensuring that the payment amount remains constant until the home is paid off, refinanced, or sold.  Adjustable rate mortgages have interest rates that fluctuate according to the terms of the mortgage agreement, which means that interest only mortgage payments can increase or decrease when the interest rate adjusts.  Reviewing the pros and cons of both types of mortgage loans can help you make an informed decision about which type of mortgage loan is best for your needs and your financial situation.

Get Multiple Mortgage Quotes Within 30 Days

Many borrowers only obtain quotes from a few mortgage lenders during the mortgage shopping process because they believe that having multiple lenders checking their credit will cause their credit score to decrease.  Due to rules put into place by the federal governments, borrowers now have a 30-day window in which multiple checks of their credit will not affect their credit score.  This means that you can get as many quotes as you want within that 30-day window and you will not be penalized for it.

If you’re looking for interest only mortgage advice, visit The Mortgage Broker.

When it comes to saving for retirement, excuses and reasons to put off saving abound.  Maybe we believe that there are more important things to spend our money on or that retirement is so far away that we have plenty of time before we must begin.  Although these justifications may seem reasonable at the time, they can do great damage to your financial future if they prevent you from saving adequately for your retirement years.

Here are the most common reasons for not saving for retirement and how to overcome them.

I Don’t Earn Enough Money!

If you do not earn a big salary, it can be difficult to save for retirement because there are many immediate demands on your income.  Although you may be living paycheck to paycheck, saving even small amounts can significantly improve your financial outlook for your retirement years.  If you can save $20 per month, at the end of the year you will have saved $240 with little change in your quality of life.  As you grow accustomed to putting a small amount into savings each month, gradually increase the amount saved by allocating half the amount of received pay raises or bonuses into the retirement account.

I Need To Save For College First!

Many parents put off saving for their retirement so that they can save for their children’s college education first.  Experts warn against neglecting your retirement savings to fund a college savings plan because there are more opportunities to borrow or gain money for college than there are opportunities to obtain extra money for retirement.  Parents can always help their children pay off a student loan and should focus on ensuring that their retirement years will be secure so they will not be a financial burden on their children later in life.

I Have Plenty Of Time For Saving!

Focusing on a financial goal that is decades away can be very difficult with so many immediate expenses facing us everyday.  Saving for retirement now will reduce the amount of disposable income you have for other purchases, but beginning early means that you can save a lower amount of money over a longer period of time to reach the same savings goal.  An individual in their mid-20’s that saves $2,500 per year in a retirement account earning an average of 7% interest can have nearly $518,000 saved by age 65.  An individual beginning to save at age 40 would have to place nearly $7,900 per year into the account to reach the same goal.

Many people have protested the practices of credit card companies that cost consumers hundreds of dollars more than they believe is fair.  The displeasure of the public has become so loud about these practices that Congress created the Credit Cardholder’s Bill Of Rights to reduce or eliminate practices that could be considered predatory.  There are many things that you can do on your own to save money on your credit cards and implement these measures has the potential to save you hundreds in credit card fees every year.

Pay Bills As They Arrive

To avoid considerable fees to your credit card account, it is better to make payments as soon as you have received the bill.  This ensures that your payment will not be received late.  Late payments give credit card companies plentiful opportunities to charge you more money, including skyrocketing the interest rate for the card to the highest allowable limit that is often close to 30%, late payment charges that could be as high as $39 per occurrence, and over-limit fees, which could add another $39 charge to the balance of the account.  A single missed or late payment could cost the person $80 or more in fees and interest rate hikes.

Keep Usage Minimal

Although the temptation to place purchases on your credit card can be very high, going this route will cost the person a large amount of money.  In addition to the interest charges and finance charges, there is a good chance that the person will spend more than they can afford to repay, will go over their credit limit triggering additional charges, or will carry a balance on the card which allows the company to charge high fees for using the credit card.  The best way to use a credit card is to use the credit card for emergency purchases only and to pay cash for everything else.

Pay Off Your Balance Monthly

One of the easiest ways to save money on your credit cards is to never charge more to then than you can pay off each month.  Carrying a balance on the credit card will result in finance charges and interest fees that can add a significant amount to the amount that will need to be paid off.  These charges cannot be levied before a certain period of time has passed, so paying off the credit card in full before these charges are levied results in an interest free loan for the month.

The idea of building up a nest egg has a certain comforting attraction, but in these days of general belt tightening, it might seem nothing more than a pipe dream to many of us. However, with a little bit of financial self-examination and by getting rid of bad habits and learning to adopt good ones, each and every one of us can make a start at saving.

Never has the saying ‘from little acorns, mighty oaks do grow’ been more relevant. Start now by saving a modest amount and providing you put your money in the right place such as tax free ISAs (read more), it will do the work for you.

Before you can seriously start saving you’ll probably want to clear the decks. And that means getting rid of your debts.

There’s no point putting money in a savings account when you owe money that you could pay back sooner rather than later. Interest rates on credit card debt are always going to outstrip those on savings accounts many times over.

This is where you need to sit down with a calculator and tot up how much you owe on all your credit cards. If you’re only meeting the minimum payments each month, it’s going to take you a very long time to repay the original debt, by which time you will have paid out a colossal sum in total.

Think about how you can pay more each month so you’re tackling the main debt, not just the interest. If it looks unlikely you’ll be able to pay this off in a realistic time frame, then you’re going to have to work out where you can economize in the short to medium term in order to free up more of your income to pay down your credit card debts.

A great start is to cut up your existing credit cards so you can’t add more debt to the amount you already owe. It’s tough, but it’s effective.

With certain financial arrangements such as hire purchase or loans, your time frame for repayment is probably fixed, so you can simply factor in the payment amount as part of your regular outgoings in the same way as you’d treat an electricity or phone bill.

You need to work out exactly how much you have to spend each month on bills, food, petrol, etc. Although this might seem a tough thing to do, working out exactly where your money’s been disappearing can throw up a number of ideas on how you can cut back and set budgets properly.

What’s left after your subtractions for essential spending is what you can spend on non-essentials like going out or new clothes. And also this is where you’ll find the money to start building your nest egg.

Make sure your money works as hard for you as possible. Shop around for the best interest rates and remember to take advantage of the tax-free savings offered by ISA’s or Individual Savings Accounts. Everyone can invest £5,340 a year in an ISA and unlike a regular savings account you’ll receive all the interest with nothing going to the Inland Revenue.

Everyone wants to have fun and be entertained, but spending a lot of money on entertainment is not an option for many people.  There are many ways to get entertainment for less or even for free and these options are just as good as the ones you pay money for.  You may find new interests and new friends by exploring these inexpensive entertainment options.

Cancel Your Subscriptions

Subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, book clubs, and movie clubs are expensive and you receive limited enjoyment from each item you receive.  Instead of paying for all of those subscriptions and accumulating large amounts of unwanted paper, get a library card from your local library and check out the books, movies, and magazines that match your interests.  Libraries also post notices for community events, classes, and clubs that you may not have been aware of and are interested in attending.

Many magazines and newspapers post their major articles online, so you can read the local news or information on the latest celebrities from the comfort of your own home.  Typing the name of the publications you are interested in into a search engine will return the home page for the publication’s website and you can navigate to the articles you want from there.

Explore Local Musicians

In most cities, there are many opportunities to listen to local artists and others that are trying to make it in the music industry.  Instead of spending big bucks for the concert of an A-list artist, explore options for free concerts in your area – often held in community parks, during local festivals, or in areas where large amounts of people tend to gather on a regular schedule.  There are also many small, local venues that showcase local artists in many cities where the price of a ticket to an event is $10 or less.

Many newspapers and specialty local publications will list where local musicians will be appearing during the week.  The listing will also have the time that the musician will be playing and the cost of admission to the venue.  You may find a favorite local band to follow or new types of music to enjoy during your exploration of your local music scene.

Reports of this food or that food increasing in price are regularly on the news as everything from fruits to frozen foods has seen dramatic price increases over the past year.  For those of us without a lot of wiggle room in our budgets or who are living on a fixed income, these price increases can be devastating and result in less choice and less food for the individual affected.  Although there is very little you can do to change the prices at the grocery store, there are some ways to lessen the impact of higher food prices on your disposable income.

Purchase Bulk Quantities

Many staple foods are available in bulk quantities that are much cheaper per unit than their smaller counterparts are.  If you believe that you will be able to use the entire amount purchased before the expiration date on the package, you can save a great deal of money by purchasing the larger quantity.  If you are purchasing perishable foods in bulk, you can extend the life of these foods by freezing them or canning them.

Use Coupons

Many stores and manufacturers regularly issue coupons for their products to entice more people into trying the foods that they offer.  These coupons can be for free items or give you a certain amount of money off your purchases.  People that tailor their grocery shopping list to the coupons that they have available may be able to save 30% or more off their total grocery bill.

Stock Up On Sale Items

Grocery stores always have some food items on sale and the specific items on sale rotate regularly.  You can save quite a bit of money by obtaining the sales flyer of the store you will be shopping at prior to your shopping trip and using it to plan your shopping list.  Large grocery chains post their sales flyers online for easy access and local grocery stores mail their flyers to homes in the local area or have their flyers inserted into the local newspaper.  Matching these sale items to your available coupons can save you even more at the grocery store.

Never has money been more under the microscope than in recent years. Recession and the global economic downturn have had detrimental effects on businesses and consumers, but has it changed the way we think about money for the better?

Some research from across the pond in the UK, and another study here in the US suggest that the recession has marked a step-change in the way we spend and save – especially those of us aged between 18 and 34-years-old.

Saving for the future

Financial group Barclays commissioned some research and analysis on the subject and concluded: “Almost a third of 20 to 29-year-olds (32 per cent of those surveyed) are ‘Young, Ultra Forward-Thinking Savers’, or YUFTIES.

“They are saving an average of £258 a month – or 17.7 per cent of their monthly salary – towards specific life goals they plan to achieve over the next 10 years.”

Their findings, based on a study which involved a survey of 1,003 20 to 65-year-olds who save each month, show that the effects of the economic downturn have made young people more financially savvy and more likely to plan for the future, says Barclays.

In America, US News reports that: “Young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 are more likely to say they want to save more, spend less, develop a budget, and pay down debts in 2011 than older generations”, according to the new Chase Slate-U.S. News Consumer Monitor survey.

Why so serious?

Such prudent attitudes towards spending and saving are usually the reserve of older generations, so if the research is to be believed, why are the younger generations now so serious about stashing cash away for the future?

The past 30 years has been an era of boom and bust for economies around the world. In the 1980’s we saw both economic growth in developing countries and debt crises in others.

In the UK the 1980s were a time when free enterprise was encouraged and the worlds of consumerism and trade were glamourised, making people more aspirational.

In the 1990’s we saw the ‘dot com bubble’ create new industries, jobs and wealth. It inevitably collapsed in the late nineties and early 2000’s.

Since then and over the past decade we have seen some of the worst economic instability in our generation, with recession and inflation making the cost of living relatively expensive.

Perhaps it’s no surprise then, that the younger generations who have seen such a changeable economic world in their own lifetimes should feel the need to future-proof themselves to some extent by investing money in savings.

A savings account of any kind is a good way to deal with the little surprises that life throws our way. Whether it’s auto repair bills you’ll never see coming, or a bout of ill health that puts you out of work for an extended period, you’ll be glad you had the savings to fall back on.

Saving money is simple when you take the time to look around your environment for saving opportunities.  For most people, these simple saving methods are things that they never thought about before or believed that the savings would be so small that they would be insignificant.  Every little bit counts when it comes to saving and small amounts quickly add up to an impressive amount when combined into a single saving plan.

Weatherproof Your Home

Sealing any drafty doorways or windows can save you quite a bit of money on your energy bills, especially when using your heat in the winter or your air conditioner in the summer.  Lost heat can quickly result in your furnace working overtime, wasting electricity or natural gas every time the furnace turns on.  Weatherproofing your home will result in smaller energy bills and the saved money can be used for paying down debt or bulking up your savings account.

Wash Laundry In Cold Water

To save even more on your energy costs, you should consider washing your laundry in cold water instead of using gallons of hot water heated by your water tank.  In most cases, the benefits of washing your clothes in warm water versus washing your clothes in cold water are negligible and some people believe that washing clothes in cold water can actually extend the life of the clothing. 

Turn Off Power Vampires

Many electronic devices continue to use power even after they have been turned off by the power switch, draining power and increasing your electricity bill.  Stop feeding these electronic vampires by unplugging the devices from their power source, ensuring that they will not be able to access any more power until they are back in use. Plugging multiple devices into a power strip makes this process easier because all you have to do is unplug the entire power strip from the wall.

Cut Your Cable Bill

Many of us are paying cable companies far more than we should when our actual usage is reviewed.  Reduce the amount of your cable bill by eliminating any specialty packages and going back to the basic cable package.  Most basic cable packages include more than 100 channels in their base price, giving you at least 100 choices of things to watch every time you turn on the television set.