Archive for August, 2008

Using Zillow to Figure a Down Payment

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 15, 2008 (8:42 am)

You’re thinking of getting a home someday. After seeing the current housing situation, you decide to be prepared for a home. How much house should you get? How much of a down payment are you going to need? What other expenses do you have to plan for?

There are many different opinions on how much house you can afford. The general consensus seems to be 2-3x your annual salary. Even if banks may suggest you can afford more, be careful. Look at your circumstances.

Do you have a high amount of debt? Considering pausing on buying a home and get that reduced as there are many other expenses included with purchasing a home (see below). It’s good to anticipate your financial needs ahead of time. Wat will bills be like after you purchase a home? Ask family and friends to get an idea.

How you can use Zillow to figure out a down payment.

Locate the city you want to live in. If you’re living in New York City or San Francisco, expect to need a HUGE down payment. Hopefully you income is also higher and can help you build your down payment. Use Zillow to locate affordable neighborhoods in the city and state you’re interested in.

Find the areas in the city with home you like. Within cities there are areas that have developed their own ‘personalities’. See for yourself if it’s the right area for you. Go there during different times and days.  If you’re a couple looking to start a family, you may not enjoy an area with a loud and active nightlife.

I also like to look at the Zestimate.  It can give you an idea if the asking price is reasonable. Select a couple of homes you would love to live in and determine the average price. Use this for your down payment fund estimate.

Aim for a down payment between 10-20%  the ‘dream home’. The advantage of this is that it will reduce your mortgage payment.

Stash your down payment fund in a high yield savings account. Speed along your savings by opening an account with banks with high interest savings like ING Direct, HSBC, Emigrant Direct, WaMu, and many others.

Remember there are other costs in buying a home (provided by Zillow). Try to include some buffer money for them. Also check the requirements for your state, as it can vary and you may have additional responsibilities.

  • Appraisal
  • Credit Report
  • Closing Fee
  • Title Search
  • Homeowners’ Insurance
  • Escrow Deposit for Property Taxes & Mortgage Insurance
  • Transfer Taxes
  • Recording Fees
  • Processing Fee
  • Underwriting Fee
  • Loan Discount Points
  • Pre-Paid Interest
  • Property Tax
  • Pest Inspection

Buying a home can be a great experience, but it can also be a nightmare. If you’re not in a position to buy a home, don’t worry. Rent can be a wise choice for many people. Don’t be impatient; wait for the right time.

Great Thoughts on Topic

Do you have more questions about getting a home and the basics of real estate? Here are some great articles I found on the web:

Photo Credit: by james.thompson

»crosslinked«

Thank you everybody!

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 13, 2008 (9:33 pm)

Photo Credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

Green Panda Treehouse owes many thanks to those who gave their time and skills.

First of all you may have noticed the new logo. It was designed by Pete at Bible Money Matters. If you’re interested in getting a great logo design done, I highly recommend him.

Green Panda has also been included in blog carnivals this week:

I also want to thank the readers. This month is the 2 year anniversary of the blog. It’s only been focused on personal finance for a year (hence the non-financial sounding blog name). It my hope to continue writing and learning. As always, please feel free to contact me.

0 % Interest Credit Cards

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 13, 2008 (3:22 pm)

 

It’s been a busy weekend and I had to catch up on some things. I’m back and I decided to finish my to do list from long ago, which included looking up 0% interest (on balance transfers) credit cards.

A lower interest rate will help you save a little money. These no interest cards are for a limited time.  If you decide to use these, use them wisely.

Be aggressive in paying down your credit cards. The 0% interest is for balance transfers (except the last one which is f purchases ad balance transfers). Please use the card just for the balance transfers. Don’t make purchases, they are listed to help your debt payments go towards the principal.

This may seem odd, but if you don’t have a huge amount of debt, you may be better off by just aggressively paying off your debt on your current card.

Changing your behavior with credit cards isn’t going to be fixed with a low or no interest credit card. It’s just a way to stop some hemorrhaging of money.

Update: Jan. 8,2008 – The following cards have been discontinued: 

 

  • Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Rewards
  • The Kiva BusinessCard
  • Advanta Platinum with Rewards Customized BusinessCard

 

 

Advanta Platinum BusinessCard

Advanta Platinum BusinessCard

MasterCard
0% APR for 12 Months for Balance Transfers & Purchases



Weekly Round-Up: Summer Olympics Edition

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 09, 2008 (6:40 am)

Photo Credit: striatic

The 2008 Summer Olympics have started and it already has been full of headlines.

I’m a fan of gymnastics and hopefully will be able to catch some of it, starting with the finals Tuesday.

News & Carnivals

This week I had the privilege of being interviewed twice! I enjoyed both of them. Thank you BGS and Jim for the opportunity.

College Money Network always have diverse posts an this week was no exception. With our backgrounds, you’re bound to get an eclectic mix. This week we tackled such topics as:

Here’s some great personal finance articles I’ve read:

There were a lot of good articles, so I hope you get a chance to read some of them. It’s going to be a busy and fun weekend for me. I hope you get to enjoy your weekend.

Money (and Time) Talks

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 08, 2008 (7:18 pm)

How you spend your money speaks volumes on what is important to you. If you spend the majority of money caring for your family and friends, then it seems reasonable that they are important to you.

Why?

Unless you’re indepently wealthy, you have a limited amount. Therefore someone or something is important enough for you to give it to them.

Think of Others and Volunteer

I bring this up because sometimes with bills, sometimes we forget that there are less fortunate ones and who could use some help. I know there are many college students who are low on funds. It’s still possible to be a giver when you have a small income.

Perhaps volunteering your time is a great way to help others. The added benefit is that you can possibly learn a skill as well.

We Support Donors Choose

Besides our local congregation, we have also supported DonorsChoose.org where you decide which classrooms could benefit from your help.

Besides personal finance projects in classrooms, we support literacy projects that encourge students to push their boundaries.

Name Your Charities

I’m opening the comments to the readers. What charities do you support? If you can include the link, perhaps you can encourage others to help your cause.

Maximizing Your Financial Aid

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 06, 2008 (5:18 pm)

 

It’s time to start anew semester. I decided to update a post on getting the most financial aid. If you have any suggestions, please leave some tips in the comments.

How to Reduce Student Loans

  • Consider using CLEP to reduce costs.

I used my college’s tuition prices to figure the savings from using CLEP before and this is what I came up with:

 

CLEP In-State Out-State
$400.00 $ 3,264.00 $ 8,874.00

Here’s the amount of savings:

CLEP v In-State $2,864.00
CLEP v Out of State $8,474.00
  • Apply for FAFSA early. As soon as you can, apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January. Use an estimate for your taxes when you initially fill it out. Once you get your tax return back, (or your parents’) sign in online and update the information. The earlier you do this the higher your chances of receiving more grants. Contact your local school to see the deadline.
  • Be aware of individual states’ deadlines for getting financial aid. Each state has a different deadline on getting grants from them. March is a deadline that many states shoot for, so try to do it early and you’ll see that you can get more grants there. We’re talking about an extra hundred a semester to thousands of dollars.
  • Apply for scholarships. Just because you’re getting money from the government doesn’t mean you can’t try to get some scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you. You should also check out the institution’s scholarships, which are usually based on need, merit, and/or major. There are plenty of sites where you can dig for money for college. It pays to leave no stone unturned.
  • Stay local. By staying in-state, you get much cheaper rates than out of state students. In my first economic class, the professor stated that the university charged twice as much for out of state students. I just checked the tuition rates today. It’s almost three times as much as in-state now.
  • Go to a community college first. In my area, the community college is close to the local universities. Many of the university professors teach at community college. You also save 40-60% on the price per credit!
  • Maintain good grades. Most federal financial aid require a 2.0 GPA or higher to keep it. Don’t use that as a guideline; strive for a 3.0 or higher. It will help when you go to a 4 year university and are looking at their scholarships.
  • Consider work study as an option. This helps put cash on your pocket and the schedule is typically good for a college student. If you have dependents and going to college, this may not be an option, as the pay is usually $6-8/hour.  I would suggest looking at jobs from the career center.

Don’t let barriers like how much time it takes stop you. You have to invest time to increase your chance of getting a great financial aid package.

Photo Credit:  paolo màrgari

Start the New Year with Better Finances

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 05, 2008 (6:30 am)

Photo Credit: kreg.steppe

College Money Network wants this year to be a better year financially and give you the chance to win some cool stuff in the process. We have decided to throw a giveaway with over $200 worth of prizes available.

What are the prizes?

• 4GB iPod Nano
• $50 cash
• $20 cash
• Copy of The 4-Hour Workweek
• $10 eBay gift certificate
• One-year magazine subscriptions:

  1. Young Money
  2. Kiplinger’s
  3. SmartMoney Magazine
  4. Money Magazine

How do you enter?

there are several ways to enter! Al the details can be found on the Back To School Giveaway page at the College Money Network. All entries must be received by August 31, 2008 at 11:59 PM PST. Other rules and restrictions can be found on the giveaway page.

July 2008: Progress Update

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 04, 2008 (6:52 am)

 

Wow, where do I begin with this month’s review? Since resigning from my job, I have to update some of my plans. So far, I’m enjoying my ‘vacation’ and managed to take care of a lot of things we had put off since moving.

Let me first review our financial goals for this year:

  • Income: The goal is $70,000 for the year as a family.
  • Spending: I’m going to continue cutting back on eating out to twice a week, including weekends.
  • Investing: I’ll continue to contribute to my Roth IRA.
  • Saving: I will have $2,000 in my emergency fund by September 1, 2008. I would also like to put our income tax return into our house fund toward paying down the car loan.
  • Debt: I would like to pay off my car loan by August 31, 2008.

Here’s how we’re doing with our financial goals:

  • Income: I’ll need to find a job this month to reach that goal.
  • Spending: Good news: spending has been reduced. I would like to say this was a solid effort on my part, but it’s because I’m no longer working. I have a cushion that I don’t want to drain too much.
  • Investing: This is going to be put on hold until I start another job. 
  • Saving: I’m glad I’ve been saving money! I will not make my goal in September, but I’m going to continue to save money. I’ll set aside any money I receive from this blog and a portion will go to savings. Our joint savings is growing and we’re not expected to touch it.
  • Debt: I’m going to have to pay both a car payment and a student loan payment. I’m going to push hard on putting money on the car by snowflaking. Good news: the balance of the loan is now $1,800. With the situation what it is, I will not be making my goal of paying off this car this month. My new goal is to have it paid off by December 2008.

How is everyone else doing with their 2008 goals? Anybody else had some changes to their plan? How did you deal with them?

Photo Credit:  ivanx

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