For the last few years, mortgage interest rates have been at an all-time low while home values have totally skyrocketed. If you bought a house a few or more years ago, this news is awesome for you! You probably have lots more equity in your home than you realize. (If it’s not you, NEWS FLASH–THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BUY A HOUSE.) Having a lot of equity is fabulous if you take advantage of it correctly. What do I mean by that? Hear me out. The conditions I described above make it a prime time to refinance your home. Refinance is basically getting a new loan on your home to “buy it again”. You will pay off your original loan with a new loan.  Many people do this and “take out the equity” on their home when they do. When they create a new loan, they borrow more than the balance of their original loan. They can do this because their home is now worth more than it was when they bought it. Why do this? Sometimes to consolidate debt (not necessarily the best plan unless you’ve really made

I find it interesting (and so do many, many people with whom I discuss this subject) that our financial lives are backward. Allow me to explain. When we are twenty- and thirty-something adults, perhaps in college, perhaps with young families, it seems that money is a little hard to come by. Things are tight, and those who haven’t been taught the best way to handle their money might owe more than they own. When our children are grown and we approach retirement age (providing we have saved and invested wisely in the interim years), money seems to be a bit more available and our needs fewer. That being said, the latter scenario requires less financial protection than the former. What do I mean by “financial protection”? One word: INSURANCE. As our lives evolve, we get older, our physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs change. Doesn’t it stand to reason that our insurance needs change, too? Last week I encouraged you to evaluate your net worth and mentioned final arrangement

Regarding your financial situation, I’ve said before it’s important to know where you stand. One excellent indicator of where you stand is your net worth. So, let’s define net worth, but let’s make it fun, grammar-school style. If I have five apples in my basket and I owe three of them to you because you loaned me three apples last week, my net worth is two apples. Pretty simple, right? Basically, your net worth is your assets minus your liabilities–what you have minus what you owe. Well, that makes sense. But why bother to track it?  Because one’s net worth is a good picture of one’s overall financial health. Did you know that if you ignore your financial health, it will go away? Take care of it and it will take care of you. It’s kind of like your teeth. If you want them to stick around, brush twice daily, floss regularly, and see the dentist every six months. If you track your net worth over time, you will be able to make sure your wealth is moving in the right direction and ma

Last week I mentioned opting into a pretty helpful service that your bank potentially offers. Today I’d like to mention how to opt OUT of a service that doesn’t help AT ALL. Don’t you LOVE all the junk mail you get from credit card companies and insurance brokers? Yeah, me neither. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to get rid of all that clutter? Well, here is one wish I can grant. Check out optoutprescreen.com (get more information on that site at https://www.fraudguides.com/consumers/optoutprescreen-com/ ) to eliminate all the useless aforementioned advertisements. Click on “opt out” and make sure you follow through with the entire process.   And while you’re checking out that informational site, make sure you look at our Financial Calendar for August. While I don’t consider myself a tree hugger, I sure hate how much paper I recycle when I go through the contents of my mail box. I’m doing my part to be a little greener and save the planet. Go me. You can do it, too!