Category: Home

Save money buying or renting a home, maintaining, improving or decorating a home, or even selling or renting one out

Home

Rent versus Buy: The Age-Old Housing Debate

It’s a popular time of year for home sales, with many people looking for a new place to live, and open house signs dotting the neighborhood each weekend. Once you’ve narrowed down the area you want to live, the next big question is whether you should rent or buy. Many people point to home ownership as the American dream where you can build equity rather than renting which is considered “throwing your money away”. But financially, it doesn’t always make sense to buy over renting, and there’s often more than just financial considerations to take into account.

Rent versus Buy: The Age-Old Housing Debate

So, rent versus buy? The answer is: it depends.Continue reading“Rent versus Buy: The Age-Old Housing Debate”

Cars, Entertainment, Home, Personal Finance

Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better

As the years go by, it seems we have all been buying more and more into the cliché “bigger is better”. I have to admit, I wouldn’t refuse a bigger paycheck each week, or a bigger piece of mom’s apple pie after dinner, but there are lots of other instances where bigger can create other issues that may lead you to real trouble.

Why Bigger Isn't Always Better

Being just a little practical and more conservative financially can give you mounds of money that can be used for real life priorities, like retirement, long-term healthcare, and life insurance as well as investing in your future. I’m not a scientist, but I’ve come up with a scientific formula that I wish I had developed years ago:Continue reading“Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better”

Food, Home

Smart Gardening Saves You Money

With the spring weather finally coming to the northeast, I can see things are beginning to sprout and grow around here, from the green buds on the trees and bushes to the yellow blooms of the daffodils and forsythia. Many people are turning their attention to gardening and landscaping, and the retailers and nurseries are ready to take your money today, with one retailer even calling it “spring black Friday” (shouldn’t that be “spring green Friday”?). While I tend to have a brown thumb when it comes to growing plants, I have a green thumb when it comes to saving money. Lots of people enjoy gardening, but they can save money at the same time by growing their food and saving on groceries.

Smart Gardening Saves Money

If you don’t have a large-sized property, you might be thinking gardening isn’t for you. But all it takes is a small bit of land, Continue reading“Smart Gardening Saves You Money”

Credit, Debt, Home

Home Equity Line of Credit: Is it for you?

There may come a time when you face a situation when you need money that is above and beyond your emergency funds. We may all face them at some point, whether it’s a medical emergency, car or house situation, or perhaps something with the kids like a huge tuition bill or family issue you need to help solve. What can you do? There are several solutions, but today I’d like to address a common but often misunderstood one, the home equity line of credit, or HELOC.

Home Equity Line of Credit: Is it for you?

First, let’s talk about home equity. The equity is the difference between what you owe on your home to pay off any mortgage and the current market value of your home. For example:Continue reading“Home Equity Line of Credit: Is it for you?”