Entries Tagged 'finance' ↓

Congratulations on achieving the American dream of home ownership.

Now that you own a home, how do you want to improve it? When thinking about whether you want to enhance your home through remodeling, construction or repairs, be sure to include a budget for all those glamorous home improvement projects.

Thinking of using a credit card?

Before jeopardizing your financial freedom with high credit card payments and overspending, consider saving for your home makeover by putting money on aprepaid card or locking it away in a savings account until you really need it.

Follow these money saving tips to ensure you have the funds to build your dream home:

Consider the Cost

Financial experts warn that homeowners should anticipate the added costs of annual maintenance, repairs and upgrades when buying a home. It is estimated that homeowners annually spend $100 to $3,000 on routine maintenance, and $2,000 to $10,000 on enhancement projects. To afford these costs, you can use prepaid cards and put money on the REACH card to get the security of a bank account without the bank fees.

Prioritize

Another money saving tip for remodeling projects is to make a list of all the changes you’d like to make to the home and then prioritize that list based on what is needed vs. what is wanted. According to Remodeling magazine’s cost-to-value ratio, homeowners nationwide can expect an average of 60 percent return on their remodeling investments.
That’s why it’s important to prioritize home renovations that will not only look nice, but also improve the quality of your home – for example, adding new granite kitchen countertops.

Make a Plan

After prioritizing your list, the next step in beautifying your home is to create a budget. Develop a plan that will allow you to save what you can and spend where you need it most. Setting aside money and putting it on a card like the REACH card will allow you to use funds you’ve already budgeted, reducing the chance that you’ll overspend. Smart money management is key to affording all of your glamorous home improvement projects.

Save, Save, Save

It’s recommended that homeowners save about one percent of their home’s purchase price per year. It’s best to start saving from day one so that you’ll have money when an emergency arises. Use prepaid cards to save money for all your home improvements with the freedom to spend without accumulating credit card debt or maintaining a bank account- they make it easy to save by allowing you to make direct deposits from paychecks, government checks and even tax refunds right to the card.

If you’re using the REACH card, you can transfer money from one card to another- making it easy to build a home improvement savings fund.
Now that you own a home, make sure you have the funds to make it a dream home.

Realize your goals, set priorities and start saving to improve your house- now and in the future.

The irony about life is that you need money to live, and you need money when you don’t live! Does that sound confusing? The above statement holds very true to today’s life. You spend all your life making money to ensure a nice life for you and your family, and when you die–your family has to spend a huge amount of money to give the guy who gave them a good life a decent burial. The old adage “you don’t take anything when you leave this world” is true, but you most definitely leave behind an expense when you leave. Funeral and burial costs are so high these days that sending someone away decently on his or her final journey can be a pocket wrenching experience.

You can’t blame the high costs on the burial service people. Funeral homes and cemeteries are like any other business. They need to pay their staff, pay for their utilities, insurance, and a whole lot of other things. So it is only natural that they meet all the expenses and make a profit through the only source of income they have—your death! Sad though the situation is, it is a fact. Nobody should flinch a bit when it comes to giving a nice burial and conducting a nice funeral service for the departed loved one. You should at least ensure that your loved one goes to the maker in a nice little coffin. The only problem is that all these cost money, and deaths happen unexpectedly. You can’t make savings for the funeral years ahead thinking your mom or dad is going to die on such and such date. It happens unexpectedly, and when it does happen, you’re more often than not, strapped for cash.

Elastic emergency loans can help you out on this. When something unexpected like a death happens, and when you need to stretch your paycheck to give the departed a nice good-bye, all you have to do is to get yourself an elastic loan. Elastic loans can be quite a solution in emergency situations like this as you can get a loan pretty fast, and you don’t have to worry about high interest rates or about paying back the money, even before your mourning period is over. You only pay an access fee each time you cash the loan, and you can even extend the loan period by paying a small fee on the remaining principal. Therefore, the next time you need money for a nice burial or funeral service, let elastic loans take care of your expenses while you spend your time mourning the memories of your loved one.