Category: Saving Money


Jun
2015

7 Important Reasons to Pay Off Your Mortgage

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money
Why Paying Off the Mortgage is Important

For the most part, the classic American dream includes home ownership. A comfortable job, a vacation once a year, and a place to call home. What’s funny is that the vast majority of us are relying on 30-year mortgages to “own” our homes…but no one ever talks about the reasons to pay off your mortgage early.

So, in some sense, we really aren’t owning our homes – we just feel like we are. And it’s so commonplace to have a mortgage that nobody really second-guesses it.

To be fair, there are some benefits of having a mortgage. But does that really mean that it’s a good idea for everyone? Should it be the norm?

I’m not convinced. Here are some of the biggest reasons to pay off your mortgage early (and why we’re doing it):

Related post: How to Pay Off the Mortgage Early

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Jun
2015

How We Bought Our First Investment Property

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money

Investing in real estate is an amazing way to diversify your portfolio and ironically it is much easier than most people think.  In this day and age it can be nearly impossible to build wealth from a paycheck alone, so most of us need to think outside of the (career) box if we really want to live the comfortable lifestyle that we all dream of.

My husband and I purchased our first investment property 3 years ago and it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

We rarely even think about it nowadays, yet it is still making money for us behind the scenes.  We aren’t handy-types or real estate experts, yet it still was a great investment choice.  I

t is honestly something that anyone can do, as long as you make smart decisions in the beginning.

So here’s what we did to buy our first investment property:

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Apr
2015

6 Reasons You Should NOT Pay Off Your Mortgage

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money

I recently wrote about some quick and easy ways to pay off your mortgage early, but talking to everyone about that made me realize one important thing – there are some really good reasons to NOT pay off the mortgage too.

In fact, for some people paying off the mortgage may do more harm than good.  And for lots of people hanging onto the mortgage may actually help to grow their bottom line.

Here’s why:

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Mar
2015

8 Different Ways to Cut $100 in Expenses Every Month

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money
One of the best ways to build wealth quickly is to find big ways to save every single month. Check out this list to see if any would be easy for you!

Recently, I wrote about the plan my husband and I have to pay off our mortgage in the next 10 years.  Hearing all of your comments and ideas got me sooooo excited that I started thinking about how we could get it paid off in 5 years instead of 10.  So we started talking about all the different ways we could convert some of our expenses into making larger principal payments – easy ways that would at least cut $100 in expenses each month.

Well, we came up with some pretty exciting ideas! Here’s what we’ve got:


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Feb
2015

4 Quick & Easy Ways to Pay Off the Mortgage Early

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Real Estate Investing, Saving Money
If you've ever considered paying off your mortgage early, you've got to incorporate different methods to make it happen. Here are 4 ways that can help achieve your goal!

 

Now that I’ve officially left the “classic” work force, I’m in a position where I need to be really creative with how to contribute to our income. More specifically, how to contribute to our disposable income. One way to do that? Cut out the largest (by far) monthly expense and pay off the mortgage.

Related article: How to Pay Off the Mortgage Early

I know it sounds crazy. With such a massive loan, it just seems pointless to waste time trying to chip away at it. But none-the-less, my husband and I have gotten ourselves excited enough that we’re endeavoring to have it paid off in 10 years. This will obviously require us to make some pretty large payments here and there, but we also came up with some pretty quick and easy ways to bring it down without even trying. (If you’re interested in everything we’re doing to pay off our mortgage early, check out this post –> 10 Things I’m Doing to Pay Off My Mortgage Early (and the One Thing I Won’t Do)

So here’s what we’re doing and what you can try if you’re up for the same challenge:

Related article: 7 Important Reasons to Pay Off the Mortgage

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Jan
2015

Why You Need to Set up a 529 College Savings Plan for Your Kids

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Saving Money

I originally published this post last summer (if you can believe it, it was actually my FIRST EVER post!), but I feel like it’s really important to bring it back with everything I’m hearing in the news lately.

If you haven’t been keeping up, here’s what you’re missing: First, there’s the constant reminder that the projected cost of college for a child born in 2013 ranges from $150k to a whopping $400k.  Then, there’s the pending reality that in one year 1% of the world’s population will own 50% of the world’s wealth.  So if you’re not in that 1%, you’re actually more likely to get poorer than richer.

So why does this matter for college savings?  Well, lots of reasons. And of course, I’ve written them all down for you. 🙂

So without further ado, here are the reasons why you need to start saving now for your kids to go to college. And more specifically, why you need to put that money in a 529 College Savings Plan.

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Aug
2014

Investments Every Stay-at-Home Mom Should Have

categories: Financial Freedom, Investing, Saving Money
Investing isn't hard, you just have to know where to start.

Every stay-at-home mom knows that being on the outside of the traditional workforce does not exempt you from planning and managing your long-term financial future. In fact, it usually means you have to work even harder and know even more because you don’t have essential investments managed for you on behalf of your employer.

Even if you have a partner that regularly contributes to their own employer-sponsored investment opportunities, you may not be doing enough. You still need to take additional steps to ensure that you are financially secure now and in the future.

Here are the investments that every SAHM should have: (more…)

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