Congratulations! You’ve accomplished the first step and now know how much house you can afford. Now that you’re soon to begin your housing search, how can you prepare for your new payment? One of our favorite financial planning techniques is to “pay yourself” the difference in your current payment and your new projected payment. Let’s…

As we enter into the summer months, real estate activity tends to pick up significantly. Summer is a popular time to buy and sell. Before beginning the housing search, an important first step is to determine how much you can reasonably afford. There are a couple rules-of-thumb to help guide this conversation. 1. Strive to…

In our first segment on credit, we discussed the importance of reviewing credit reports each year. Not only does this help to ensure accuracy, it also helps to protect against fraud. Utilizing a “credit freeze” is also a helpful way to protect against accounts being fraudulently opened in your name. When a credit freeze is…

A credit score is comprised of five different factors, and each factor affects your score differently. The factors are listed below: 1. Payment history (35%) – This is the largest factor in your credit score. A long history of paying on-time has a very positive impact on your score. Conversely, late payments have a significant…

Review Your Credit Report It’s a best practice to review your credit report annually. There are three major credit bureaus in the US – Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. Each bureau is required to provide free access to your credit report once every twelve months. Checking your credit report is important for two main reasons. First,…

Most folks tend to think of their credit score only impacting the rate they can receive on a new mortgage or auto loan. While this is one important area that’s impacted by credit history, it’s certainly not the only category. Future employers often review credit reports for signs of bankruptcy or other issues related to…

As a starting spot, it’s important to understand what it means to receive a tax refund. Receiving a tax refund simply means that a taxpayer paid in more tax throughout the year than they needed to. It is not necessarily a reflection of actually owing less in tax – it is simply a reflection of…

Taxes are an inevitable part of life, and the US tax system is no exception. The taxes that we pay as American taxpayers are a complex and ever-evolving landscape that can be confusing to navigate. With so many different types of taxes, rates, deductions, and credits, it can be difficult to understand the ins and…

Our societal view of taxes is negative to say the least. Who wants to pay more in taxes? At the same time, it’s important that we take a step back and understand what it means when we pay taxes. Income taxes are symptomatic of God’s provision. When tax filing season comes around, we can use…