Borrowing

Last Updated on Friday, 26 October 2012 13:17

Borrowing:

• When shopping for an item like a house or car that you plan to finance, get pre-approval before you make an agreement and shop for competing interest rates.
• Negotiate on total purchase price, not monthly payments.
• Always review the paperwork including the total purchase price of the item you are buying. Don’t sign anything you don’t totally agree with and walk away if you are uncomfortable.
• Borrow based on what your income can afford now, not on income increases you hope for in the future.
• After you have borrowed money, make payments as agreed in order to build and maintain positive credit history.

Financial Suggestions Provided By:

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma – CCCS is a non-profit agency committed to helping people help themselves become financially strong individuals and families through counseling, debt management and education. www.cccsok.org or 405-789-2227 or 800-364-2227

Web Links:

• FINRA Investor Education Foundation - www.saveandinvest.org - Unbiased financial tools and information for military families and all investors from the FINRA Foundation.
• Federal Reserve Credit Card Guide - www.federalreserve.gov/creditcard/default.htm - This site maintained by the Federal Reserve Board provides a basic guide to navigating the credit card process.
• U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development - www.hud.gov – Information to help make the home buying process easier. Topics include: Affordability, consumer rights, insurance and much more.
• Bankrate.com - www.bankrate.com – Compare mortgage, refinance, insurance and CD rates. Expert analysis of home loan finance topics and trends.

Suggested Reads:

Mind your own mortgage : the wise home owner's guide to choosing, managing, and paying off your mortgage by Robert J. Bernabé
Empowers homeowners to shop for a mortgage as if it were a commodity-as easy as buying a gallon of gas-and enables them to eliminate their mortgage debt by revealing inside information used to keep them enslaved to the mortgage industry.

Home Buying Kit for Dummies by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown
Time-tested advice and updated strategies for buying a home in current market conditions. Plus, a bonus CD-ROM full of information, materials, and resources for first-time buyers.

Suze Orman's Action Plan by Suze Orman
Suze Orman’s million-copy bestselling financial action plan fully revised and updated