Yes, this is a good idea! I know you want to know what is mad money? Well, a long time ago this term came about when a young lady went out with her friend to a party and her friend left her at the party with no way home. So, the young lady was mad with her friend that left her at the party and luckily for her, she had money stowed away in her shoe to take a cab back home. She thought to herself on her way home in the cab, that it was good that her mother had taught her to always have money set aside for emergency situations such as this!
Thank goodness, this young lady had the forethought to stash her mad money away so she could take a cab back home, since her friend left her in a lurch. Get the point? Having an emergency fund whether it be mad money or saved money is important for you to have. You say, how do I go about doing this? Well, you can read these tips to help you learn what you can do:
1) Set up a savings account specifically for your emergency fund or mad money fund. Whatever you want to call it, just establish one!
2) Deposit a certain amount of money on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis in your account. You may want to set up automatic deposits to your account via your payroll department. Or, you may want to have your bank automatically withdraw a certain amount of money from your checking account into your emergency or mad money savings account.
3) Try to save at least 2-3 months of your monthly salary to cover your bills for at least three months if you were to loose your job. This amount of time will hopefully allow you the cushion you need until you secure new employment.
4) The money you save in your emergency or mad money account should be used for household emergencies, personal emergencies or if youre no longer able to work. Dont use it for other expenditures such as bills, travel, etc… Get the idea? Its a savings account that you dont want to touch unless its absolutely necessary!
5) Make sure the bank account you put your emergency or mad money into, is paying you the most interest you can earn for this account! Research as many sources as possible on securing the best interest rate you can get. Check with your bank, the internet, newspaper and other sources for the prevailing interest rate. You want to make sure your money can be accessed easily and quickly if you need it for an emergency!
By establishing an emergency or mad money fund, this will give you a better peace of mind if you need access to money when there is an emergency in your life. So, the sooner you start setting money aside for a rainy day, the better off you will be! Make sure the amount of money you contribute to your emergency or mad money fund, is realistic for your budget. Save as much as you can without upsetting your overall personal or family finances. So go ahead, get started today!
Many homeowners make the mistake of thinking re-financing is always a viable option. However, this is not true and homeowners can actually make a significant financial mistake by re-financing at an inopportune time. There a couple of classic example of when re-financing is a mistake. This occurs when the homeowner does not stay in the property long enough to recoup the cost of re-financing and when the homeowner has had a credit score which has dropped since the original mortgage loan. Other examples are when the interest rate has not dropped enough to offset the closing costs associated with re-financing.
Recouping the Closing Costs
In determining whether or not re-financing is worthwhile the homeowner should determine how long they would have to retain the property to recoup the closing costs. This is significant especially in the case where the homeowner intends to sell the property in the near future. There are re-financing calculators readily available which will provide homeowners with the amount of time they will have to retain the property to make re-financing worthwhile. These calculators require the user to enter input such as the balance of the existing mortgage, the existing interest rate and the new interest rate and the calculator return results comparing the monthly payments on the old mortgage and the new mortgage and also supplies information about the amount of time required for the homeowner to recoup the closing costs.
When Credit Scores Drop
Most homeowners believe a drop in interest rates should immediately signal that it is time to re-finance the home. However, when these interest rates are combined with a drop in the credit score for the homeowner, the resulting re-financed mortgage may not be favorable to the homeowner. Therefore homeowners should carefully consider their credit score at the present time in comparison to the credit score at the time of the original mortgage. Depending on the amount interest rates have dropped, the homeowner may still benefit from re-financing even with a lower credit score but it is not likely. Homeowners may take advantage of free re-financing quotes to get an approximate understanding of whether or not they will benefit from re-financing.
Have the Interest Rates Dropped Enough?
Another common mistake homeowners often make in regard to re-financing is re-financing whenever there is a significant drop in interest rates. This can be a mistake because the homeowner must first carefully evaluate whether or not the interest rate has dropped enough to result in an overall cost savings for the homeowners. Homeowners often make this mistake because they neglect to consider the closing costs associated with re-financing the home. These costs may include application fees, origination fees, appraisal fees and a variety of other closing costs. These costs can add up quite quickly and may eat into the savings generated by the lower interest rate. In some cases the closing costs may even exceed the savings resulting from lower interest rates.
Re-Financing Can Be Beneficial Even When It is a Mistake
In reality re-financing is not always the ideal solution, but some homeowners may still opt for re-financing even when it is technically a mistake to do so. This classic example of this type of situation is when a homeowner re-finances to gain the benefit of lower interest rates even though the homeowner winds up paying more in the long run for this re-financing option. This may occur when either the interest rates drop slightly but not enough to result in an overall savings or when a homeowner consolidates a considerable amount of short term debt into a long term mortgage re-finance. Although most financial advisors may warn against this type of financial approach to re-financing, homeowners sometimes go against conventional wisdom to make a change which may increase their monthly cash flow by reducing their mortgage payments. In this situation the homeowner is making the best possible decision for his personal needs.