Last night I was trying to figure out what the balance on one of my credit cards that I had done the transfer for my unsecured student loans was and I found out that it was much less than I thought. Originally, I thought it was about 1600 and then on the voice machine it said that it was only 890 dollars. I was pleasantly surprised. I somehow thought that it would be more than that but I must have made some payments in there somewhere that really knocked the balance down. So finishing that bill off should be an easy feat for the second half of this month since there seems to be quite a bit extra in the checking account right now. Once that is done, more than half of the balance of that loan will be paid off. Now I just need to get my No Credit Needed chart updated again. :)
Despite all of the back and forth about sub-prime mortgages and the housing bubble, I am feeling just fine. The reason is that when purchasing, I followed some old advice: Don't expect to flip. In general, I've been told by many people that you shouldn't buy a home unless you plan to hold on to it for 7 years or longer. If the market does well and you decide to sell, fine. But if you want to be sure not to lose money, don't buy something that you only want for a year or two. I've been in my current location for more than 3 years. I like it. And I have no intention of leaving in the short or medium term. It seems to me, that real estate, like any asset class, has its ups and downs. But as a practical point, I don't look at my home as an asset per se. Rather, I consider it to be a fixed expense that I need to survive, much like food and water. Therefore, as long as the payment is reasonable and it functions to keep me warm and sheltered and comfortable, that is a...
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