Blog

If you listen to the news when they talk about real estate you probably have heard phrases like “historically low”, “rates are expected to rise”, and words like “inflation” and “bottom”. It is hard to know when it’s the right time to purchase or refinance since the news is often conflicting depending on who you listen to you.

When most banks advertise historically low pricing, they are using data up to 40 years old, and typically only talking about 30 year mortgages. While it is true that rates are low, if you are reviewing just the past 5 years you would see that rates have actually risen since hitting the bottom in early 2016. At their lowest level to date, a 30 year mortgage was at 3.25%. Today, 30 year pricing rests somewhere between 4-4.5% depending on market fluctuations. It can be confusing, and I break this down in today’s Money Tip!

It is important to me that you understand that most of what you read and see is marketing language or sensationalized “news”. There are many credible resources like Mortgage News Daily and the Freddie Mac interest survey that will give you real interest rate information to help you make an informed decision.

My team is always happy to help answer any and all of your questions as well as work up additional mortgage scenarios, so please do not hesitate to reach out to us!

As always I look forward to hearing from you and hope you have an exceptional week!

Lizy

Have you ever head the term “mattress money”? It’s a real thing! Sometimes this is money that people literally hide in their mattresses, under the floor board, or even behind sink! But in general, mattress money refers to keeping your cash savings hidden away at home, rather than in the bank. Now I’m not talking about having an emergency supply of cash on hand, but what I AM talking about is keeping a large sum of money, like a nest egg that you’ve been saving up, somewhere other than a bank. I run across this all the time in the mortgage business, and let me tell you, when applying for a home loan, it can actually be harder to use cash that you have been stashing away at home than it is to use that same money if it had been secure in a bank. Now maybe you’re reading this thinking, “but I don’t have any large purchases that I need financing for. I just want to hold on to the money I have”. Well that makes a lot of good sense, BUT, if you’re keeping a very large sum of cash at home for an extended period of time, you’re not protecting your hard earned savings against inflation! There are a lot of reasons I think banks are the best place for your money, and we talk about them all in this weeks episode of Money Tip Monday!!

Also, we’ve been getting amazing feedback, and I’m so grateful for your support as I work on growing this YouTube channel, and learn more and more about what kind of topics are most useful for you. Don’t forget to click “like”, and maybe even give us a “subscribe”!! And as always, if there’s anything you want to hear about, or any specific questions we can answer, please let us know. I want 2019 to be your best financial year ever!

Lizy

I know we’ve talked about mindset before (if you missed that one, check it out here) but I think it’s worth another look at how limiting beliefs can actually cost you money. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s absolutely true. It’s amazing how shifting your mindset can change your life in SO many ways, especially when it comes to money!

Remember the old adage, “If you don’t ask, you don’t receive”? Well that’s true when it comes to savings too. There are tons of ways you can ask for savings… sometimes it’s as simple as clipping those coupons, sometimes it’s as easy as asking for a better interest rate on a credit card, or even seeing if your bank offers free checking. The point is, if you don’t ask for it, they’re not going to give it to you! I know, asking for anything having to do with money can be uncomfortable for some of us. I was DEFINITELY one of those people. But once I saw how asking for these things helped to save my hard earned dollars, I started making a habit of doing my research, seeing if better options were available, looking for better interest rates, and always asking for savings. It might only be a few dollars here and there to start, but those dollars add up over time. I truly hope that if you’ve learned anything from these money tip videos, it’s that consistent small actions over time lead to big results in long run. So stop leaving money on the table, and don’t be afraid to ask for savings!

Make it a great week!
Lizy

When it comes to investing many people instantly think, Stocks, retirement, real estate and while all of those are incredible choices, there is one that most people tend to overlook and that is the investment in personal development. For me this has meant many things: books, coaching, conferences & masterminds. And I will tell you that investing in my education, and network has been the best return on any investment I have ever made. I hope you do not find this too off topic, but this has been something that I have been on my heart for the past weeks as I have made money tip videos.

You see, investing in my skills is the only reason that I have a business. It’s how I have learned to market, hire, lead my team, and not sharing with you the value of how this has changed my life seems like a big oversight. So I hope you are ok with the change this week! If you are willing to share, I would love to hear about your P.D. investments and if you have any questions about the information in this video, please do not hesitate to reach out. It would be my great honor to help you!

Make it a great week!