Get Rid Of 3 Major Expenses To Make Your Mortgage More Affordable

You have just bought a new home and have started feeling the pinch of a big daunting mortgage looking down at you. There are three major expenses you can get rid of, then apply that saved money to your monthly mortgage for more breathing space. This methods require some self-confidence and a will to be the master of your own mind. Despite what more people think about being a victim of circumstances, you are really in control of your own destiny and situations.

Get smart with credit cards

The average person has two to four credit cards in their wallet. This is the time to hope that you are not above average. The credit card interest rate usually falls in around a whopping 19%. It’s amazing we often had no idea what we had signed up for. It’s not unusual to see someone who has a monthly payment of say…$100.00 a month per card. Of course making your minimum payment per month, means you will likely never pay off your card. Interest charges will compound and pretty soon you will receive that dreaded call from the bank. And forget about taking on more credit to pay off existing credit. Because by the time you arrive at a bad financial situation, lenders will not touch you with a pole due to your embarrassing credit.

The best thing to do in this case, is to call your credit card companies…if you do not already have a low interest credit card. Make sure you have been keeping up with your payments and then pick up the phone and dial. Ask to speak to someone regarding lowering your credit card interest. Of course the credit card company is not going to jump for joy when you start this inquiry. However, just be polite and firm. When you get the right person on the phone, tell them you are serious about taking full charge of your finances. Let them know that since you have been a good customer, they should reward you with a much better interest rate. Start negotiating. Your goal is to get them to drop your interest rate from the approximate 19%, down to the 5-7% range. Let the person you are speaking to; give you all the reasons as to why your rate cannot be dropped. Then politely tell them you understand their position. Mention that if your continued business is un-important to them…you will need to shop around and find a company willing to provide a card that can be used to replace theirs. In most cases, so long as you are in good standing, this tactic is more than enough to get what you want.

So if you have three cards, you will save a large amount of money per month, that you can use to ease the strain of that new mortgage. It’s a great idea to even do a double payment on your mortgage when possible. This will reduce the number of years you have to pay and protect your credit as well.

Since we are on the topic of credit cards, everyone should get acquainted with the popular cards and rewards programmes around. These days, because of fierce competition, banks offer a huge amount of benefits with different offering for different cards. Get one where you will benefit from the most. For example, if you are heavy online shopper, a card that has a rewards programmed focused on online transactions can benefit you greatly each month. While if you are a driver, a card that has a good petrol benefit can suit you nicely. These small amounts can really add up over time.

Lose a car

The next idea really just uses some personal willpower. Most families have two cars. Ask yourself if there is anyway to get rid of one car and perhaps use public transit or setup a ride with a co-worker. A monthly car payment that is all of sudden applied to your mortgage will make your bank and you happy.

The thing is that we often think of vehicles as something that is a need rather than a want. This is why you will find a lot of inner resistance to get rid of a car that have been with you for years. Even expenses for maintenance are often seen as something as essential as groceries. But in reality, you would know deep inside that these are excuses you use to justify keeping a vehicle for the luxury of your own transport.

Car expenses can really add up. And they usually go unnoticed unless you start to feel a pinch on your bank account. Expenses for gasoline, engine oil changes, transmission box maintenance, tyre changes, inspection costs, parking fees, etc. You really start to wonder if these things are just a ploy fabricated by automakers so that they can continue to make money out of vehicle owners throughout their lifetime.

If you have taken 2 minutes to add up all the costs of owning an extra car, chances are that you will realise just how expensive it can get. This jaw-dropping moment alone could be motivation enough for you to lose one of them.

Recurring miscellaneous expenses

How many people have expensive gym memberships? They really are not necessary. Everything you want to do in a gym, you can do at home or outdoors in the fresh air. Want to build muscle? Step away from those free weights and machines. Do bodyweight exercises at home instead. You can build more functional muscle doing bodyweight exercises. Do you really believe that you have to sit on a bike at the gym to do cardio? Buy a mini-trampoline instead. You can do a wide variety of cardio on that mini-tramp and have a lot more fun doing it. Any type of home exercise without equipment or just very basic stuff is quite easy to do. You can find all the information and videos you need online.

Another recurring extra expense is your communications channels. For example, your mobile phone plans, data plans, cable charges, etc. We usually buy plans that are way in excess of what we actually use. That is a huge waste of money. So take some time to review what you have and what you need. You will most definitely find that you are over subscribed. It will then be time to call up the service providers to downgrade. If you are luck they might offer you gifts like laptops and computers so that you keep your plan. You can then sell those for extra cash.

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