Using Credit Wisely

The term of your vehicle loan can make a big difference in your monthly payment. It can also have a significant impact on the amount of interest you will pay over the course of the loan. You pay interest each month on the outstanding balance of the vehicle loan, so the longer the term of the loan the more interest that you will pay until the loan is paid off.

When purchasing a home the mortgage you choose and the options you want with it will have a significant impact on how much your home costs you in the long run. Interest charges, origination fees, fees paid for a particular interest rate (formerly referred to as 'points') and settlement costs will often have the most impact. Of these, the interest rate you pay will matter most.

Debt consolidation loans allow consumers to transfer the account balances from multiple credit cards or installment loans into a single loan and to make a single monthly payment. For debt consolidation loans to be beneficial, the repayment period for paying off the consolidation loan should be shorter than what it would be for your existing debts without the loan. Secondly, the interest that you pay over the repayment period should be less than what you would pay with your existing repayment terms. In some cases, a debt consolidation loan may look attractive because it has a significantly lower monthly payment than what you are paying today, but it is likely the case that the lower payment is due to extending the repayment of the loan over a much longer repayment period.

Setting a goal for paying off a mortgage, auto loan, credit card or personal loan makes sound financial sense. Some loans, such as a mortgage or car loan have defined repayment periods. Others do not. To reach a debt repayment goal, you will need to know what you need to pay each month. You also might want to compare it to your current repayment schedule to see how helpful reaching that goal might be.

Repayment of a loan requires that the borrower make a monthly payment to the lender. With each monthly payment, you pay down a portion of the loan principal, as well as monthly interest on the outstanding balance. Loan payments are amortized so that the monthly payment remains the same throughout the repayment period, but during that time, the percentage of the amount that goes towards principal will increase as the outstanding loan balance decreases.

Like many credit card holders, there are times when you might have overdone it on the spending and are now facing the task of paying off your credit card balance. The length of time it will take is primarily driven by the interest rate you are paying on the outstanding balance, how much you continue to use the card and how much you pay off monthly. A good rule of thumb is to try to pay off any card balance in 36 months, but you might want to see what it will take to pay off the balance in shorter or longer increments of time.

Adjustable rate mortgages typically offer home buyers the advantage of having a lower mortgage payment during the initial period of the mortgage. Adjustable rate mortgages are generally offered on a 1, 3, 5 or 7-year basis. Once the initial period expires, the mortgage rate will reset at then current interest rate levels. Depending on the direction interest rates are taking, these resets can result in higher or lower monthly payments to the borrower. This adjustable rate mortgage analyzer will help you understand the implication of your adjustable rate terms by showing what your monthly payment will be under different scenarios.

As you determine which loan terms to choose, the choices you make can have a significant difference regarding what your monthly payments will be and what the costs of the loan will be once the loan is paid off.

Your debt-to-income ratio is a metric that lenders consider when approving a loan such as a mortgage, car loans or personal loans. You may be wondering “what is a good debt-to-income ratio?” Typically, lenders want to see an overall ratio of 36% or less with no more than 28% going towards housing expenses.

The amount of equity available for a home equity loan or home equity line of credit is determined by the loan-to-value ratio of the home and the ratio requirements of the lender. A loan-to-value ratio is calculated by taking total mortgage debt (including any second mortgages or existing home equity loans) and dividing it by the current, appraised value of the home. The size of a home equity loan or line of credit will also depend on the loan-to-value requirements of the lender. Higher loan-to-value requirements can result in larger home equity loans or lines of credit.

Repayment of a home equity line of credit requires that the borrower makes a monthly payment to the lender. For some home equity lines of credit, borrowers can make interest-only payments for a defined period, after which a repayment period begins. Interest-only payments are based on the outstanding loan balance and interest rate. During the repayment period, the payment includes both repayment of the loan principal, plus monthly interest on the outstanding balance. Loan payments for the repayment period are amortized so that the monthly payment remains the same throughout the repayment period, but during that time, the percentage of the amount that goes towards principal will increase as the outstanding mortgage balance decreases.

Having savings is important, especially when the savings are part of an emergency fund or a hedge against a loss of income. However, when you also have debt, in the form of an outstanding credit card balance or loan, you might want to consider whether you are better off using the money you have in savings to pay down debt. Whether it makes sense or not is determined by the interest rate you are earning on your savings versus the interest rate you are being charged on your outstanding loan balance. The difference between earning interest and paying it should give you a good indication of where you can get the best return.