If you have decided to buy a home, you will soon need to qualify for a home loan. Mortgage lenders will use both your credit score and credit report to determine if you qualify for financing. However, every lender will use slightly different criteria. In

Do you always seem to be playing catch up? Do you end your day with a longer list of things to-do than you started? Are you stressed about how you spend your time? If you’re like most Americans, you may not be spending your time

Summer is currently in full swing and you are probably just starting to enjoy the fruits of your labors from your spring projects. While you are relaxing, you can take a few simple home maintenance steps that will save you a lot of time and

Certain improvements and upgrades can improve your home’s personal value and livability. Other improvements, such as major remodels and additions can significantly increase the market value of your home and its appeal to potential buyers. Get the most value out of your home improvement investments.

When people think of home security systems, they usually imagine a loud motions-detecting alarm system and tons of security cameras recording footage of your properties perimeter but these days, home security systems are far more high tech, wireless and accessible from any mobile device. Now

For many families, their largest investment is their home, however, home buying is especially complicated for military families who tend to move frequently and often with little notice. At the same time, service members have access to special mortgage programs and tax breaks to help

Not only are the holidays bad for your diet, but the parties, decorations, baked goods, family activities and, of course, gifts, can all add up to a lot of spending making it bad for your budget too. To cover the gap or earn extra rewards,

Long-term care planning is more than a discussion with your spouse or children about who will be a caregiver when you can no longer care for yourself and which assets you will liquidate first to pay for professional care costs. Like your retirement plans, long-term

For the average person, saving for the future is a matter of taking advantage of the wide variety of available tools, such as 401(k)s or Roth IRAs through your job, working with a Certified Financial Advisor (CFA) or Certified Financial Planner (CFP), or personally managed

Staying active in retirement is one of the keys to enjoying it. Plan early so you can enjoy your (long) retirement to the fullest — it will be worth the effort to be financially, physically and mentally fit during your golden years. A good retirement

Many real estate investors choose to accumulate rental property as a path to wealth creation or steady income. Unfortunately, becoming a landlord is far more complicated than most investors realize. The key to being a successful landlord goes beyond collecting rent checks and cleaning carpets,

If you’re a first-time home buyer, you’ve got questions. You might be a little nervous about spending making one of the most important financial decisions of your life. Now that your purchase offer has been accepted, the next question you might want to know is

So you’ve decided to buy a home. Congratulations! That’s a big decision. Reaching this decision means you have probably been talking to realtors and attending open houses, which is sort of putting the horse before the cart, but then again, there’s no harm in looking.

The US population is aging. In over 20 million households across the country, an adult is providing full or part-time care to an older family member, spouse or friend. With the advantages of living longer, comes increased demands on families to help a growing number

Financial planning does not end with when you leave the workforce. Now that you have built up this nice retirement nest egg, it is time to make adjustments to your financial plan which fits your lifestyle and fulfills your needs as a retiree. Sit and

Every person should have an understanding of how their finances work at every stage of life so they can build and improve their safety net with some Financial Literacy. Financial literacy is the ability to use knowledge and skills to make effective and informed money