Mortgages - National Banks Versus Local Banks

Have you ever tried to get a mortgage? Did you go with a national or more local bank? Here's one key difference between the two: formulas.

National lenders usually get their money from the same place. They all follow federal lending guidelines regarding debt to income ratios and similar formulas. Thus, if you have a special case, it can be hard to get accepted under a national lender's program.

Local banks, on the other hand, usually supply their own money for mortgages. They loan much less money, but they are generally more flexible in the money they do lend. This means that if you have a special case, you might have a better chance of getting mortgage through a local bank.

If you have a high debt to income ratio OR you have income that is hard to properly document (self-employed, etc), a local bank might be a good mortgage choice for you. Check into them, and let me know how it worked for you.

Make Espresso at Home to Save Money

One of the best investments an espresso lover can make is to buy your own espresso machine. No, I'm not saying it's evil to buy a latte or espresso at Starbucks. My point here is simply to be aware of your personal "latte factor."

Yep, I'm a coffee lover myself. I enjoy a morning latte and even one in the evenings too sometimes. Buying these at a coffee shop would easily cost $3-4 each. That's easily +$90 a month on coffee.

Instead, I opted for an espresso machine. I actually got it through a rewards program, so the machine itself was free. Thus, all I pay for is coffee. Of course, I buy milk too, and I'm a fan of vanilla lattes, so I've got to buy vanilla syrup as well. But when all is said and done, I spend about $20 a month on coffee supplies, with most of that going for soy milk.

If you're looking to save some money on espresso, try making it yourself. You don't have to leave the house for coffee, and your wallet will thank you.

Find Your Student Loan Management Website

It's time to apply for a mortgage. What a big step. Don't get me wrong: we're excited about a house. However, there are tons of steps we have to accomplish first.

One of these tasks is to find out our total amount of debt. Since I'm still law school, my loans are in deferment. Thus, I don't know the actual balances right now (especially with accrued interest). What am I to do?

Fortunately, all three of my student loan servicing companies have great websites. I found these simply by googling the name of the servicing company. I then created an online account, and I was good to go.

What's the benefit? Now I can check my student loan balances online. I was able to calculate our total amount of student loan debt quite easily. Plus, when my loans enter repayment, I'll be able to manage all that as well.

Do your student loan servicers have websites? Do some searching and see.