Managing Your Personal Finances

At First Ohio Home Finance, we help prospective and existing homebuyers learn about ways to save money for a home and tips for responsibly handling monthly personal finances. Having a grasp of your personal finances is extremely important in every aspect of your life whether you are buying a home, car, or just applying for a small loan. Perhaps owning your first home is in the near future, but you need to figure out your monthly finances are to find out how much house you can afford. Whether you’re a first time homebuyer or have owned a home in the past, at First Ohio Home Finance, we help you understand the importance of responsibly managing your finances.

Track Monthly Spending

Today, it’s much more common for people to swipe their debit or credit card rather than paying for everything with cash. While using a card is much more convenient, many people do not know what they actually spend on food, clothing, and entertainment. Many people do not monitor their daily spending, but instead log on to their accounts a few times a month and that is when they usually notice how much was actually spent. Getting into a habit of monitoring your daily spending will help you stay within a set budget. There are many great tools out there that you can sync with your accounts and it will help you set up budgets and monitor spending habits to learn areas where to need to cut back or improve. 

Make Your Payments on Time

Life can get crazy and it’s easy to forget to pay a bill. Some late fees can be pretty expensive. Avoiding these costly mistakes will keep more money in your pocket. Putting reminders on your calendar or setting up auto pay will help you have the peace of mind that your bills are paid on time each month.

Review Your Credit Report 

It’s important to regularly review your credit score to make sure there are no negative changes that could affect you in the future. Reviewing your credit report is important because there can be errors that are on there and they can cost you money. Let’s say you paid a credit card off that was delinquent but it has yet to be removed. You go to apply for a mortgage loan, a loan officer at First Ohio Home Finance reviews your report and it shows a derogatory mark on your credit. You might still get an approval but at a higher interest rate. A higher interest rate means a higher payment which results in less money in your pocket each month. 

By following these simple tips when it comes to managing your finances, you can be sure that you will set yourself up for a solid financial future. When the time is ready and you want to make that step to home ownership we would love to speak with you! Contact a loan officer with First Ohio Home Finance to get started.