About Cindy Morus Expertise I help families achieve financial well-being and peace of mind.
Specifically in the areas of:
• Debt Reduction and credit card management
• Strategies for increasing Savings
• Retirement vs. college savings
• Education about financial terms and strategies
• Marital money chaos/Financial consequences of divorce
What I`m not:
• Financial planner
• Accountant
• Lawyer
• Tax preparer
• Stock Broker
• Debt consolidator
• Insurance salesrep
• Therapist
As a Financial Coach, I can help you sort through all the options out there including which specialist is right for you.
"Everything you always wanted to know about Money but were afraid to ask".
Experience Certified Financial Recovery Counselor
Certified Credit Report Reviewer
Coachville Graduate School of Coaching student
Certified Teleclass Leader with Teleclass.com , Teleclass International, and 24-7 Coaching.
Professional SuccessTracs coach with T. Harv Eker's Peak Potentials
B.A. Family and Consumer Sciences
Member, Christian Coaches Network, IVWCC
Organizations IVWCC
Christian Coaches Network
Coaches Connection
Northwest Coaches Association
Question I have just moved to another town and sold my house. I only netted a few thousand dollars, so I applied it to my credit card debt. My question is this: should I continue to rent and work on paying off the rest of my credit card debt or go ahead and buy a house (even though I want have much of a down payment, say 3 percent), and the house payment will be more than rent so I want be able to "attack" the credit card debt as well. Thanks
Answer Hi Ann, good question. There's really not enough info here to give you an answer so let me give you a good rule of thumb to follow:
The total of your new monthly housing expense and your existing debt service payments should not exceed 35 percent of your gross income.
I also recommend that you add a likely mortgage payment + insurance + property taxes + private mortgage insurance (if you have less than 20% down) + estimated average utility costs + 3% of the value of the house/property (for repair, replacement, maintenance, furniture, etc.).
Take that amount and pay your current rent and utilities and put the rest toward debt. Stop using your credit cards and see if you can live that way. If you can't then you'll know that you can't afford a house. If you can, then get your debt paid off as quickly as possible and start putting aside the amount of your debt payments toward a down payment or set it aside as reserves for once you get into the house.
Hope this helps. You might also want to download my free Easy Budget Guide at http://www.EasyBudgetGuide.com for more information.
