If you’re in the market for a new home, now is the perfect time to buy.  Not only did the government extend the tax credit until April 30, 2009, but they also opened it up to current home owners who are looking to purchase a new house. Home prices are low and buyers have thousands of houses in their area from which to choose. With the downturn in the economy, many of the houses available are foreclosures or short-sales. So how do you know how much and what type of house you should buy?

How Much House Can You Afford?

Buying your dream home will only be a dream unless you can actually afford it. While your affordable price range depends on many different factors, one way to get in the ballpark is estimating two to two and a half times your annual gross salary. If you make $38,000 a year, you may be limited to borrowing only $80,000. While you may be able to borrow $80,000, a good conservative rule of thumb is to make sure your house payment (including loan payment, property taxes, and insurance) does not exceed 28 percent of your gross monthly salary. If you make $38,000 a year, technically you could afford a monthly house payment of $886.

There are also free online tools to help you estimate how much home you can afford, like the Home Affordability Calculator at Quizzle.com.

Keep in mind, lenders take into consideration a variety of factors when making a decision whether to lend you money, such as your income, assets, credit history and debt-to-income ratio. While there are several good guides to help you when shopping for your dream home, you should always consult with a trusted mortgage professional to know exactly how much you’re qualified to borrow.

What Type of House Should You Buy?

If you’re unsure about what kind of house to buy, HGTV has a short 10 question quiz to help you figure out what sort of house fits you.  Things to consider when buying a home are: How long do you plan to live in the home? Will you be having a baby in the near future? Do you mind the up keep of the outside of the home? Do you have pets that need a backyard? Do you enjoy entertaining large groups of people in your home?  Types of housing include single family homes, townhouses/condos and manufactured housing.

What is The Best Way to Purchase a Home?

With the downturn of the economy, thousands of homes are available for you to purchase. But, how do you know what kind of sale you should work with? Many homes in your areas will be sold as a short-sale, foreclosure or an REO (Real Estate Owned Property). Of these three options, buying a foreclosure tends to come with the most risk, whereas REO often carries the least risk. So what exactly do these types of sales mean for you?

Short Sale

A short sale occurs when a lender agrees to take less than the full loan payoff for an owner’s property. Homeowners will often sell their house for less than what they owe to avoid foreclosure. Short sales are very complicated and the outcome is not guaranteed. Many buyers, who start the short sale purchase process, wait three months or more for a decision from the lender. In some cases the lender will not accept the short sale offer and the seller is unable to sell the home. Short Sales are a great way to get a house for less than its true value. You can view Short Sale homes at HomePath.

Foreclosure

A foreclosed home is the process where the lender takes possession of a property due to non-payment. These properties are sold at auctions, most likely at your nearest court house. Most foreclosed home must be paid for in full and often involve various problems. While the price of the house may seem like a great deal, the title to the house could have a lien on it, the house may have back taxes that are due or the house may need to be renovated due to structural problems. While a foreclosure is very risky, it’s one of the best options to get a great deal.  You can view foreclosed homes at In House Realty or MCB Real Estate.

REO (Real Estate Owned Property)

After the property has gone into foreclosure and no one purchased the property at an auction, the home will then become an REO property. The bank that owns the property will hire a Realtor to sell it. To sell the house as quickly as possible, the lender will likely clear all issues on the property, such as back taxes and liens on the title. This is one of the best opportunities to get a good deal.  Fannie Mae, a government-sponsored enterprise owns most of the REO homes currently listed. You can view REO homes at the HomePath website.

Choosing a new home will depend on how much money, risk and time you want to invest. If you’re looking for a safe option, you can purchase a home that’s not listed as a risk, however you may pay more than you’d like. If you’re in the market for a good deal and don’t mind a fixer-upper, then a bank-owned property might be the perfect option.

For more helpful home buying tips, check out the Quizzle Blog:

• How to Save for a Down Payment on a Home
• Senate and House Approve Home Buyers Credit
• 55 Money Saving Tips (Your Wallet Will Thank You)
• Protect Your Credit during the Holidays with these 7 Tips

For other free tools and information about your home, money and credit, visit Quizzle.com. You’ll get a free credit report and free credit score, home value estimate, home loan recommendations, personal budget tool and more.

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetruthabout/

No matter what your money situation, it’s easy to spend like your money will never run out, especially when the company you keep tends to spend like mad.

One of the perks I had during my recent college experience was living within walking distance of all my friends, which meant rarely needing to spend a lot of money to have a good time. But things are different now and draining my wallet seems to be a consequence of hanging out with friends.

Peer pressure to spend money affects people of all ages. It’s your friend who always wants to go out for lunch or a co-worker who keeps up with the latest trends and fashions.  That’s the downside of all of this—we feel pressure from those around us to act a certain way even if it’s beyond our means. This is where the lessons we learn in grade school of “Just say no!” come in handy for money management.

Don’t spend unnecessarily

Within a group of friends, there can be a very diverse mix of financial situations. Some people can afford to spend more on their social lives and some live on a tighter leash. Don’t let friends who spend money all the time influence you to spend money you don’t have worked into your personal budget.

Find other ways to enjoy spending time together. Host a weekly or monthly get together to watch a popular show, like Dancing with the Stars, or have a board game night. Rotate who hosts the festivities and come to an agreement about food and drinks. Nothing has to be extravagant; it is supposed to be a low cost way to hang out with your friends.

But wait a minute! There are always two sides to every argument. Why should people (and their bank accounts) have to suffer because of popularity? The answer is: they shouldn’t.

The power of people

You can and should use the buying power of your group of friends to save everyone some money. Look for places that offer group discounts on tickets to events or restaurants that give bigger groups discounts on meals. Go shopping with friends who have similar tastes to take advantage of offers like “buy 3 get one free,” and split the cost so everyone gets a discount.

There is also a Web site that is dedicated to this exact practice. Groupon is a company that offers discounts to local businesses in more than 20 major U.S. cities.

Here is their basic pitch according to the Groupon blog: “Groupon subscribers receive free daily emails alerting them to an exclusive deal from a top local business (restaurant, spa, indoor activity, the World’s Largest of something, etc.), but these deals only go into effect if a minimum number of people agree to buy.”

This site provides a great service to their users. They encourage people to use the power of peer pressure to make sure everyone gets a break while helping local businesses in the meantime. The best way to ensure you don’t miss a good deal is to spread the word about the offer and share the discount with anyone who would be interested. Plus, there is a new deal featured every day, so there is bound to be something for everyone.

Is there a middle ground? Does a way to have fun with friends and be kind to your wallet exist? A lot of businesses have created days in honor of the saving savvy social butterfly.

Celebrate on “special” days

 The “special” days I’m talking about aren’t birthdays or holidays (although this certainly could apply to them). The next time you want to spend time with your friends and go out rather than stay in, do it on a day that your regular hang out spot offers deals.

It’s the “happy hour” concept applied to activities instead of restaurants and bars. Bowling alleys usually have one night a week where games only cost a dollar or shoes are free.  Golf courses frequently have twilight hours where you can golf at a discount because you only have so much time to play before it gets dark. Certain movie theaters offer matinee prices all day long during the middle of the week.

If you are going out to eat or to the bar, go during happy hour and on the days where restaurants offer special prices. Some places have “kids eat free” nights or all-you-can-eat pasta days. One of my favorite places in college had “half-off Wednesdays,” where everything on the menu was half price.

I realize these days usually attract a crowd, everyone wanting to have their share of a great offer, but that just means you’ll have to plan ahead. Make reservations if possible or allow your schedule to be flexible and account for waiting time.

So what does all of this mean for the peer-influenced money manager? Continue to be smart with your personal finances. Avoid following in the footsteps of liberally-spending friends, but use the weight of a crowd to save everyone money. So the next time you hear the phrase “Come on, everyone’s doing it!” make sure your peers are pressuring you to have fun while saving money, not throwing it away.

Looking for more money saving tips? The Quizzle Blog’s got you covered:

• 55 Money Saving Tips (Your Wallet Will Thank You)
• 6 Tips to Help you Save for a Down Payment on a Home
• Free Stuff from Uncle Sam
• 8 Ways to Save Money as a College Student
• Perfect Weddings Can Be Frugal Weddings

Quizzle is the free and easy way to manage your home, money and credit – all in one spot. For even more money saving tips and news updates, follow us on Twitter or become a fan of Quizzle on Facebook.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pierofix/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Just like free food always tastes better, free stuff from the government is more savory too.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the best freebies from Uncle Sam to help you with everything from smart shopping and educating your children, to damaged bills and unclaimed money from the IRS:

Become a Smart Shopper

To help you become a savvy shopper, the government has created a guide chock full of handy tips and tricks. The 2009 Consumer Action Handbook includes information about preventing identity theft, understanding credit, filing a consumer complaint, filing for bankruptcy, finding a lawyer and much more. You can order up to 10 copies for free.

Take Advantage of FREE Educational Resources

If you’re a teacher, you know how expensive educational resources can be. To lend you a hand, Uncle Sam has put together the Federal Resources for Education Excellence (FREE) website (free.ed.gov).

FREE is among the most popular K-12 websites maintained by the U.S Department of Education because of all the great resources being offered by contributing federal agencies. At FREE, you’ll get access to more than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources from dozens of federal agencies.

Trade In Your Damaged Bills

Do you have a few damaged bills, dog-eared and torn, that have found a permanent home in your wallet? Turn that money in for usable currency.  The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will trade in your shredded and mutilated currency for money you can actually use. Every year the U.S. Treasury handles approximately 30,000 claims and redeems mutilated currency valued at over $30 million.

Once you send your currency to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, experts will examine it and approve the issuance of a Treasury check for the value of the currency determined to be redeemable.

Find out If You’re Entitled to Money from the IRS

If you’ve filed taxes recently, you may have some free money sitting at the IRS. Millions of taxpayers never receive their refund. This is mainly due to an error with the address or direct deposit information you provided, or a recent move to a new address. If you didn’t receive your refund this year, you can check the IRS – Where’s My Refund to see if cash is waiting for you.

There are also over 5 million unclaimed economic stimulus checks being held by the IRS. Many of the unclaimed checks belong to people who do not normally file tax returns, such as those whose only source of income is Social Security. If you think you may have unclaimed stimulus funds owed to you, find out for sure by visiting the IRS Stimulus payment tracker.

Get a FHA Home Loan Insurance Refund

If you had an FHA home loan in the past, you may be entitled to an insurance refund. FHA loan borrowers were previously required to pay a set amount of insurance premiums up-front, regardless of how long they were going to live in the home. Homeowners are entitled to the refund if their insurance was terminated when a) they sold their home, b) they paid off their mortgage early or, c) the they refinanced their mortgage into a non-FHA loan.

You may be entitled to a refund under the follow circumstances:

Premium Refund

• Acquired loan after September 1, 1983
• Paid up-front mortgage insurance premium at closing
• Did not default on your mortgage payments

Distributive Share

• Originated your loan before September 1, 1983
• Paid on your loan for more than 7 years
• Has FHA insurance terminated before November 5, 1990

Give Your Kids the Gift of Free Stuff

The government offers several free publications for children. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development offers a free Milk Matters Coloring Book. Milk Matters is a public health education campaign to promote calcium consumption.  Parents can order the FREE coloring book and either download it from the Internet or have it delivered in the mail.

Firesafety.gov is another great resource for families to help educate kids about fire safety and prevention. Parents can visit the website to download free publications for their children. Available in both English and Spanish, the site offers coloring book, word searches, and escape plan diagrams.

For more helpful money saving tips, check out the Quizzle Blog:

• Plan the Perfect Wedding on the Cheap
• How to Save for a Down Payment on a Home
• 8 Ways to Stretch Your Money as a Poor, Broke College Student
• 55 Money Saving Tips (Your Wallet Will Thank You)
• Protect Your Credit during the Holidays with these 7 Tips

Looking for more free stuff? Quizzle’s got you covered with a totally free credit report and free credit score, no catches, no trial subscriptions, no credit card required.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a2community/

With the holidays just around the corner, there’s no time like the present to get smart about your credit. Give yourself the gift of good credit by making intelligent decisions this holiday season. After all, good credit is the gift that keeps on giving.

1. Check Your Credit Before the Holidays

A single error on your credit report can take a major toll on your credit score. And the last thing any of us want is to be declined at the register when trying to purchase gifts on a credit card. Before you start shopping, check your credit report to make sure there are no errors. If you spot something that’s wrong, dispute it with the credit bureaus to correct it. You can get a free credit report and score, plus the ability to dispute inaccuracies, at Quizzle.com.

2. Don’t Let the Retail Credit Card Offers Tempt You at Checkout

We’ve all been there. You step up to the register at a retail store with your arms full of gifts and you’re asked if you’d like to save 10 percent off your purchase today by opening a new credit card. There’s nothing wrong with a deal, but the problems often times with these cards are the credit limits are low and the interest rates are high.

When you charge purchases on a low limit card, you may be using a large percentage of the credit that’s available to you on that card – aka, “credit utilization.” When you’re using a higher percentage of your credit – both on individual cards and overall – it signals to creditors and lenders that you may be a higher risk, which is reflected in your credit score.

Also, each time you open a new credit line, your credit score takes a hit. The negative impact becomes even more significant if you’re opening several of these cards in a short period of time.

3. Keep an Eye on Your Credit Limits

When scouring for deals, it’s easy to forget that there is a limit to how much you can charge. By going over your limit, or even getting close to it, you can significantly hurt your credit score.

4. Check Your Interest Rates Before You Shop

Many credit cards hold a variable interest rate and without you even knowing it, your interest rates could go up – even if you’ve been responsible with your credit. That’s why it’s important to know your interest rate on each of the credit cards you might use when shopping during the holidays. If you don’t pay your credit card balances in full each month, charging your purchases to your lowest rate card is your best bet. You’ll save money in interest in the long-run, allowing you to pay down balances faster.

5. Be Especially Vigilant about Identity Theft

Identity theft is prevalent around the holidays, so it’s smart to be especially careful with your credit cards during this time of year. Make sure you get your credit card back after making a purchase and don’t forget the receipt!

When shopping online, look for security symbols – like VeriSign or TRUSTe– on websites to make sure they’re safe, secure and use encryption to protect your personal financial information.

6. Don’t Get Distracted from Your Bill-Paying Duties

Just because you’re busy with holiday parties, decorating the house and gift-shopping, does not excuse you from paying your bills on time in December. Remember: A big piece of your credit score – approximately 35 percent – is determined by how reliably you pay your bills each month. If you miss even one payment, you can significantly damage your credit score.

Make sure to pay at least the minimum payment on each of your bills. If you need to sneak a reminder Post-It into your Advent Calendar to remember, do it! Don’t let the “Season of Giving” give you heartburn in the new year because you let your credit score dip.

7. Only Spend What You Can Afford

If the debt you rack up during the holidays takes you until next year’s holiday season to pay off, you’re spending too much. Set a holiday spending budget, including gifts you plan to buy, and stick with it. If you’ve had a rough year financially, consider making gifts with your own hands. Homemade gifts are often the most thoughtful and memorable gifts you can give someone.

It’s easy to be careless with your credit around the holidays. For many people, it’s the time of year when credit cards get the most mileage. But remember: Your credit, if managed properly, can give you access to big savings and the best interest rates and terms – all year round. That’s why it’s important to protect it 365 days a year.

Looking for more credit tips? The Quizzle Blog’s got you covered:

• 10 Common Myths about Credit Reports and Scores
• Build Credit from Scratch in 5 Easy Steps
• 7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
• Understanding Credit Reports and Credit Scores
• How Do Credit Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score?

For a totally free credit score and free credit report, no strings attached, no credit card needed, visit Quizzle.com. Quizzle is the free and easy way to manage your home, money and credit – all in one spot.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oimax/

Happy Friday! Your Weekly Quizzler is here, chock-full of the week’s best stories about your credit, home and money links straight from the Quizzle Twitter feed:

Home & Money Saving Tips

Digitize Your Coupon Clipping (Suburban Dollar)

With the influx of coupon websites, you can now enjoy the savings of coupons without getting newspaper ink on your hand. Kathryn shares some tips on how to take advantage of coupons online.

Perfect Weddings Can Be Frugal Weddings (Quizzle Blog)

The best advice comes from personal experience. Learn some tricks about planning your wedding on the cheap from Quizzle’s own Angela Burkhart, who is currently planning her own October, 2010 wedding.

Practical Tips for Gift Card Givers and Getters (USA Today)

Gift cards can make fantastic gifts, but not all gift cards are created equally. Before you buy, make sure you check out these pointers to make sure you – and the giftee – are getting what you paid for.

72 Ways to Save Money on Electricity without Spending a Cent (My Next Buck)

Unless you plan making the switch to candlelight, your electric bill isn’t going away. Learn how to save money on that monthly bill and do some good for the Earth while you’re at it.

Start Making Year-End Tax Moves Now and Save Big Money (Generation X Finance)

April may be five months away, but you can make smart money moves now that will save you big time when tax day rolls around.

10 Things Your Baby Doesn’t Need that Can Fund their College Education (Fiscal Geek)

When it comes to your baby, there’s a product for everything. But by forgoing a few luxuries, you could actually stash away enough money to make a dent in the kid’s college fund.

Investing Money & The Stock Market

How to Make Money in 2010: Your Investments (CNN Money, Money Magazine)

Small gains are the name of the game next year. Find out more about investing in 2010, including what to watch, the wild cards and smart plans of action.

Personal Finance & Budgeting

5 Warning Signs You Have Way Too Much Debt (Financial Methods)

If any of these five scenarios sound familiar, you may want to rethink your debt management strategy.

Procrastination: A Money Management Killer (Quizzle Blog)

Mark Twain once said, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” …Except when it comes to smart money management. Don’t let your bad habits of procrastination drain your wallet.

10 Steps to Planning Holiday Spending (Moolanomy)

There are only 48 days left in 2009, which means the end-of-the-year holidays are fast approaching. Learn how to make your holidays – and the inevitable spending – less stressful.