Читать книгу Sort Your Money Out - Glen James - Страница 18

If you have a mortgage and you are also in consumer debt, I would recommend that you don't make extra repayments on your mortgage at this time — just make minimum payments until you have no consumer debt. Speak with your mortgage broker to make sure your mortgage has a competitive interest rate so that you are not blatantly getting screwed by paying additional interest. If your mortgage has not been reviewed by a professional recently, it could be a good opportunity to do this — go to the resources at the end of this chapter for information on how to contact a mortgage broker.

Here's a tip: If you're refinancing your mortgage, make sure you ask your broker to refinance it to the current term left on the loan — don't refinance it to a fresh 30-year mortgage. Refinancing to a new 30-year mortgage will mean that you end up paying more interest over the longer term. Additionally, remember my comments about debt consolidation? Refinancing your mortgage to a fresh 30-year loan follows the same concepts as debt consolidation.

Try to limit your mortgage repayments to no more than 30 per cent of your take-home household income. Repayments that are 25 per cent are great; 20 per cent or less is amazing. This recommended limit also applies to your weekly rent, for those who don't yet own a home. The more your rent or mortgage repayment is over 25 per cent, the higher the chance of you ending up in consumer debt again because you won't have as much money available for living or unexpected expenses!