" Good points, cm, and I do the same with my other debts -- which is why I am about 3 years away from being debt-free (aside from the upcoming mortgage). I've been through very tight times, but when there was extra, I put what I can towards knocking down the debt. It will be so liberating to have only current monthly bills and no credit card, student loan or car payment debt hanging over my head. The car payment hiatus will probably not be permanent, as cars don't last forever and ever, but I look forward to the break!

There is something in my paperwork about how they apply any overpayments. I'm visiting a friend in the business tonight to consult about all the fees, credits, covered by Closing Cost Assistance or not -- all the money flying around back and forth at the closing, so I will have a better handle on it when the day comes. I'll learn best if someone sits down with me and walks me through each bit using my own case as the example.

There are a lot of basic practical things about life people don't learn in school or from their parents. And a good thing I didn't learn home buying from my parents -- my mom had no part in the purchase of her house until my dad left her, and my dad was advising me to buy the most house the bank would let me and just suffer through not having any money for a couple years -- BAD idea! This is from the guy who got stuck with a bubble payment refinance when my step-mother left him -- he's 67 and still working away because the divorce settlement left him with the entire mortgage on their old home, while she got the new home, which was paid in full with the re-fi on the old one! He definitely got stinkered in that divorce, which goes to show that sometimes karma does make What goes around, come around! "

" FG I like the idea of taking the "course" all should do that to learn more about home buying. Maybe that should be a class taught in 12th grade!!

Something I did that helped get thru the interest faster, PAY MORE. if it can only be 10.00 it adds up.
With my mortgage being an odd amount,
(ex:378.24)
I rounded up, (ex:379.00/380.00)
then a 5-week month, I went higher,
(ex: 400.00/425.00).
I do the same on my Van payment. I have always hated writing ODD amounts anyways.

My mortgage company at first took the extra an applied it to escrow acct. then sent me a refund at the end of the year for overpaying! I had to send them in writing--to apply to interest/or principal, I didnt want a refund.
In the "other" payment box I kept adding extra monies --which they kept applyng to escrow--I had sent them 3 letters and called them 3 times!
The last faxed letter I put in big letters "CAN YOU READ?????"
I wrote it about 25 times all over the paper with arrows pointing to the "other" box--hahaha
finally they got it right!
Always be sure to read your monthly papers to see that your monies are going to the right areas!! "

" brew1234 wrote on Jun 24, 2008 11:32 PM:

" You didn't quite get it. I was refering to anonymoose being the dog poo in the bag. "

If you were trying to be funny, believe me, you're not. "

" Oh, believe me, I figured out to avoid any ARM. I am going through SONYMA for first-time home buyers in NY State, and I believe that is automatically a fixed mortgage. Mine is to be fixed anyway.

I am reading and learning every step of the way. Just completing a required New Home Buyers course online today -- I have to get a certificate of completion before I can get a SONYMA loan.

I have to say it was rather shocking for how much the bank was willing to pre-qualify me -- way, way more than I could realistically afford. So I just ignored that and worked up my own budget of what I feel I can afford (significantly less than the bank said) and stayed in those bounds.

But it is no wonder so many people are in trouble. They turn to the bank as the experts to tell them how much they can afford, because it's relatively complicated and a new home buyer might well not know -- so they trust the bank to tell them. Then the bank tells people they can afford much more than they really can, the people believe them, and next thing you know, they are in foreclosure.

I know I am at the top of what I feel I can afford ($38,000 less than the bank said; and if I had the full 20% down payment plus my own closing costs, they would have qualified me for $93,000 more than I could really afford!), so it will be tight the first year or two. But as my salary goes up and the fixed rate remains the same, and the percentage of the payment going towards interest goes down, and once I pay off 20% and can drop the primary mortgage insurance, things will ease up and I can put more money into improvements and such.

I daresay a lot of other people here have already "been there, done that" but it is all new and exciting (and a little scary too!) for me. "

" You didn't quite get it. I was refering to anonymoose being the dog poo in the bag. "

" brew1234 wrote on Jun 24, 2008 1:03 PM:
" So anonymoose, what are doing on people's porches? "

Lighting dog waste on fire is an old prank. They light it on fire and knock on the door. When the person comes out and sees a fire, they immediately try to put it out by stepping on it. I've seen that in movies. I don't think anonymous does that. "

" I dont think what IMUS had said was meant to be racial..hes a shock jock-expected to mouth whatever.
HAD it been a black comedian sayng the same stuff during a show--no one would have said a word.

I think most of these black rappers need to have their CDs pulled from the shelves--they are very offensive--yet i dont see any blacks protesting them! "

" Hey, my kids' favorite -- Flaming Bag of Poo (the animated short, not the real-life prank) "

" FG good luck buying home-be sure to get a fixed rate not an ARM.
my aunt had an arm she started paying 800 a month then after 2 yrs of surrounding development she was paying 2600--which she could not afford or refinance and lost the home.

If you have high life insurance you can skip adding in the insurance in case of death--BUT if your life insurance is low--then pay the extra for that.

you will have alot of papers to sign--read read read! "

" So anonymoose, what are doing on people's porches? "

" When I heard Imus's comment, I took it to mean that blacks are picked on more than they should be and it isn't fair!! Wish people would stop trying to make everything a racial slur!!! "

" What a tragedy about Herman Ave.'s physical education teacher. A reminder of how precious life is... "

" When I heard Imus's comment, I took it to mean that blacks are picked on more than they should be and it isn't fair!! Wish people would stop trying to make everything a racial slur!!! "

" People who complain about children playing in the street are the same ones that end up with flaming bags of Poo on their front porches. "

" Well, Hillbilly, I am in the middle of buying my first home and not a penny to spare at the moment. I have a terrific little Toyota that averages 43.6 MPG in the summer that I hope to make last until well after I've paid it off, *ca. 18 mos to go to pay it off, but should have several years of life left in it) by which time I should be past the first couple years' hump of home-buying and the manufacturers will be past the agonies of early adopters of new technology, and I hope to be presented with better options in cars, such as the one you describe.

So, will I run right out and buy one the minute they hit the market? No -- I won't have the money. But I will be keeping an eye on it -- and any other viable alternatives -- so that when the time comes, I'll be able to switch to a safer and still affordable means of transportation. "

" Are you kidding me? Are people REALLY angry about kids playing in the streets? If it is a RESIDENTIAL neighborhood cars should only be going 20mph anyhow. PLENTY of time to see children and PLENTY of time to stop! I played ENDLESS hours of street ball, street hockey, roller skating, jump rope when I was a kid and it was NOT that long ago. The same people complaining about the kids playing in the streets are the same people complaining that kids aren't like they used to be. That's because YOU WON'T LET THEM BE!!! "

" justventing, let the kids play in the street as we did many years ago. Back in the 50s, 60s, we never had a problem playing in the streets, kids have to be responsible! "

" justventing, you are just one of the many to be brainwashed into thinking the streets were made for cars!

STREETS WERE NOT MADE FOR CARS!!! THEY WERE HERE LONG BEFORE CARS WERE!

HUMANS! I BEG OF YOU, TAKE BACK YOUR STREETS!

you were probably one of those who was complaining about the parking issue too. "

" Farmer's Gal, I also found this article at
http://www.gizmag.com/compressed-air-car-set-for-us-launch-in-2010/8896/
They Say: February 29, 2008 The Zero-Pollution MDI Air Car, invented in France and licensed by Tata Motors in India, is coming to American shores. Zero Pollution Motors have announced they will begin taking reservations for the first U.S. deliveries in the next couple of months, but it will be 2010 before Americans get their first taste of the ingenious compressed-air motor, which runs to 35mph entirely on air, or uses a trickle of petrol to heat and compress more air to reach higher speeds up to 90mph. It'll cost next to nothing to run (how do 30,000km service intervals sound?), have a range of up to 1000 miles, and retail for well under US$20,000.

Is this too good to be true or will the American people make it happen? I have signed up for future e-mailings from the company. To bad an American car company can't figure it out and move in this direction. For less than $20,000 I will take the chance. How about you? "

" I cannot believe I am reading this, let kids play in the street. Are you insane? The street is not for play. If you are a parent you should be held liable for ANY thing that happens if you kid get hurt by a car. Ask yourself this, whose fault would it, be? The driver of the car or you? Do you think you could live with yourself if your kid got killed by a car because you let them play in the street? "

" As for streetball, when the kids are playing ask them to be aware of the cars. If that doesn't work, call the police. Maybe a hey be careful from the cops will help. "

" I'm sure for checking it out more. There must be ways to use the technology that drives this vehicle and adapting the construction to meet our (hopefully more stringent) safety standards. I mean, if you can run an engine on compressed air, there's no reason the body has to be glued together -- it could be welded or whatever.

In other words, there isn't a need to chuck our safety rules -- we just need to adapt what we're given to meet our requirements -- and get the best of both.

Yes, I am very much in favor of exploring further in directions such as this. "

" Farmer's Gal in continuing the discussion on change. I will be all for this kind of change. The Air Car, read the following:

"Barring any last-minute design changes on the way to production, the Air Car should be surprisingly practical. The $12,700 CityCAT, one of a handful of planned Air Car models, can hit 68 mph and has a range of 125 miles. It will take only a few minutes for the CityCAT to refuel at gas stations equipped with custom air compressor units; MDI says it should cost around $2 to fill the car’s carbon-fiber tanks with 340 liters of air at 4350 psi. Drivers also will be able to plug into the electrical grid and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill the tanks in about 4 hours.

Of course, the Air Car will likely never hit American shores, especially considering its all-glue construction. But that doesn’t mean the major automakers can write it off as a bizarre Indian experiment — MDI has signed deals to bring its design to 12 more countries, including Germany, Israel and South Africa."

This is from the Popular Science magazine and can be found at the following web site: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html

The reason this vehicle will not be coming to the U.S. is because of our strict safety laws. Maybe if we were to relax some of the Nanny-State Regulations, we could explore more options like this car? This would be change, are you for it? "

" please, do not tell me that someone is whining about "street ball" games. for one, its good for kids to be out playing instead of in the house lounging or partaking in gang like behavior. second, many organizations such as 'Creative Communities International' (http://www.lesstraffic.com/Articles/Traffic/SRactivity.htm) believe that by allowing children and adults alike the opportunity to spend more time in the street, we will get back to our more community oriented roots and traffic will slow in neighborhoods allowing for safer streets. "

" streetball games problem?
1. buy kids summer passes to casey park pool.
2. offer to drive/pick them up from a day at the owasco lake.
3. move your car..

be glad that are playing ball and not vandalizing property! "

" CVN it is scary! Even worse the facts of American's who fall into the "I want to change" Obama bandwagon.
We all want things to change-whether it be gas prices,foos costs, the economy, foreclosures on homes, the environment, schooling children, ect..
BUT to BELIEVE that ONE person can do it is utterly ridiculas! Obama cannot change anything anymore than the Pres we have.

Our lives are entangled in the 535 (congress/senate) and since they are NOT GOING AWAY anytime soon its a foolish ideal to think "change" is coming in NOVEMBER!! "

" To continue from the previous Two Cents discussion on "Change:"

Change for change sake could just as easily be change for the worse. (For ex: We see gas prices change almost daily -- and nearly always for the worse).

I have been finding it odd all along that so many politicians harp on the term "Change" as that in an of itself were desired. People desire change FOR THE BETTER, not just change. In fact, most people prefer not to have to change -- things have to be really lousy to have so many people wanting change so badly:

"...all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing forms to which they are accustomed."

(From our Declaration of Independence; this bit is followed by the still-true part about the "long train of abuses and usurpations" -- it is not only our right but our duty to throw off such Government). "