We live in an interesting location. We live within 5 miles of  three different Wal Mart’s in three different directions from our place. All three are Super Centers, in an area that is not really consider a dense populated area; Boise, Idaho.

You would think that each Wal Mart would carry the exact same thing as the other. Not so! It depends what we are going to Wal Mart to buy determines which Wal Mart we drive to first.

The newest Wal Mart that is north of us is the newest. They have more household goods like blenders and clothes. When it comes to electronics they have the minimum. The pharmacy seems to be larger than the others.

Anyone can waste money by eating out. But there are time you just need to get out of  the kitchen and out of the house. A mini vacation you might say.

My wife and I try to get out at least once a week, to sit down together some place and share a meal. No agenda, just sitting there talking small stuff. As a general rule we try to find a restaurant  that we have not visited, or one that it has been a long time, since we were there.

Moon’s Kitchen is on that I saw on through a friend on Facebook. Since my wife and I were going to be in downtown Boise, it seemed like a good place to good for breakfast.

Guild Mortgage of Boise Idaho announces “Home Path”.   Another great Boise home loan financing program.

Home Path targets Fannie Mae (FNMA) REO properties.   It allows Idaho home buyers a great opportunity to purchase the home of their dreams.   A few of the high lights are

• Only 3% down payment which can be gifted or granted
• NO Mortgage Insurance is required-this part is great!  Mortgage insurance usually runs from $50-$200 per month.
• NO Appraisal-the purchase price will be determined by the real estate contract that is negotiated between the buyer and the FNMA representative.
• Only 10% down for an investment properties with 1 to 2 units. Again no MI!
• 30 year fixed financing
• Credit Score needs to be above 660

Here is the link to check to see if a property qualifies.  www.HomePath.com

Guild Mortgage – Boise Home loans – Craig Ballhagen                    208-713-3309

If I need to take a quick business trip from Boise, Idaho to San Francisco to meet with Leo Laporte, I could easily spend a $1,000. Now if I did some research and planning, I could cut that cost in half.

A flight to San Francisco from Boise Idaho starts at $216, with one stop in Salt Lake City. Most of the discount airline booking website average around $260 to $300 for a round trip ticket, for the same trip.

Now there is a few things that you can or can not do that will raise that cost.

Pre-Ship Luggage - If you have a lot of luggage you may want to pre-ship it UPS. Airlines are watching how much up check as well as what you carry on the plane. Many of the airline are charging $25 to $50 extra per piece. This is where shipping an extra bag of cloths to your hotel may just be cheaper

There is much talk about credit reports and the FICO scores that go with it.  The Internet offers many FREE credit reports.  Believe me, they are NOT free.  What they are trying to do is have you sign up for a monthly service or a large fee if you don’t “officially” cancel their service.   These companies  exist to make money, not to actually help you out.

Establish an honest relationship with a LOCAL Boise Idaho home loan consultant who has their local reputation on the line and your best interests in mind.   Then go to the next step and request a free credit report and the valuable advice that goes with it.   Your local Boise loan consultant has to earn your business and provide professional service.  That is what a relationship is all about.   On line companies could care less about how you “feel” or if you are “happy” or not.  A local Boise Idaho loan consultant must please you and their local real estate community.  If they don’t, they might as well go work for some online institution.

Boise’s next generation of first time home buyers must step up and take control of their home loan process and take responsibility for the documents they are signing.  Remember you are borrowing hundred’s of thousands of dollars and required to pay it all back.

Take the time to gather the information about the loan process and examine ALL of YOUR loan documents.

It is the loan officer’s duty to explain everything to all first time home buyers.   If your loan officer doesn’t look out for you, no one else will, until it is too late.   TAKE CONTROL!

Is there is any correlation between the percent of people who are late on their mortgage payments and the amount of calories consumed?
When a homeowner has problems making their mortgage payment at the end of a month, how short are they? Do they not have any money for the payment? Or is the struggling homeowner coming up just a few hundred short. With a mortgage payment of $1000, for example, that might only be $100-300.

If every month a consumer’s budget keeps coming up short, it is time a look at where the money is going.

One of the areas to look could be the monthly cost of food. Do you REALLY know how much of your paycheck is going into the fridge and eventually the mouth?