Even if it’s your best friend or closest relative, sometimes you need to learn to say no when it comes to co-signing. The singular most important thing to make sure is that you won’t lose out big by giving someone else the privilege of being their co-signer. Many times it actually does work out- for instance co-signing for a twenty year old’s car who has a steady job and pays it back timely giving him good credit. But when people have histories of bad credit, don’t pay back, don’t know anything about budgeting, and quit their job every other day it can be time to say no.

Some co-signers have had their lives severely disrupted when the borrower for whom they co-signed stopped paying, leaving it up to the co-signer to make the loan good. Most of the mail I get on the subject is from co-signers in this situation. They now regret they did it, and they invariably ask me how they can get out of it.Jack M Guttentag

Forget working hard for the money. Some factors that influence salary are beyond your control

It’s a rare individual who wouldn’t like to make a bit (or a boatload) more money each year. It’s not as if most people don’t try: They work hard. They endeavor to boost their performance—and, it seems to follow, their pay—with training programs and career coaches and workplace mentors. They even schedule weekly tête-à-têtes with their bosses to measure their progress and reassess benchmarks.

The truth is that some factors correlated to higher pay are impossible for a person to control. Studies show that taller people make more money, but can people increase their height? Similarly, can a man become a lefty after decades as a right-handed man? Can a woman become a man? What’s more, there are factors in how you behave outside the office that are associated with higher pay. For example: If you like rum in your Coke, you’ll make more money. (It is, at least, a good argument against prohibition.)

Men seem particularly affected by salary advantages and disadvantages that aren’t related to work performance. Consider the premium paid to some lefties. While researchers at Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University found no wage difference between left-handed and right-handed women, left-handed men who have some college education average about 13 percent more than right-handed men. Lefty males who are college graduates average as much as 20 percent more than their right-handed counterparts.

A report from the Reason Foundation found that while male and female drinkers make more than nondrinkers, men who hit the bar at least once a month—thereby satisfying the definition of social drinkers—seem to make even more.

Married men tend to make more than men who have never been married. Researchers at the Federal Reserve of St. Louis found there may be a few reasons for this. For one thing, employers may have a bias in favor of married men because marital status might signify a man’s stability or responsibility. Old-fashioned or not, another possibility is that marriage frees men up to focus on work, rather than on household tasks. The most likely reason, however, is that the observable qualities that appeal to an employer are similar to those that appeal to a mate—characteristics such as background, education, and appearance.

Men who choose to go into Christian ministry will find that they dominate the field but make less than their female counterparts. A survey of church employees conducted by Christian Today International’s Your Church ministry found that women made up only 6.3 percent of full-time solo pastor positions, but they reported 10.4 percent higher total compensation.

Women are generally acknowledged to be underdogs in the compensation world, but a report from American Association of University Women Education Foundation noted that women choose college majors that pay less—majors such as education, psychology, and healthcare. Men choose more lucrative majors, like engineering and mathematics.

The pay difference has, however, undergone a surprising shift in some metropolitan areas. Andrew Beveridge, a sociology professor at Queens College, found that New York women in their 20s earned an average of $7,000 less than their male counterparts in 1970 but were making about $5,000 more in 2005.

A 2007 study from University of Northern Iowa looked at 2000 census data and found that cohabitating lesbians earn about 10 percent more annually than married women. They also earn more than cohabitating, unmarried, heterosexual women.

Perhaps the research that suggests the most potential for control over pay has to do with hours logged. Two MSN-Zogby polls found 37 percent of workers with household incomes of $100,000 or more report working between 41 and 50 hours a week, while only 8 percent of those with household income less than $25,000 work as many hours. Of course, there’s plenty that could explain this, as illness, old age, and disability can affect a worker’s hours. But there may be some hope that putting in the time will pay off.

Liz Wolgemoth

The good news: mortgage rates are down. The bad news: it’s much harder to qualify for a refinanced loan these days.

What’s more, the borrowers who need to refinance the most - because their adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are resetting to higher interest rates - are among those having the most trouble winning approvals.

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“I’m turning away about 60% to 75% of the clients who come to me for a refi,” said Bob Moulton, president of Americana Mortgage Group on Long Island, N.Y. “Some don’t have enough equity and others have bad credit scores.”

During the boom years, lenders approved most anyone with a pulse. Not so today. Mortgage brokers recognize this and are now being very selective about the clients whose applications they choose to submit to the likes of Wells Fargo or Bank of America.

If an applicant has poor credit, or a home whose value is rapidly deteriorating, they’re just not going to bother.

“If the person is Sweet Polly Purebread - good income, good assets, high credit score - there’s money out there,” said Moulton. “But if not, then it’s harder.”

Interest rates are way down - 5.67% is the going rate for a a 30-year fixed loan this week, according to Freddie Mac. That has generated a spike in refinancing applications.

Total mortgage applications were up 73% last week from a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and 69%of those applications were for refis. Last February, when interest rates were about 6.3%, about 46% of applications were for refis.

The make-or-break metric for anyone looking to refinance right now is home equity - the difference between what is owed on a house and what the house is worth. But with home prices down, many homeowners have little of that precious commodity left.

“If you have an 80% loan, with a 10% home equity loan, you may not be able to refinance,” said Peter Grabel, a mortgage broker in Connecticut - especially in down markets.

Consider a homeowner who bought in Miami a year ago with 20% down. Home prices have fallen 15% there in the past year, wiping out three-quarters of the equity. Lenders, who want collateral that’s worth more than the value of the loan, are wary about having so little cushion. If they have to repossess and resell the house, they’re on the hook for a big loss.

“No lender would take that deal,” said Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. “It’s a lot different from two years ago.”

The bar has also been raised for credit scores when it comes to refinancing, according to Grabel. And sometimes, it’s not a matter of whether someone can get refinancing but at what price.

“Those with high credit scores are getting very good rates, but the lenders have heightened the requirements to qualify,” said Grabel. Instead of a score of 680 for the best rate, a borrower might need 700 now.

For example, Grabel has a client who wants a cash-out deal. The client has lots of equity in his house but a dismal credit score - 552.

“I used to have 20 lenders I could send him to; now there’s maybe one,” said Grabel. “The rate, though, will be high, higher than what he’s paying now.”

The only reason that this client will take the deal is because he’s going through a divorce and needs to buy out his wife. He doesn’t have time to rebuild his credit rating, but he’s lucky that at least his house appraises well.

Indeed, appraisals are another tool that lenders are using to eliminate unqualified applicants.

“It used to be a formality,” said Grabel. “Now it’s, ‘Lets do the appraisal first and see what value comes in.” Lenders are scrutinizing them to a degree unheard of during the boom. They don’t want to lend $160,000 on an appraised value of $200,000 unless they’re sure the house is truly worth that.

Ted Grose, a past president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers, said lenders now often conduct what he called “bench reviews” of appraisals. “They have an experienced, independent third-party go over the appraisal to make sure the numbers are accurate,” he said.

Grose called many of the applicants he sees “very challenging, mostly because of high loan-to-value ratios.”

Many of these people took exotic loans to get into high-priced properties. They used hybrid ARMs that are resetting to higher rates, or interest only loans.

Particularly deadly are option ARMs, which act as negative amortization loans; the payments don’t even cover the interest and the balance grows over time. Combine that with falling home prices, and the loan balance may be more than the home’s market value.

Under those circumstances, said Grose, few borrowers can be helped.

Source:yahoo personal finance

MyMoneyBlog posts:
Six easy ways to make money:

1) Earn interest on your idle cash.

Open up a high-yield savings account that links up directly with your existing checking account and pumps up that piddly interest rate you’re getting now. At around 5% APY, with every $2,000 in cash you can make $100 more in interest a year. Banks with local branches like Washington Mutual and Citibank are even in the game.

2) Earn some quick bucks for signing up for accounts.

You can get up to $250 upfront just for signing up and making a purchase with several credit cards. Just put them away afterwards, there’s no need to pay a penny of interest. I’ve certainly made thousands of dollar this way.

3) Get cash back whenever you make a purchase.

If you are responsible with credit cards, you should really use a credit card that gives you cash back or other perks when buying everyday purchases like groceries, gas, and everything else. Here’s a list of my favorite rewards credit cards. You can easily get back $100 a year without changing your spending patterns.

Read the rest