Newbie saying hi and need to look at finances

[startover40]

Was looking on the web for a few things and found this site. Thought it would be a good idea to sign up, say hi and take a serious look at my finances. I guess that's what turning 40 does to you!

I'll get into more details but for now let's just say it's time to get things in line for me and my family. The housing market has not helped or I would refinance or move but I am not sure either is an option thanks to the recent comps.

Just turned 40, 2 kids ages 4 & 8 and a stay at home wife. Aside from the general spending stuff, the mortgage and HELOC is what is killing us. Locked in at 5.75% and since we can pay the bills and are never late, etc., we are not in a position to get any mortgage relief.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and looking forward to coming up with a plan to lessen the debt burden.

[kork13]

A few immediate thoughts...

First, if you'd be willing to post a detailed rundown of your finances (income, specific monthly expenses, debts & interest rates, savings, and current assets), we are all happy to take a look and give you some specific recommendations that you can start working toward.

As for the mortgage & HELOC that very clearly have you worried.... Do you have positive equity in your home right now, or do you owe more than it's currently worth? If you are underwater, there are a couple programs in place that could help you refinance your mortgage to a lower, more affordable rate (most significantly, the HARP 2.0 federal program). If you have some decent equity in your home, you can look at doing a normal refinance on your mortgage and again, go for a lower rate loan.

Otherwise, the best thing you can do around here is just ask questions. There's alot of people on these forums, and we're all happy to help and happy to teach what we can about good financial practices. So welcome!

[startover40]

I'm going to sit down tonight with the wife and go over our finances.

As for a refi since the mortgage is not held by fannie mae but rather a private bank, I believe the refi options are limited....as in no chance! From what I have been told I am screwed.....make enough to pay all the bills on time yet with the recent comps and our debt we can not do a refi. Quick numbers are bought 4 years ago for 892K, first mortgage is conventional 30yr fixed at 5.75% and 120K on HELOC. My neighbor just had an appraisal done and got back 700K. So given the comps and my debt how can I refi? I'll post all the other debts and expenses tonight.....It's not going to be pretty!

Thank you. I appreciate all the help.

[startover40]

Would it be better to post the details in the personal finance page and start a new thread?

[startover40]

Details posted the Personal Finance forum.

[natewebco]

Quicken is good for tracking your accounts and making a budget.

[swapnil]

Welcome to the board Startover though lately since made 20 odd posts now, but anyways would look at details and then comment further.