Many people have the misconception that antiques cost more than they can afford. Shopping for antiques is a great way to spend a free afternoon and you may be surprised at how many good bargains you come across. The hardest thing is many people don’t know the true value of the particular item they are looking at in an antique shop.

It may have caught their attention because of the style of it or it brings back happy memories. You never really know if the shop owner is trying to up the price or if you are already getting a good deal. Since you can’t quickly go to another store and compare the price you pretty much have to decide the maximum you are willing to pay for an item and then walk away if the negations don’t work in your favor.

It is a good idea to do some checking into the reputation of a given antique dealer before you even step foot into their store. You will find you are able to get good deals on antiques when you get to know the owner of the store. If you are a frequent shopper in the store you can build a good relationship. Brining in other customers to the store is something that will get noticed as well. The owner of the antique store will want to work with you on items so that you keep generating more business for them.

You will be able to negotiate the price for what you want if the antique shop is operated by the owner and not several different employees. Even though you will find more selection at antique malls, you won’t be able to negotiate the prices as much. Small antique shops can generally offer you some history on the pieces you are the most interested in.

For most antique shop owners, money talks so carry plenty of cash when you go out looking for antiques. This way they don’t have to mess with credit card transactions that cost them money. Many of the older antique stores are hesitant to take personal checks, especially if you are from out of town. Showing that you do have the cash with you in an unobvious way is also helpful. For example, you can count it and then say will you take $100 for it, that is all I have with me today.

It is important to remember that you will be purchasing antiques in the condition they are in. Make sure you take the time to thoroughly examine what you are purchasing. You don’t want to get home and discover what you thought was a great bargain is nothing but junk. Most antique dealers take pride in offering quality items but you still need to check. You will be disappointed if you think you are going to take home an antique in mint condition for a very low price though.

If you are looking for certain antiques, take a look around online to get a good idea of what the going price is for them. Try to negotiate something that is about 25% less than the rates you find online. Don’t be afraid to ask the antique shop owner to cut you a better price. It helps if you say something along the lines of “would you accept $100 for this”? Instead of “can you lower the price”? It definitely helps you get what you want if you are assertive but not going overboard.

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All across the United States, there are millions of people looking to a buy home - either now or in the future. Over the last few years, lower interest rates have come along, making it more affordable than ever to buy a home. When most people stop and give it some thought - buying a home makes a lot more sense than renting a home or an apartment.

In order to buy a house, you’ll need to start saving your money and have enough for the closing costs and a down payment. Your down payment will normally need to be around 15% of the price or the value of the property - whichever is lower. To be on the safe side, you should always try to have 20% to put down. If you aren’t able to put 20% down, you’ll need to buy some private mortgage insurance, which will cost you more in terms of your monthly payment.

In most cases, the closing costs will run you around 5% of the property price. Before you purchase the home, you should always get an estimate. An estimate won’t be the exact price, although it will be really close. You should always plan to save up a bit more money than you need, just to be on the safe side. It’s always best to have more than enough than not enough.

You’ll know your ready to buy a home when you know exactly how much you can afford, and you’re willing to stick with your plan. When you buy a home and get your monthly mortgage payment, it shouldn’t be any more than 25% of your total monthly income. Although there are lenders out there who will say that you can afford to pay more, you should never let them talk you into doing so - but stick to your budget instead.

Keep in mind that there is always more money involved with a home other than the mortgage payment. You also have to pay for utilities, homeowners insurance, property taxes, and maintenance. Owning and caring for a home requires a lot of responsibility. If you’ve never owned a home before, it can take a bit of time to get used to.

Before you fill out any applications, you should always look over your credit report and check for any errors. Although you may think you don’t, you can easily get an error on your credit report and not even realize it. If you have an error on your credit report, it can cost you a lot of money in interest rates. An error will decrease your credit score, which will put you in a higher interest bracket and ultimately cost you a lot more money in the end. Therefore, you should always know your credit before you approach a lender.

If you check your credit report early enough, you may leave yourself enough time to fix any problems and get your credit back on track. Rebuilding credit can take time though, sometimes even years. You should always plan ahead - and give yourself plenty of time to fix your credit.

Buying a home will require a bit of commitment on your behalf. You should always strive to get the best possible deals, which means knowing your credit and where you stand. This way, you can get the best interest rates. You don’t want to buy a home with bad credit, simply because you’ll pay a lot more money for the home. If you take the time to fix any credit problems and save up some money - you’ll be able to get a much better home for your money.

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Have you ever wondered why so many solid businessman drive cruddy, old cars from a dingy, run down offices to their palatial homes in the suburbs? Warren Buffet, perhaps the greatest investor alive is known for this. The reason they live this life style is not because they are cheap misers but because they have a high level of financial intelligence that you can develop as well.

They understand that if they have $90,000.00 that they could either put that money into
1. reducing their debt
2. invest it into the stock market
3. selective home improvements
4. improve the appearance of their business facilities (I am assuming that this doesn’t have an appreciable impact on their profitability and believe me it almost never does despite excuse mangers make to blow money)
5. buy a new Mercedes Benz for themselves
6. buy their children a new car.

The first two choices increase your net worth (equity) which is always a good thing and equity is not taxed. The third choice increases your enjoyment (utility) of your home. If you remodel your kitchen or bath appropriately you may also increase your equity. So if you have spare cash in excess of your debts and a solid investment, savings plan than this can be a good choice as well.

The fourth and fifth choices are TOTAL wastes of money because your business sits there for you to suck money out of and nothing else. A car loses a quarter of its value the moment it is driven off of the lot and then continues its downward slide to nothing. Depreciating assets are not investments they are financially undesirable necessities if you can’t walk everywhere you need to go. An automobile is a financially undesirable necessity, nothing more, nothing, less.

The very last choice is the worst possible use of your money. Not only do you waste your money but you also teach and reinforce financial mismanagement in the minds of your offspring. Your children learn that they do not have to work for anything they want. Worse still they will mentally assign a value to the automobile relative to the amount of effort it took for them to acquire it and that is zero.

In Steven Silbiger’s book “The Jewish Phenomenon” he describes in other ways why this concept of being prudently frugal yet selectively extravagant is a major key to the extraordinary wealth of the Jewish ethnicity. He shows clearly how Jewish families use this wisdom to convert their income into lasting wealth. Don’t forget that this wisdom is not restricted to Jews and in fact is the underlying lying cause of financial stability in high income families of low income ethnicity. The most enduring wealth of course is a debt free life style with adequate passive income and the knowledge to recoup it all if lost.

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