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The Cost of a Mortgage¶
Since monthly payments spread the cost of a mortgage loan over an extended period, it’s easy to forget the total expense. For example, if you borrow $200,000 for 30 years at 6% interest, your total repayment will be around $431,680, more than two times the original loan. What seems like minor diffe…
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Making a Down Payment on a House¶
What is a Down Payment? A down payment is a percentage of the home’s purchase price that you pay upfront. In other words, the down payment is the part of what you pay to buy a house that is not included in your loan amount; instead, you owe it at the time of the purchase. The amount that you’ll nee…
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Working with a Mortgage Lender¶
Applying for a mortgage is a big endeavor. Most lenders require you to complete a mortgage application—a comprehensive financial statement. The information you provide on your application determines whether you qualify for a loan and how much you can borrow. The key numbers are your regular income,…
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Buying a Home¶
When making the decision to buy, there is a lot to consider. Start by defining your goals. Consider where you want to live, the features you're looking for, what you can afford, and a realistic date for having the money you'll need. Then apply your knowledge to making this key decision. The Cost of…
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Registration Opens for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on Friday April 30, 2021 at 6 AM PST!¶
ARB clients in the food and beverage industry may wish to take advantage of the RRF to assist in payroll costs and/or operations expenditures. Per SBA’s website the RRF was established by the American Rescue Plan Act to provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss…
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The 50/30/20 Rule of Budgeting¶
Humans are fallible—sometimes we just need guidelines. If you struggle making sense of a sea of budgeting systems and apps, consider the 50/30/20 rule. Developed by Elizabeth Warren, a senior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and expert in bankruptcy law, the 50/30/20 rule states that your after-tax…
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Talking to Your Partner About Money¶
Talk Often A great way to reduce the stress of talking about money is to discuss things frequently with your partner. Don’t wait for a financial crisis to talk! Some couples find it best to schedule regular discussions about money—say, every Sunday afternoon—while others take a more casual approach…
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ARB Clients Successful in obtaining $65 million in PPP Loan Forgiveness To-date!¶
While many clients have successfully obtained loan forgiveness, others have waited to apply until the SBA began accepting the new forgiveness applications, which included additional covered expenses, and a new streamlined application for loans of up to $150,000, in accordance with the Paycheck Prot…
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Teaching Children About Money¶
The Three-Jar AllowanceTo learn how to manage money, children need some money to manage. Typically, this money comes from from an allowance or from doing small jobs for friends and neighbors. As a first step, you'll have to decide how much the allowance should be and whether it should be linked to…
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What is Financial Literacy?¶
Make it Real Teaching financial literacy doesn’t have to be a formalized lesson for your family. Experience is often the best teacher. You can give your children that experience by involving them in what you’re doing in a way that makes sense for their age. For example, a trip to the grocery store…
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