Yes! You Really Can Save Money
Sometimes, saving money may seem impossible. You buy groceries on Monday, pay bills on Tuesday, and by Wednesday your paycheck has disappeared. However, if you establish a savings plan, youll find money in places youve never thought to look!
If youre like most American families, you wait for extra cash to save. However, by creating a plan, most people find they can save regularlyand reach their long-term financial goals.
In the beginning, the amount you save is less important than the fact that youre starting to save regularly. Its O.K. to start out small, but make the amount you decide to save each week or month a commitmentits very important to pay yourself first. Begin with an amount that you are sure you can set aside so that you build a sense of accomplishment rather than frustration. Giovanna Masci, money management expert at ACCION suggests the following to establish a savings plan.
Distinguish between wants and needs: Real needs are items that are necessary to sustain you and your family such as shelter, food, clothing, and transportation. All the items that enhance or possibly improve your family life, like new electronics and meals out, are wants that could be eliminated from your budget.
Set realistic and achievable savings goals. Experts suggest you place 10 percent of your income into savings. That’s a good goal, but don’t give up if you can’t save that much. Establish a savings habit and save consistentlyits better than putting aside a big sum just once.
Set up a separate savings account using automatic deposit. If you mingle your savings account with your checking account, you’ll dip into your savings and may never pay it back. If possible, have your employer deduct a set amount from your paycheck each pay period and deposit it directly into your savings accountafter a few weeks, you wont even miss the money!
Put your savings goals in writing. Writing down your savings goals can have a motivating impact on your savings habits. It makes your goals real and concrete. Write down your short, medium, and long-term goals along with your projected timeframe to achieve them. Make sure the goals are attainable and realistic and review them regularly.
For more helpful tips about managing your money and to improve your financial literacy, visit Your Money and You (http://yourmoney.accion.org).
Why you should Leave your Bank and Join a Credit
Why you should Leave your Bank and Join a Credit Union
So maybe you’ve had a savings account for a while or maybe you’ve taken out a mortgage for a house. Is your bank actually helping you, or it is doing more harm than good? If you’ve never looked into the benefits of a credit union, maybe now is a good time to switch. There are actually many benefits, many of which you’ve probably never even heard about.
Simply put, a bank is an establishment that is there to make money for itself. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s what every single business is in business for: to make its own money. So what’s so great about a credit union? What makes it different? A credit union is a non-profit organization that is there specifically for its members. Basically, it’s a group of people dedicated to their money. So instead of stockholders making decisions for the bank they have partial ownership of, you can literally own a portion of your credit union yourself and be able to vote and participate on different aspects of the company. It is completely Democratic and members even elect a volunteer Board of Directors. Sounds good, right?
Credit unions also offer higher rates of interest payout in savings accounts as well as having typically lower interest rates on loans and personal lines of credit. They also offer many free services such as checking accounts, debit and credit cards, and personalized service.
There are some people skeptical about credit unions because they believe that their money isn’t safe. This rumor is no longer true and all credit unions now legally have to be federally insured, just like a bank. So there really shouldn’t be any question in which establishment you should choose.
Now that you’re convinced, go a step further. What other corporations do you spend your money at? The grocery store, clothing venues at the local mall. Once you start saving your money wisely, try spending your money wisely, too. Everything you do can become more frugal and help you in life. Learn to shop around. Do your research on which credit unions offer the lowest interest rates and the highest interest payouts.
Open More Than One Account
If you are looking for a way to save money, but always find yourself dipping into your funds, try opening up more than one account at your bank.
By having more than one account you will be able to keep your money separated, which will help you avoid spending cash that you should not be touching. Of course this can all be done with one account and some self control, but it is not always that easy. By having an account for many different reasons, you will be able to keep your money separated, and only withdraw funds from the appropriate account.
The first account that you will want to set up is a savings account. You should put money into this account and never touch it unless you are in an absolute emergency. Savings accounts will also earn you interest depending on how much money you keep in the account. This will give you an incentive to keep as much money as possible in your account.
Next, you will want to have a checking account that you can use to pay any bills that you may have. This way, you will know exactly how much money you have available each month for your bills. By having a checking account you will also ensure yourself of never having to go into your savings to pay bills.
Also, many people have found it to be very beneficial to start a personal account where they keep money that they only use for leisure. By doing this, you will be able to keep track of how much money you spend on things outside of bills. This will also help you to learn to budget your money more efficiently.
You can also open a separate account for any special items that you are saving for. If you want to take a dream vacation, why not open an account for this? Then you will be able to put a certain amount of money into the account every month in order to reach your goal. Many people overlook this type of account, but it offers many benefits and advantages.
Overall, having a number of different bank accounts is a great idea. This will allow you to easily control your spending and saving. You should open as many accounts as you need in order to keep your finances organized. By doing this you will soon find out that you are more organized than ever before.
Why Should You Retire in Thailand?
Retiring in Thailand has been my dream for many, many years. My dream will come true in about 2 years and I am making some serious plans now. I can be anal when planning and there are numerous considerations when planning for the final chapter in your life. I intend to plan everything down to the nitty-gritty details.
Let me preface this by saying that I have been going to Thailand for the past 35 years. I have served there as a soldier and visited numerous times on vacation. I love the people, food, customs and culture and plan to live out my life there.
I have been doing my homework checking out my financial status and how much I will be getting when I hit retirement age. My situation is unusual in that I will get a small pension from my current government job, additional fund from a military retirement in about 4 years, and even more from social security in about 6 years. I also have a 401K and a government equivalent (Thrift Savings Plan) and will also profit from selling my house when I retire.
So, money is no problem. I plan to buy a house in Thailand. Well, actually, lease a house since foreigners cannot legally own land. I dont want to put the property in my girls name because she could potentially sell it and I would have no recourse. There is also a small loophole allowing foreigners to incorporate themselves and lease the property back. I dont trust this one and worry about laws changing and having my property taken out from under me. I will go with the lease or something called a usufruct.
The usufruct I dont entirely understand but I will be meeting with an English speaking lawyer during my trip in March, 2008 and will get all the details. All I know is that it is similar to the lease but has some benefits. I have gotten some email answers but prefer the face to face explanations.
I have had my girl looking for properties so that during my next 3week vacation I will only have to spend a short amount of time looking. So far, I have seen some pictures of nice properties for about $50,000 USD. This is for a 3-bedroom, 2 bath, 2-story place. Will be nice to see them in person and then make my purchase.
The monthly pension/retirement checks will easily take care of my day-to-day needs. Food and drink are cheap as are the utilities for the house. I will be able to have air conditioning and a satellite dish to receive English speaking programs along with the Thai TV shows.
Shopping is dirt cheap so clothes and other daily items will not be a burden. Going out will be very pleasant as a night on the town with dinner, drinks and going out to a club will be less than fifty dollars and that is living large.
Medical plans are available and care is comparable to US or European standards maybe even higher. Prescription drugs can be had over the counter and medical treatment is second to none.
Staying in Thailand legally has gotten easier with the loosening of visa requirements. Foreigners can now get one year visas that are easily renewable. All you have to do is check in every 3 months. Thailand likes expats money even though we cant own land.
Retiring in Thailand will make my life much easier than retiring in Hawaii even if my condo is paid for. The cost of living, the attitude of the Thai people, and the food and culture has me counting the days until April 4th, 2010.
Offshore Banking – When It Pays To Go Abroad
While you might presume anyone with money in offshore accounts is involved in some scurrilous business affairs, the truth is that anyone can use this form of investment as a totally legitimate way to defer or reduce your tax payments.
Locations for offshore accounts can be held in banks in British waters the Channel Islands or Isle of Man for example, or you could look further afield to the Republic of Ireland or Luxembourg. As with other investments, there are different ways to send your money abroad, with different levels of risk attached.
Some of the benefits include current accounts with higher levels of interest check out the high street banks, many of which offer offshore instant access accounts. These are a relatively safe way to invest. There are also notice savings accounts which can yield exceptionally high rates of interest.
You may choose to put money into an offshore investment fund, which is similar to the normal onshore type, only you usually find that you pay a performance related fee to your fund manager. This could mean that they have more incentive to make sure your money is working hard for you. Check investment companies like Schroders and Gartmore for this type of fund.
Money funds are a high risk form of investing your funds will be pooled with those of other investors and used to buy international currency at wholesale rates. Your shares will be exposed to the vagaries of international exchange rates, and this can be a nerve-wrackingly unpredictable way to invest abroad.
More and more people are choosing to buy property abroad whether as future dream retirement home or as profit making venture. In Eastern Europe and the Middle East you can pick up property for remarkably low prices developments and agencies advertise in the property sections of newspapers, and websites abound. While this could prove a sound long-term way of investing, there are numerous things to take into account the stability of a countrys economy, complicated legal agreements and the cost of travel to and from the property are major factors.
Different countries operate wildly different property law, and you will need to get sound advice on all the implications before buying abroad. Check things like inheritance law for example, in France, there are obstacles to simply leaving property to named recipients in your will. If you do buy abroad, you will probably find it useful to open a multi-currency account.
Why Debt Settlement Works Best in Texas
Debt settlement, also known as debt negotiation or debt reduction, is a relatively new way for dealing with your debt problems. In a debt settlement program, by negotiating with a creditor, a client can reduce their debt by as much as 50 percent and be debt free in as little as 12 to 36 months.
Debt settlement is a great solution for consumers feeling overwhelmed with credit card debt that find themselves either falling behind on their payments or just able to afford the minimums. Considering the savings, in most cases its worth doing if you find yourself in any of the aforementioned situations. As with any debt solution, however, there are potential downsides to debt settlement that should always be considered prior to enrollment. First, debt settlement may have an adverse impact on your credit, particularly while youre in the program. To put this point in perspective, however, its important to remember the following: 1) any third party debt counseling program and even debt consolidation loans from finance companies like Beneficial may affect your credit negatively in the eyes of lenders, 2) the effect on your credit in the long-term is minimal, given the fact youll be eliminating all your credit card debt (amount owed is 30 percent of your credit score, compared to credit history, which makes up 35 percent of your score) and 3) if youre falling behind or about to fall behind anyway, then your credit has been or will be affected negatively anyway.
Realistically, the two main draw backs of debt settlement that are unique to debt settlement are the following: 1) the possibility of legal action being taken by the creditor to collect the full balance and 2) the possibility of creditors harassing you until the debt is settled.
Thankfully, if youre doing debt settlement in Texas or even debt settlement in Florida these concerns are very much diminished. Why is Florida debt settlement so preferable compared to a lot of other states? The reason is Texas has highly favorable debtor laws that give consumers a lot of rights and protections when it comes to past due unsecured accounts like medical bills, credit cards, repossessions, and personal loans.
How State Collection Laws Benefit Texas Debt Settlement
Every state has laws that say if a collections agency is collecting a debt, they are legally obligated to stop contacting a consumer if the consumer sends a Cease and Desist letter and/or a Power of Attorney notifying the collection agency that a third party is responsible for handling all communications with the creditor. Texas law takes it a step farther and not only limits harassment from collection agencies, but also from the original creditor as well. In most states, when a consumer falls behind on their payments and the debt is still being collected by the original creditor (the bank that originally lent you the money or the hospital that serviced you, for example), then the creditor is reserved the right to call the debtor on a daily basis in order to collect whatever is owed, and although debt settlement companies servicing these clients can very easily reduce the calls (changing of your phone number and address and notifying the creditor that you are seeking third party help, for example), no one can ever make the calls completely stop.
This is not the case however for Texas debt settlement clients. In Texas, the same law that deals with what collections agencies can and cannot do when collecting a debt also pertains to the original creditor. What does this mean in practice? It means that a debt settlement company servicing someone from Texas can easily get the calls to not only reduced, but completely eliminated all together (sometimes within days).
State Homestead and Garnishment Laws and How They Benefit Texas Debt Settlement
For Texas debt settlement clients, their wages and home are completely protected, which gives the creditor even more incentive to settle. Given the fact that creditors already have every incentive to settle even with clients who reside in states with less favorable debtor laws, Texas debt settlement clients are in an even stronger negotiating position with their creditors. What does this actually mean? Typically it means even greater protection in the event of a lawsuit and greater savings than what is typical. Let me explain.
Although the vast majority of cases settle, as anyone who has ever read a debt settlement contract will tell you—its impossible for a debt settlement company to guarantee that a client wont be the target of any legal action by their creditors. After all, creditors are always reserved the right to sue debtors to collect a past due account, regardless of whether the consumer is taking any action to resolve the outstanding debt.
In the event a creditor sues a consumer in court and wins a judgment, theyll usually go about executing the judgment in one of the following ways:
1)Wage garnishment—contacting your employer and asking that they set aside a percentage of your wages every paycheck until the debt is paid back in full. (Its illegal for an employer to fire you for this unless more than one creditor is garnishing your wages).
2)Lien on your property—obligates you to pay back the creditor with any proceeds from the sale or refinancing of the property. A creditor prefers to put a lien on your home since it usually increases in value over time, which means the proceeds from your homes sale will be higher, and thus theyre more likely to actually get paid back.
3)Seizing your bank account—contacting your bank, showing the proof of judgment, and asking to withdraw any monies held in deposit under your name.
Fortunately, Texas laws protect debtors from having their wages garnished (unless you authorized in writing to allow your creditor to garnish your wages) and entitle Texas consumers to 100 percent homestead protection in the event of a lien. (Note: this does not apply to tax liens, alimony, or contractors liens.) One downside, however, is that bank accounts are not exempt under state law. That being said, for most consumers who are drowning in credit card debt, there probably will not be much for the creditor to seize anyway, and if so, its unlikely that it will constitute enough to decline a settlement offer. On top of that, bank account information can be difficult for creditors to locate, unlike your home, which is public record.
In sum, these are major advantages for Texas debt settlement clients. Keep in mind that the vast majority of cases are settled successfully regardless of the legal advantages of the consumer. When you consider Texas state laws, debt settlement makes even more sense for the credit card companies, debt collection agencies, and most importantly, for the consumer.
Debt Settlement in Texas and Community Property Laws
If you are married, reside in Texas, and are seeking debt settlement services, you should enroll any and all debts that were accumulated during the marriage by both you and your spouse. Just because the debt is owned by only one partner the other partner is not exempt from having to pay for it as well under Texas law. Creditors know this and may use it to their advantage in the collections process.
Never Use Payday Loans
Should I Ever Use a Payday Loan Service?
In the past several years, payday loan stores have been popping up all over the country. With names like “Check Into Cash,” “The Cash Store,” and “EZ Money,” they offer unsophisticated consumers the promise of quick, easy cash with few questions asked. But at what price?
The High Cost of Easy Money
Americans paid more than $6 billion in payday loan fees in 2005, and the number is likely to be much higher when the results for 2006 are tabulated. Payday lending is a big business, and it’s also one of the fastest growing in the country. EZCorp, for example, was a lowly Texas-based pawnbroker just a few years ago. Thanks to expanding into the payday loans business in 2002, the company has more than quintupled its profits, and its stock had the best one-year price performance of any company traded on the major exchanges or NASDAQ, through June, 2006.
While buying EZCorp’s stock a year ago would have been a wise financial decision, actually using the company’s services has never been a good idea. The reason EZCorp and companies like it make so much money is because they rip off their customers, and this is hardly a matter of opinion. According to EZCorp’s 2006 report for shareholders, the average payday loan has an annual percentage rate (APR) of 530 percent – and that’s not a typo – that’s highway robbery. So why would anyone ever use a payday loan service?
Target Market – The Unsophisticated and Credit Constrained Consumer
Most of the payday loan business’s customers are people who are unsophisticated and / or have made bad decisions with their credit in the past. These are people with no savings and no credit, who live check-to-check. They don’t realize that when they agree to pay a $40 fee for a $200, two-week loan, they are paying an astronomical annual interest rate. Or in some cases, they just don’t care – they feel that they have no other options.
A disturbingly large percentage of people use payday loan services in order to avoid incurring NSF (non-sufficient funds) charges with their banks. People living check-to-check, with no access to conventional credit, can be devastated by unexpected expenses. Imagine a single mother who needs to write a $200 check to get her car fixed in order to get to work the next day, but she doesn’t have the $200 in her bank account. She writes the check and then immediately goes to the payday loan store, where she can usually borrow the $200 with nothing beyond verification of her employment with a recent check stub. In this case, the single mom may actually be making a wise choice – since NSF fees are said to have an APR of 665 percent, and bank overdraft fees are even higher, at 1,160 percent APR. Clearly, the system is stacked against those who need the most help.
The Cycle of Indentured Servitude – And How To Avoid It
In the worst cases, people end up working all week in order to pay back their payday loan, and then have to take out another payday loan in order to make ends meet. Thus, the cycle continues, and these unfortunate people are relegated to the modern equivalent of indentured servitude.
The best way to prevent this from happening to you is to always maintain adequate lines of credit. In the above example, if the person could have simply charged the $200 repair bill on her Visa or Mastercard, all would have been well. Using a credit card to automatically pay for your regularly occurring charges, such as your phone and cable bills, is a good way to avoid NSF or bank overdraft fees, as well.
If you find yourself in trouble, be sure to always pay the minimum due on your credit cards – make this a priority second only to survival. If you default on your credit cards, you may have a very difficult time getting credit again in the future. Avoid the mistakes of the payday loan consumer, and of course, avoid the payday loan stores. Your money should be applied for your own benefit, not to the bottom line of unethical companies that make profits for their shareholders by exploiting the poor.
Take Care,
James
http://www.CC-Yes.com
How A Millionaire Manages One Dollar
If you dont know how manage a million dollars, I guarantee that the money will quickly disappear if I wrote you a giant check right now. Precisely like 90% of lottery winners that go bust within five years, they didnt have the basic discipline or the formula to handle the money that would have created a financial foundation that would last for generations. Learn how to manage a single dollar so that you can move up to the financial big-leagues on your own.
Give a millionaire a dollar and they will do something predictable: They will display the discipline not to spend it. That dollar will be deposited into a savings account where it earns interest income. A millionaire does not spend earned income! They only spend the income from their investments. A millionaire cycles money from a job, overtime pay, bonus, etc., into investment accounts. When you start out, you probably dont have any investments so how are you going to pay your bills? Reject the saying: Try to save some money after you pay the bills each month. This rarely happens and may be too little to add up to much. That saying is psychologically backwards. The new saying that I you want to begin with is: Dont invest all of your earned income each month, pay a few bills with it. Do you see the millionaire difference?
Lets talk about financial building blocks. Give a millionaire a dollar and they will split it up into the distinct building blocks of a solid financial foundation. Ten-cents of that dollar will be allocated to a permanent investment account that is never spent. This account builds your wealth. As I have said before: Wealth can only be created and maintained by the amount of money that you receive and do not spend. Well, this is that account, and you need to increase it by a piece of every dollar that you receive. Another ten-cents will be allocated to a savings account. This is a delayed-spending account for expensive purchases such as vacation, home repairs, or cars.
Millionaires save money to buy something before they purchase it, not afterward on credit where you have to pay interest. The next ten-cents is allocated to wealth education. The economy is always changing and you are ultimately responsible for directing all of your money. The only way to do this wisely is to add to your investment knowledge. Get investing ideas by paying for advisors, books, courses, newsletters, magazines, and newspapers. The three-dimes that were just allocated for different purposes is the wealth formula of millionaires; this is how wealth can be built to last for generations. It is only after these three buckets get their share of the dollar that part of it is allocated for taxes on that dollar. Notice that a millionaire pays the taxman after the important building blocks get their share.
There is no such thing as income before taxes. There is a tax liability on all income from whatever source. So a millionaire will have a tax strategy in place to receive that dollar before it is ever deposited at the bank. Millionaires dont overpay their taxes, they manage tax liabilities because they are your single largest expense (Add up how much you paid for income tax to the IRS, state, city, and property taxes it is probably a much bigger number than you expect). Some ways to minimize your taxes include setting up a part-time business to create legitimate deductions, buying investments that offer depreciation like real estate and oil, and finding the best CPA to give you advice.
The managing-a-dollar formula that the millionaires follow is: minimize the tax liabilities, allocate parts of it to build your financial foundation, decrease the percentage of earned-income that you spend until it is zero, and forge the discipline to consistently follow this routine. Now, at what age do you wish that you had learned this material? At what age do you think you should start exposing your children to these ideas? The correct answer is: as early as possible (and when they start getting an allowance at the very latest).
Who Else Needs A Gimmick-Free Approach To Financial Freedom And
Who Else Needs A Gimmick-Free Approach To Financial Freedom And Success?
We all have some common problems which are very serious. By this article I would like to raise the awareness and then propose a solution which will be beneficial to anyone who’s interested. Please allow me first to create the context for this:
It is clear to all of us that we live in a troubled world. We can all agree on that. Whether we are talking about individuals, organizations, systems or governments, it seems that the rule of law, the concepts of traditional values, decency and respect are all being pushed aside in favor of short term gain, control and easy or quick enrichment regardless of the consequences.
How do we manage in such a ‘dog eat dog’ world?
It seems that there are two general concepts we must embrace to not only survive, but to thrive in such a lawless and threatening environment;
A) We must ‘Get Ahead’
B) We must then find a way to ‘Stay Ahead’
Lord knows that when you look around and read the headlines that are telling us:
======
terrorism is rising
the tax man’s appetite is becoming more voracious
huge banks are reporting losses in the billions
the trillion $$ mortgage industry is upside down
big brother is tightening his grip
jobs are being exported
credit is tightening
recession is looming
…this environment spells trouble for the masses. If you are one of the masses, you are in trouble! The masses have virtually no ability to help themselves with individual creativity and independence so they look to government for help and the cycle or dependence intensifies and trend worsens. God help us all !
So what’s a person to do to escape from the herd of lemmings diving off the cliff?
First, you must re-align your thinking in a way that creates a new paradigm for complete self reliance. Nothing short of complete personal independence and sovereignty will do. This is paramount. Continue doing what you’ve been doing and you’ll continue getting what you’ve always been getting. You MUST break from the ‘herd’ mentality.
Then, you need to immerse yourself in the knowledge that you will need to acquire the skills required for the job. This knowledge will enable you to accomplish your goals and feed your new paradigms of personal self reliance. This will involve and include new ways of doing business, managing finances, creating wealth, preserving wealth, accumulating savings and resources much faster than ‘conventional wisdom’ would ever allow. But that’s only the finances part. You must also break free from the pharmacological medical monopoly that ensures poor health. You must break free from the legal entanglements that ensure your slavery and the list continues.
Do this and you have at least started the process in an important way.
The problem is the ‘how’, right? Or maybe the ‘where’ as in ‘Where’ do you find the resources, the people, the mentors the knowledge systems and support for such a massive personal transformation?
I won’t beat around the bush. Here is where you do it if you’re serious about getting results as soon as possible: The Venture Resources Group. Get with your referring member and get started now, so you can attend the live conference coming up soon in Panama.
Unfortunately, not everyone is ready financially for The VR Group. It’s an exclusive program and we recognize that it takes some preparation and financial capability to benefit right away.
This is where my Special Announcement comes into play.
I am very pleased to announce that VR Group has formed an alliance with the Continental Savings Club which accomplishes the following for you;
You can start learning about what freedom requires taking some small beginning steps.
You can start associating with like minded individuals for next to nothing
You can start putting yourself in position to crank up your financial prowess with everything to gain and nothing to lose.
You can position yourself to participate in VRG (a $1500 program) for only $99 one time.
With the Continental Savings Club you can easily share this critically important news with virtually anybody you care about.
Follow traditional thinking and you are in trouble! Conventional wisdom is not cutting it. You either break yourself free from ‘business as usual’ or you go down with the ship and risk your family’s future with you. The ball is in your court! It’s all up to you and the decisions you make for yourself.
We invite you now, to participate in the Continental Savings Club. It’s simple, it’s easy, anybody can benefit.
Check it out for yourself.
Opportunity is knocking !
Mortgage Refinancing: how it can help you
When people talk about refinancing their mortgage, they are usually talking about swapping their old mortgage at a high interest rate with a new mortgage at a lower interest rate. With rates lower on 15 and 30 year fixed rate mortgages by around a whole half a percent, many families have been taking advantage of rate refinancing. A half of a percent, or 50 basis points(.50), may not sound too significant, but when compounded out over a year, or many years for that matter, you can be looking at a savings of several thousand dollars or several tens of thousands of dollars. So you many want to inquire with you loan holder about refinancing if current rates are lower than the rate that is on your loan documentation.
Refinancing can also be used to do what is known as cash out refinancing. With this type of financial transaction, you need to have access to equity in your home. As an example, if you owe $100,000 on a $300,000 mortgage, you have $200,000 of equity. You can take out $200,000, pay off the remaining $100,000, and the use the remaining money for whatever you like, such as home repairs or additions. Whether or not you’ll be able to take out a full $200,000 depends on the institution that you do business with.
In some instances you may be able to eliminate your private mortgage insurance premiums by refinancing. If when you took out a loan for your home, you were not able to come up with a twenty percent down payment, you could currently be paying private mortgage insurance(PMI). However, if the equity in your home is now more than that twenty percent, you should ask your loan holder if upon refinancing the PMI will be eliminated.
People also refinance to get out of an adjustable rate mortgage(ARM) and into a fixed rate mortgage. Often times one opts for an ARM when rates are low and look good, but the future of rates is uncertain. Now, that fixed rates are relatively low, it may be advantageous to switch into a fixed rate mortgage if you want to know exactly what you will need to pay each month for the life of your loan. One can also attempt to refinance the length of their loan to save money on interest payments in the long term. If a family has a 40 year mortgage,and their incomes have risen in recent years, it may be beneficial to refinance into a 30 year mortgage to pay less interest over the life of a loan.
Another very interesting way to use a home equity loan is to consolidate credit card debt and make credit card interest a tax deduction for yourself. You can potentially save yourself a lot of headaches if you use your home equity to help alleviate the pain caused by credit cards. But, you should consults a financial professional to see if this is a reality for your situation.