There it is again. That once-a-month unsettling feeling. It’s not your ovulation cycle. It’s your monthly financial cycle making you nauseous. It’s that nagging feeling that accompanies the deadline for your rent check. Who’s getting rich off your rent? Are you wasting money when you should be building equity? And what the heck IS equity, anyway?
However noble and responsible those questions are, if you’re anything like I was before I got hitched and bought a house, you quickly file them away in the “I’ll think about that next month” drawer. Besides, the pizza deliveryman is on the way, and “Sex and the City” re-runs are on demand. Renter’s paradise, right?
But if you’re lingering over the neighborhood home guide, you might as well educate yourself on how to save for your first home. We interviewed consultant and women’s financial expert Deana Arnett for tips on when you’re ready for your own home and how in the heck to get the process started. (First, turn off Carrie Bradshaw. She’s a bad influence. Her shoes and handbags alone would cover half a dozen mortgage payments.) Keep reading »