Mind Your Mortgage

When I bought my first car, I made the novice's mistake of telling the salesman what I wanted my monthly payment to be, rather than focusing on getting the best cost of the car first. Needless to say, I got those low monthly payments, but at a high interest rate and higher total vehicle cost than was necessary. This mistake is repeated daily in the housing market -- with far more disastrous results.

Although this type of book is rather far outside my comfortable, mystery genre, I'm so glad I read it. In Mind Your Mortgage, Mr. Bernabe outlines the right process for making financial decisions surrounding your most expensive asset (or liability): your home. For example, he demonstrates the massive 417% return on investment for paying an extra $1,200 on your mortgage in lieu of buying that big screen TV that sparkles so invitingly. The text is filled with common sense guidelines, excellent examples of why those rules exist, and gimmicks to recognize and avoid. Like Crown Ministries, this book underlines an appropriate relationship with money, so we don't become slaves to debt. Moreover, the book offers suggestions to gain your freedom if you have already sunken into financial difficulty.

Whether you are about to buy your first home or your fifth, this handy guide demystifies the process of home-buying. Vocabulary is well-defined, steps in the process of obtaining a good loan are well-documented, and tactics to prepare you for all-important conversations with loan personnel are provided. Keep this book right on the living room bookcase, so it is close at hand.