Tag: pay bills

Buying a home is a priority for many couples, but bad credit scores often thwart the plans of prospective home buyers. If you have a credit score below 700 with a high debt-to-income ratio (above 30 percent) and you’re applying for a loan worth more than 78 percent of the value of your desired home, your chances of getting a mortgage are only 68 percent, according to an Urban Institute study. This means that your odds of being turned down are nearly one in three.

When I proposed to my bride-to-be many years ago, finances were not the highest priority on my mind. However, within weeks following our exchange of vows, economic considerations appeared. With things to buy, bills to pay and monetary decisions to consider, money quickly became important. As matters turned out, I was lucky. I married a woman with a sense of financial responsibility. My wife also lucked out; she didn’t marry the last of the big spenders. I suppose neither of us can take credit for our brilliant stewardship, as we came by our frugal traits naturally.

You do the laundry. You don't mind doing the laundry. It's kind of a relaxing thing for you. You drift and think about your day, think about how you're going to resolve that situation at work tomorrow, remember a funny thing you heard on the radio earlier, as you pull a load out of the dryer, fold it and begin sorting another load.

"Why are you doing it that way?" your husband asks. "Huh?" you respond, still in your quasi-meditative sorting-laundry state. "Why are you sorting the darks that way?" he asks, more insistent now. "I don't know," you say, staring down at an uneven pile of dark socks and black T-shirts.