Course Content
Introduction
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Economics for Life

The biggest mistake people make in buying a home is to buy a more expensive house than they can afford. This, of course, means that they will take out a bigger mortgage than they can afford. The mortgage payment on the house is the gauge of how expensive a house you can qualify for. A qualified loan is one where the total debt payments-to-total income ratio is no more than 43%. However, just because you qualify for a certain loan size does not mean you should buy the most expensive house you can. There are maintenance expenses on the house and other expenses you need to consider. Seriously review your household budget and include the mortgage payment and expenses. Then decide what monthly mortgage payment you are comfortable with. Do not forget to consider the tax savings on the mortgage interest in your budget.