Understanding and Managing Your Finances
Classes, Activities and Consultations
The following classes prepare first-time homebuyers for understanding and managing your finances. Each applicant is required to complete eight hours of financial classes and activities. Five of the eight hours of required classes will be spent on the first three topics. Applicants can choose the topics they wish to learn more about for the last three hours of their requirement from additional topics listed below.
Required Classes, Activities and Consultations
Determining What You can Afford
Outcomes: At the end of this set of activities, you will have
- Identified your monthly expenses
- Understood why 30% of your income is the most you should be paying for housing (mortgage, taxes, insurance)
- Identified what you can afford for monthly housing costs
- Learned what price range of houses you can afford
Required Assignment: Submit the completed CFPB Define Affordable worksheet
How You Meet this Requirement:
- Complete the CFPB Define Affordable worksheet and review with KAH mentor
- Consult with a lender the house cost you can afford and add that information to your Define Affordable worksheet with the lender’s name.
Resources and worksheets
Understanding and Improving Your Credit Score
Outcomes: At the end of this set of activities, you will have
- Learned how your credit score is calculated
- Learned what credit score you need to secure a loan
- Understood the importance of good credit
- Identified your credit scores from the major three reporting companies
- Identified any debt or issues on your credit report and a game plan for resolving them
- Identified strategies to help you improve your credit score
Required Assignment: Submit to KAH your credit report with three credit scores with your detailed game plan including actions and a timeline for improving your score.
How You Meet this Requirement:
- Read online articles and view videos
- View Amanda Wallace’s video about understanding and improving your credit score
- Consult with a lender to review your credit reports and listen to his/her advice on how to improve your score
- Submit your three credit reports with the lenders recommendations and your game plan for improving your credit scores.
Creating Your Family Budget
Outcomes: At the end of this set of activities, you will have
- Tracked your weekly expenses
- Identified your monthly expenses and income
- Identified your once a year expenses (insurance, taxes, annual maintenance)
- Identified areas to decrease spending
- Created a balanced budget
- Understood why having a budget assists you in making financial decisions
Required Assignment: Submission of Make a Budget worksheet and consultation with KAH representative to discuss your budget
How You Meet this Requirement:
- Take a budgeting class:
- Complete the Make a Budget worksheet
Resources and worksheets
Additional Workshop Topics
Applicants must submit the required assignments for at least three of these topics.
Getting Started with Banking
Outcomes: At the end of this set of activities, you will have
- Identified benefits of banking
- Researched local banks for the services they provided and the cost of those services
- Identified the bank that best met your needs
Required Assignment: Submission of Getting Started with Banking worksheet
How You Meet this Requirement:
- View or read resources
- Complete the Getting Started with Banking worksheet
Managing Your Debt
Outcomes: At the end of this set of activities, you will have
- Identified your debt
- Evaluated your use of credit cards
- Identified
- ways to reduce debt
Required Assignment: Submission of Managing Your Debt worksheet
How You Meet this Requirement:
- View or read resources
- Complete the Managing Your Debt worksheet
Resources and worksheets
Managing Your Debt Worksheet
Managing Your Debt
Outcomes: At the end of this set of activities, you will have
- Identified your debt
- Evaluated your use of credit cards
- Identified
- ways to reduce debt
Required Assignment: Submission of Managing Your Debt worksheet
How You Meet this Requirement:
- View or read resources
- Complete the Managing Your Debt worksheet
Resources and worksheets
Managing Your Debt Worksheet
Other Topics Under Development
- Using Credit Cards
Making Good Loan Decisions
Investing in Savings
Teaching your Kids How to Manage Money
