Recent mortgage rates trends have defied all long-range predictions. Back in '07, when mortgage rates were sliding down towards 6%, all the pundits were saying that it couldn't last much longer. I mean we were talking mortgage rates lower than had been seen at any time since the oil price shocks to inflation in the early 1970s.

In low interest times, everyone's attention turns to high yield investments. When you have become accustomed to getting 6% or even 8% on your cash at call, a sudden drop to 4% is painful. It can be tempting to look farther afield than cash management accounts. Don't get me wrong - you should definitely diversify in any case. But avoid the temptation to swing a sizeable portion of your capital into corporate bonds, debentures, and securitization funds.

There is nothing more confusing than military retirement pay - except possibly corporate tax deductions. And maybe working out how to split the restaurant bill after several bottles of wine ... Things used to be simple when it came to retirement pay - you put in 20 years, and you got 50 percent of your base pay immediately upon retirement.

It's easy to explain mortgage insurance - you just need to remember that mortgage insurance is not insurance for you, the borrower. Mortgage insurance exists to protect the mortgage lender. If we are to explain mortgage insurance in simple terms, compare it with something a bit more concrete - car insurance, for example, or home insurance.

Mortgage rates predictions - they used to be so simple! The financial chaos of the past year has significantly clouded the crystal ball when it comes to mortgage rates predictions.My mortgage rates...

"How much can I borrow?" Mortgage payments are a huge part of our regular financial commitments, and most lenders have strict limits on measures such as the percentage of your income that you can spend making your mortgage repayments, the size of your downpayment, and the amount of other debt you are carrying.