Setting Up Your Home

You have a house, but you need to make it comfortable to live in. Buying furniture and home entertainment can get extremely pricey, depending on how you want to furnish your home.

Furniture

There are many furniture outlets and wholesalers across the country that offer their own lines of credit. Some offer 12 month financing as low as 2.5%. Let's say, for example, you have $5,000 saved to furnish your home. If you buy home furnishings that come to $5,000, you only need to pay the applicable taxes and the interest charges at the time of purchase - in this case, at 2.5%, the interest would be $125. If you took the $5,000 you have saved and invested it in a GIC or Term Deposit, it could earn up to 5%, which would come to $250 over 12 months. That means you could save a total of $125 over all.

If you don't have the money at the time you buy, and have to apply the payments over an extended period - longer than the 12 month period originally agreed on - it can become a very costly arrangement. Look over any agreement carefully before you sign it and be cautious of hidden charges.

Home Computer

Computers are more and more becoming a part of our everyday lives. The technology is growing so quickly that it can be hard to keep up; it seems that as soon as you buy a product, it becomes obsolete. The most important thing to consider when purchasing a home computer is asking yourself what you need it to do. A lot of people only use a computer to word process and email. Do some research before you purchase so you don't end up buying more than you need

If you do need to be up on all the latest advances, you may want to consider leasing your home computer. This option can seem expensive at first, but if you take into account the rate of depreciation, it becomes an economically viable way to stay on top of the industry.

A Line of Credit

To set-up your home the way you want, you may need to borrow some money. Talk to us at Valley Credit Union about a line of credit; it's a good way to take only the money you need, and get it when you need it.