WSJ Personal Finance Essay Example

[Writer Nаme]
[Supervisor Nаme]
[Dаte]

The article “How Much You Should Spend on a Home” is a guide to either buy a home or rent one, depending upon the individual needs and requirements. It states that buying a home is a difficult task which involves a huge amount of investment with monthly installments of the loan that is taken from a bank or lender companies. Spending on a house involves a hefty expenditure which can leave one with less money for other expenses such as retirement, health, vacation and other issues. The article states that before making a decision about the house it is imperative to decide whether one wants to purchase a house or rent one. The rental decision is good if one wants to live in that place for a short period of time. The renters can easily shift to other places if they do not like that place, and it is easier to live because rental residence does not involve payment of lawn care, home maintenance or repairs. On the other hand, if one purchases a home, he will have to pay for all the major repairs, home maintenance cost and expenditures and other issues that involve managing the household chores. If one plans to stay at one place for a longer time period than, investing in, purchasing a home is a good choice. Even though the rates of real estate housing fluctuate dramatically, but still once stable, it can give a good return (Buying a Home, p.1).
If one has decided that he should plan at home, the affordability factors play an integral role in decision making because the final decision is taken as per budget. Many lending institutions insist that one should not spend more than 28 percent of his income in mortgaging because moving into the house involves file transfer fees, home transferring, leasing, etc. When the budget has been set, it is important to survey the market and decide upon the locality taking into consideration the locality, school, hospital, supermarket and neighborhood of the place where one intends to purchase home. This decision is related to the financial planning process because the issues that are discussed above are completely personal and based on individual requirements (Buying a Home, p.1).
The process of financial planning focuses on financial factors and other psychological issues that may impact the future financial and other objectives. The financial planning process helps in providing a long-term futuristic approach on the financial concerns and helps in taking into consideration every aspect of finance that is imperative to consider at an individual level. In the financial planning process, it is important that one is able to identify their current situation and by collecting all the personal financial facts and figures. Then it is important to identify the financial position where one wants to be and the budget that can be allocated to purchasing a property – in this article home. Once these decisions are taken a final decision must be taken and periodically reviewed to monitor the progress (Buying a Home, p.1).
The financial planning process has serious implication in my personal financial life because being a student, I have to pay my education fees and due to which I have to work extra hours so that my fees does not become burdensome for me or any other family member. This involves vigilant planning and time allocation so that my work and education life both goes unaffected.

Work Cited

Buying a Home “ How Much You Should Spend on a Home, The Wall Street Journal, (2013), p.1. http://guides.wsj.com/personal-finance/buying-a-home/how-much-you-should-spend-on-a-home/