IQ Home Buying Guide

Part I. Planning—Doing Your Homework before Looking for a Home

Income and Expenses Worksheet

Use this calculator or download the pdf file. Enter the information in steps 1, 3 and 5, then click Calculate.

1. Monthly income
Wages, salaries, tips
Interest
Dividends
Other income

Total Gross Monthly Income (GMI)

2. Conventional allowable percentage of income for housing expense
28% of GMI (0.28 x GMI)
36% of GMI (0.36 x GMI)

3. Monthly Expenses to pay debt
Auto loans
Student loans
Other loans
Credit card payments
Other loan payments

Total Monthly Debt Service

4. Amount Available for Total PITI Mortgage Monthly Expense Subtract current debt service from allowable percentage of income for housing expense
28% GMI figure minus debt service
36% GMI figure minus debt service

Use our mortgage calculators to see the price range of affordable mortgages.

5. Double check this estimate against your actual expenses and available income. For the most realistic figures, double check this estimate using your actual monthly expenses.

Other Monthly Expenses
Taxes
Food
Utilities
Electricity, water, natural gas, phones, fuel oil, etc.
Life Insurance
Health Insurance
Auto Insurance
Auto expenses (gas, repairs, etc.)
Other transportation (tolls, fares)
Medical expenses (not covered by insurance)
Child care
Alimony or child support
Education
Clothing
Recreation/Entertainment
Health/Fitness Club (gym)
Meals out
Vacations
Charity
Retirement
Other living expenses (toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.)
Miscellaneous (anything else not accounted for)

Total Monthly Expenses

Now subtract this figure from your gross monthly income
GMI minus monthly expenses

How does the result—your income after these expenses—compare to the figures in Step 4: "Amount Available for Total PITI Mortgage Monthly Expense"? This figure should be greater than your 28% figure in Step 4 and ideally greater than the 36% figure. If it is smaller than the 28% then you will need to lower the amount you have available for mortgage expenses to at least this figure but to an even lower figure if you want to have any disposable income.

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