All posts by Calculator

Qualifying For a Home Loan

Before you can purchase a dream home, you need to first qualify for a home loan. Having a grasp at how they work will all but ensure that you are entitled for a home loan.

Lenders will consider two criterias when evaluating if you are able to qualify for a home loan: your financial means to repay the loan and your inclination to repay it.

Ability To Repay

Your ability to repay a home loan affects your chances of securing one
The very first thing a lender will consider is whether you can repay the loan in which you’ve applied for. The lender then looks at your current employment. Have you been working at your current job for at least two years or at least in the same field for a few years? This helps gives the lender assurance that you have a steady flow of income, and its a bonus when qualifying for a home loan.

The lender will also check your overall income and compare it to your debts, before calculating your estimated monthly mortgage payment. You’ll need to have adequate income to pay off these payments comfortably. This shows your ability to repay the home loan successfully when qualifying for a home loan. Should the lender find your debt commitment to be too high, you will most likely qualify for a smaller loan and likely be to charged a higher interest rate for your mortgage. For that reason, its imperative to pay off as much of your debts as possible before considering a home loan.

Willingness To Repay


The last and final step at qualifying for a home loan is accessing your ability to repay the loan. Lenders decide this through checking out how much debt you’ve paid off through the years, and it is why lenders ask for your credit report.

If you have diligently paid them off with on-time payments, it will greatly help you. The lender will also ask for the reason for buying a particular property. If you decide to stay there, it is increasingly likely that you’ll honor and repay the loan.

The lender may then request for a comprehensive financial outlook of your life – your salary, assets, credit report and additional info – when qualifying for a home loan. When you submit all the required information and the lender is able to confirm it, it shows the lender that you can repay the loan. You’ll then be able to greatly increase your chances of successfully securing a home loan.

Accessing Your Weight and Health Risk

Your weight and health can be broken down into three categories:

  • Body mass index (BMI)
  • Waist diameter
  • Risk factors for diseases and conditions linked with obesity

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is a handy tool for measuring overweight and obesity. It can calculated with your weight and height. In a gist, BMI is a good indicator for diagnosing body fat percentage and potential diseases. They include heart attack, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney stones, respiratory issues and cancer.

Gain a healthy weight, reap the benefits

Even though BMI can be used for both sexes, it isn’t without its limits.

  • It might overestimate body fat in sportsmen and people who possess a muscular frame.
  • It might underestimate body fat in the elderly and people who have lost muscle.

Use the BMI Calculator to gauge your body fat level. The BMI score can be broken down such as follows:

BMI
Underweight Below 18.5
Normal 18.5 – 24.9
Overweight 25.0 – 29.9
Obesity 30.0 and Above


It’s in the waist?

Checking your waist circumference helps you screen for potential health risks that may arise from being overweight and obese. Should most of your fat be contained at your waist compared to your hips, you’ll be at a significant risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk rises exponentially for waist sizes higher than 35 inches for women or higher than 40 inches for men. To measure your waist precisely, stand and begin measuring the area over?your hipbones. Start measuring your waist after exhaling.

A guide on whether your BMI and waist diameter could put you at risk from obesity diseases can be found here. It’s best to know beforehand as it can help prevent any untoward medical conditions.

People who are overweight or obese are at a higher risk for heart disease and other ailments. These risk factors are:

  • High blood pressure (hypertension)
  • High LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)
  • Low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol)
  • High triglycerides
  • High blood glucose (sugar)
  • Family history of premature heart disease
  • Physical inactivity
  • Cigarette smoking

For people who are obese with a BMI (above or equivalent to 30) or overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) and possess two or more risk factors, it is imperative that you lose weight. It may not seem like much, but a small weight loss (in the range of 5 to 10 percent of your current weight) will work in your favor to lowering the risk of developing diseases connected with obesity.

Seek the advice of your doctor to determine whether you’re at a possible risk of developing potential obesity related issues and whether you need to lose weight. Your doctor will assess your BMI, measure your waist and other risk factors for heart disease.

The best bit? Even a marginal weight loss (that ranges between 5 to 10 percent of your current weight) will greatly lessen your chance from getting those diseases.

Using Your Body To Estimate Length

Contrary to popular belief, many everyday life math applications don’t actually require complex calculations or precise solutions. Should you need to measure an approximate length, but don’t have a measuring tape in sight, do note that you always have a trusty one nearby; your body. Yes, your ever dependable body can function as a quick length gauge should the need arise. Say goodbye to looking for that crumpled tape measure, and start measuring things your way.

The ever trusty hand: The average of your palm measures about 4 inches, or 10 centimeters.

Put your best foot forward: Your foot measures at about 12 inches in length.

Your forearm from elbow to fingertip: Your extended forearm measures about 1.5 feet. That’s 46 centimeters for you.

From nose to your fingertips: The space between from your nose to your fingertips when your arms are outstretched is around a yard (36 inches). A tried and tested measurement method back in the day; your grandmother may have used it.

The space of one complete stride: Also known as a pace, it measures around 58 inches, just short of 6 feet. Back in the Roman empire, they relied on this particular unit of measurement, you can too!

These substitute measurements are meant to be used as estimates and shouldn’t be taken as a precise measurement. To help you gauge a more accurate measurement with the use of your body is to know the width of your palm, the length of your feet and so forth. Through proper usage, you can start making more accurate measurements in the future. Whoever said you had to have a measuring with you at all times?

Give yourself a pat on the back for being a human ruler!

Through the ages, people have been utilizing their bodies as a means to measure length estimates. Now so can you!

5 Essential Ways You Can Use To Save That Ringgit

Smart Ways To Save Your Ringgit

Struggling to look for ways on how you can save your money? With the ever dire financial situation in Malaysia, you’re not alone. Which is why we have compiled five ways for you to make the most of your hard earned Ringgit. The following money saving tips are:

Nothing like a home cooked meal

Tired of eating outside and having to fork out your hard earned cash? Start making a concerted effort in preparing home cooked meals. Choose to have breakfast at home instead or pack it and bring your lunch to make the most of your savings. Avoid the temptation to eat outside and cook your own dinner instead. Apart from offering you massive savings over time, packing your own meals also brings health benefits with it. Double the satisfaction!

Monitor your spending

Yes, while it may be inconvenient to track down all your expenses on a consistent basis, you will be surprised at how the little spendings can snowball and amount to something substantial. Listing down your monthly expenses in a concise manner can give you an understanding on where the most cost heavy ones lie and how to work around on reducing it. To help you do that in an engaging manner, be sure to download the many budget apps that are available for both the App Store and Google App Store.

Be more thrifty, go with generic brands

Let’s face it; you don’t really need the most expensive household items to get the basics done. Essentials such as powder detergent, cooking oil and toiletries may vary quite differently in prices depending on brands but more often than not they are similar in quality. Start shopping smartly to get the most bang for your buck.

Make smarter, spending choices

Don’t give in to your shopping urges. Yes, deals and promotions may be ever aplenty in Malaysia but you should practice discipline when it comes to your spending. If it’s not a necessity, and not something that you actually need (don’t fool yourself) then choosing to say no would be the smarter choice. Just because an item may be on sale doesn’t mean you should get it. This is ever more essential as the current economic situation in our country isn’t improving; the cost of goods just keeps rising!

Cut Access Expenses

Dread the feeling of looking at your bank account only to see your savings ever dwindling? It doesn’t have to be that way. Avoid the temptation to watch every blockbuster or Happy Hour sessions that your colleagues are into. Choosing to stay in every now and then can work wonders in helping you save some much needed money. Have a look at your social habits and monthly expenses to see where you can make adjustments (gym membership, more affordable mobile plan) in order to really stretch your Ringgit.