My wife and I are in the midst of a search for our first home. As first time home buyers, there is a lot of information for us to process about mortgages, interest rates, closing costs, and a bunch of other stuff. It can be overwhelming at times, I won’t lie, but it is also an experience that can be exciting as you look to find a space that will be a positive influence on you, your family, and your future.

As I’ve tried to learn as much as I can about this whole process, I found this mortgage calculator to be super helpful, especially the monthly payment calculator since a big priority for us to make sure our monthly household budget can either stay the same or be lower since our rent is currently fairly high. This tool can help easily tinker around with the numbers to see what is going to work for our family.

There is an abundance of information on the site that also helps spell out all of the complexities of home buying, and can be a great place to start if you’re thinking about this next big life step. I know this has helped me to feel a little less anxious about it all, and a lot more excited about being able to have a space where I can work, play, and relax with my family.

Buying a home is a big investment, and you need to be knowledgeable about as much as you can so that you’re making an informed decision about what to buy, where, and for how much.