During the past decade, lenders and the media had us believe that affordability simply meant qualifying to buy it with a loan. Of course, that era ended with dire consequences, so that can't be right. What is true affordability anyway? Can you spot it if you come across it?

This is a guest post from William Eve, William Eve writes about saving money, mortgages and real estate for HomeLoanFinder. Compare different mortgage products on the HomeLoanFinder website to find the right mortgage for your first home.
It has become increasingly harder in these troubled economic times for young people to afford to buy their first home without financial help from their parents.

American banks have cut back on lending to small businesses since the banking crisis of 2008. Despite government efforts to get banks lending again, small business financing credit is still hard to come-by.

As parents, you should know one thing that it is never too early to open saving accounts for your kids.And the best time for opening a saving account is the time when they are first born.If you open a saving account for your babies when they were born, Grandfather, Grandmother, and other relatives shall be happy to contribute money to such saving accounts.

This is a guest post from Mariusz Skonieczny,who is the founder and president of Classic Value Investors, LLC, an investment management company. He is also the author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market.