If you are one of the NFL players whose career lasted long enough to qualify for NFL pension benefits you will need to decide when to begin drawing your pension. Although the NFL retirement plan defines normal retirement age as 55 years old, many players begin drawing their pensions early.
The standard industry recommendation for mortgage payments is that no more than 28 percent of your gross income should go to your monthly payments. To calculate this, simply multiply your annual, gross income by .28 and divide by 12.
A general rule in qualifying for a home mortgage is that your debt-to-income ratio be no higher than 28/36 percent on conventional loans and 31/43 percent on Federal Housing Authority (FHA) loans. Ratios above this may mean that you will be denied credit or subjected to a higher mortgage interest rate.