|
|
[Guest article]
If you have your heart set on a rugged new Jeep or practical used Volvo, you’ll need to think about how to pay for it most effectively. For car buyers on a budget, it’s important to compare all financing options carefully to find the best rates. The out-of-pocket costs can vary significantly between buying a used car, buying a new car, or leasing a car, even if you’re essentially driving away with the same model. Yet long-term costs must also be looked at to get a sense of whether a financing plan is suitable or not. To find the most agreeable terms, it’s best to weigh all of these options carefully.
Buying New
Buying a new car will involve a high out-of-pocket cost. You’ll be responsible for paying a higher down payment than the other two options, and monthly repayments will most likely be higher. In addition, you must factor in the cost of depreciation. The value of a new car drops sharply during the first three years of ownership, which means that if you want to trade it in during this time you may find that you have to take a financial hit. However, there are certainly psychological benefits to buying a new car and you may benefit from manufacturer warranties and discounts. You can modify your new car whenever you wish, and sell it whenever you are ready to move on.
Buying Used
Buying a used car offers many of the same advantages as buying a new one, but it also means that you’ll be able to pay less up front. You can compare used models at carsales.com.au to find a slightly used Jeep in like-new condition, while saving a bundle on the sticker price. Although your monthly payments will be lower, you may have to pay more in service and maintenance depending on the condition of your vehicle. However, you’ll make up for this with less depreciation, because the car will already have dropped in value if it’s used. With both new and used cars, you can drive your car as often as you want without penalty, and trade it in as desired.
Leasing
Leasing a car is often an attractive option for buyers who don’t have very much cash to spend up front. The deposit and monthly payments are usually the lowest with this financing option, and depreciation isn’t a factor. The downside is that at the end of your contract you don’t have the benefit of selling your car, because it is never yours. You may be able to leverage equity or purchase the car at a low price, depending on your leasing contract. Furthermore, routine maintenance is usually covered in a leasing contract. Yet insurance for a leased car tends to be higher, which may negate this benefit.
Finally, it’s important to remember that there will be a great deal of variation within all three of these financing options. The length of the repayment contract, the interest rates, and the terms and conditions will all depend on your dealer. Whether you plan to buy or lease your next car, be sure to shop around to find the best rates.
[The following is a guest post]
When you decide that you want to sell your house, it can seem like a daunting process even after you have made the decision to take that step. It is a big decision to make and should be given lots of thought about why it is that you’re doing it, and if there is anything that you think you could do instead.
It can be hard to know that you’re getting a good deal, and exactly how you should go about getting the sale that you’re after, and each of these options has the potential to impact differently on your finances by how much it will cost you, and how much you could gain from selling your property by using this method.
Take the time to think about each of them, and consider which one that you think could work best for you, in terms of both your finances and your desired time frame.
Using an estate agent
You could decide that you want to use an estate agent to help you with the process. You will have to pay the estate agents commission when they help you to sell your house, but some may ask for a set fee. However, the will help you by providing you with a valuation for it, and help to arrange and run any viewings, as well as helping with advertising it.
Get valuations from more than one estate agent to see how much they think the property is worth. Look it to the contracts that they are offering you, and find out how long it is for and what would happen if you decided that you wanted to leave early. Try not to just decide who to go with based on the valuation they suggest and ask what they think your asking price should be.
Selling privately
Deciding to sell your home privately without using an estate agent means that you save money on their commission fees and will not be in a contract. However, it can mean that you have to do a lot of the work for yourself, like coming up with a valuation, taking the photograph and marketing the property for yourself. This can get quite stressful, so weigh up the pros and cons of doing this to see if it will fit in to your schedule. If you can, talk to others who have done this and see how they found the process.
Quick house sales with a house buying company
Sometimes, things can happen if life that mean you have to sell your house quickly. Companies like House Buyer Bureau, can value your house buy it speedily, often with around four weeks if not sooner. Look up a few companies and choose with care to make sure that you are getting a good deal because this is usually done at a discount price on the property value. Sometimes, the original offer that you are offered by some companies may need to be changed at the last minute, so decide if speed is more important than the amount of money you make.
Regardless of how well you’ve planned and prepared for the bumps in the road, there are times when financial emergencies seem overwhelming. However, there are techniques which can be employed to help make these difficult times a little less chaotic.
Sit Down, and Think
The very first step to take when you find yourself in a financial crisis is to turn off the panic button, sit down, and think through the situation. It could be that upon reflection things aren’t quite as bad as they seem. To the contrary, after you’ve mulled the situation over, it could be every bit as bad as you thought. Regardless, panicking will not help improve your circumstances while a well-thought out plan will.
Put Your Financial Ducks in a Row
Once you’ve calmed down, it’s time to prioritize your finances so that the most important bills are getting paid first. Always make sure to pay the mortgage or rent, utilities, and insurance before anything else. If there isn’t enough money to go to cable, credit cards, and other miscellaneous creditors, at least your home and immediate needs aren’t at risk.
Also, it isn’t a bad idea to evaluate the bills that you are paying out and eliminate what you can. Does your family really need four high end cell phones and a home phone? Don’t confuse wanting with needing. You need to be financially stable while you may want to keep up with the Jones’.
Call Your Creditors
Often, people wait until they are severely behind in their bills to contact a creditor. That is the absolute worst thing to do. Lenders benefit when you pay your bills, and they are far more likely to help you reach a payment level that you can afford before you are delinquent. Simply call when you see that your finances are coming up short, and ask what options are open to you to relieve some of your financial burden.
Open Your Eyes to Extra Cash
You’ve got cash all over your home, and you don’t even know it. So often, the obvious is overlooked. Do you really need six winter coats? When is the last time your kids played with that ping pong table? Really look around you, and assess all of the belongings that you have that are simply collecting dust. Put those belongings to much better use by selling them!
Following the above guidelines will help you to stay afloat during your financial disaster. They will also help you to get back on your feet quicker.
We would like to wish you a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday and the time to truly enjoy it with your friends and family. May you find much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
- The ELYM Team
It’s that time of year again. Time for everyone to go bananas about getting good deals on stuff they don’t need, just in time for Christmas! I hate the overall focus on buying, buying, buying, this time of year. While we’ve picked up a few things that we NEEDED during previous Black Fridays, overall we try to avoid the whole thing each year.
This year we’ve decided to try to put more of a focus on experiences. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on items that will get used initially and then cast aside, we are hoping to create lifelong experiences instead. I’m going to take my wife to a concert and am planning on taking my daughter to a sporting event. This approach also fits nicely with one of our other desires to have less of an impact on the planet. Yes, I know that sounded awfully “tree huggish” but we do really want to lessen our overall impact on the natural resources of our planet. Of course, we will buy a few things to have under the tree, because, while I know my daughter will be excited for the experience, I also know she’s 10 years old and would like a few toys as well.
On a completely separate note, we are continuing to do well with our retirement planning and focusing on accumulating assets. It’s amazing to see how money makes more money. Now that we’ve amassed a pretty healthy investment portfolio, it’s cool to see the gains on those investments starting to rival our contributions. I think we’ve finally hit the point where we could pretty much stop contributing to our investments and still end up with a reasonably healthy retirement income. Of course we won’t stop contributing, but it’s nice to know that all that early work of contributing as much as we could, will make things easier for our last 15 years of working. If we can continue with our same jobs until we hit retirement age, we should have no trouble maintaining our lifestyle. Even if we get experience an unexpected job loss, I think we should still be in pretty good shape during our retirement years. If I could go back and thank my wife and I in our 20’s, I definitely would.
|
|
