(5)Handle Your Personal Finance Easily
All too often people make the mistake of thinking that they
are capable of handling their own finances without any worries at all.
However, in most cases people learn rather quickly they cannot handle
their own finances without help or assistance from anyone else. However,
with some simple tips and advice people can now be assured that they can
handle their personal finances quite easily.
College students are usually the worst people at managing their money and
they need the most assistance. Some college students are away from home
for the first time and they are eager to start spending their money on the
various things that they want. Here are some tips that can help these
people handle their money better and make it last longer. When you are in
college it is very important to make your money stretch as far as it can.
There are some simple rules to personal finance that are intended to help
and if used correctly they will lead you on your way to financial comfort
and freedom.
1. You should always put money away for an emergency. The recommended
amount of time that you should save money is anywhere between six months
to a year. This should be put into an account in which you cannot withdraw
money for a specified amount of time or for a specific reason. By having
the money in such an account you know it will be there any time you need
it.
2. You should always pay off credit cards that have the highest interest
rates first. While doing this you can continue to make the minimum payment
on the card that has lower interest rate while paying a little more each
month on the higher card.
3. If you are not sure where you are spending all of your money then it
might be a good idea to start keeping a diary of some sort where you
record your spending each day. You should record everything that you spend
than at the end of the week or month you can sit and determine where you
spend the most money and if there are any areas that you can cut out.
4. While you are trying to save money people sometimes make the mistake of
thinking that charging things to a credit card will help them save. This
is completely wrong. If you want to save money then you need to stop
charging and pay cash whenever you can. The cash may be gone but you don't
have to worry about making continuous monthly payments.
5. Avoid pressure to spend money. IF you do not want to spend the money
then don't. That is the simplest of all rules. Do not let others pressure
you into spending money unnecessarily.
About the author:
James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher
covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at
www.1st-for-perso
nal-finance.info
Written by: James Hunt
(6)3 Fast Tips on How To Sell Your Car for the Most..
Tip 1 - Pick your time. If you can possibly help it, don't
sell your car after Christmas, when no one has any money. Consider holiday
periods: will the people be in town or away. Sometimes this can work in
your favour because if people are not at work they have more time to look
for cars, and they are usually cashed up with nothing to do.
On the reverse side, when buyers are busy working, they don't have the
time to do a lot of car shopping, which can make negotiating easier.
Additionally for this reason, if you get a buyer to come on a week-night,
it is unlikely he can compare yours to other cars - which can sometimes
work in your favour.
Tip 2 - First Impressions are everything Just like you are going on a date
- first impressions are everything. Get all the rubbish and junk out of
it. Deodorize it. Wash it, clean it.
Tip 3 - As the good boy scout says. Be prepared. Get your paperwork in
order. Find the spare keys. You don't want to be rushing around at the
last minute, just when the buyer is ready to go for it. You can't find
something. He may just say, he'll get back to you. Believe me, it happens.
So get organized before hand and you'll have a much smoother run of it.
See my other articles for more tips.
About the Author
Graeme Sprigge is the webmaster of SellMyCarForCash.Com, a website
enlightening you on how to get the most for your car in a private sale.
The site includes more great articles.
For more cool articles, cool car selling tips, car finance tips visit
http://www.sellmycarforcash.com
Copyright 2009 Graeme Sprigge. This is a shareware article meaning you can
use it provided you include this resource box.
Copyright 2009 Graeme Sprigge
Written by: Graeme Sprigge
(7)3 Secret Tips Before You Buy A Used Car
I have always purchased my cars used. And every single
time, I got a great deal because of a few secrets that is easy to do.
These secrets will save you money. And the good news is there is no luck
involved.
If you follow these steps you are guaranteed to save lots of money, so
please pay attention.
BUYING A USED CAR Power Tip #1 - Check Consumer Reports on the safest cars
out there. Looks are one thing, but never ignore safety.
Here's what you do: Go to a reputable car repair shop and ask if you can
bring the vehicle by for a look-over.
There is a 99% chance they will say "yes".
While you're there, ask what cars they have to repair most often. Also,
ask what the inspection includes, how long it takes, and the price. Always
get this information in writing - just to be safe.
Once the vehicle has been inspected, ask the mechanic for a written report
with a cost estimate for all necessary repairs.
Be sure the report includes the vehicle's make, model and VIN. If you
decide to make an offer to the dealer after approving the inspection, you
can use the estimated repair costs to negotiate the price of the vehicle.
Do you see how easy it is?
Are you going to purchase from an individual? If yes, then here is your
next tip.
BUYING A USED CAR Power Tip #2
Remember, private sellers generally are not covered by the Used Car Rule
and don't have to use the Buyers Guide. However, you can use the Guide's
list of an auto's major systems as a shopping tool.
It's simple.
You can ask the seller if you can have the vehicle inspected by your
mechanic. If he/she says no... beware. No matter how nice the car appears,
something fishy is going on.
Now, a private sale likely will be on an "as is" basis, unless your
purchase agreement with the seller specifically states otherwise. If you
have a written contract, the seller has to live up to the contract.
The car also may be covered by a manufacturer's warranty or a separately
purchased service contract. But that doesn't mean that the warranty and
service contract are transferable.
Plus, other limits or costs may apply. Before you buy the car, ask if it's
still under warranty or service contract, and review that baby carefully.
Some states will require vehicle sellers to pass a vehicle inspection
before a sale is made. That's not always the case, though. To find out
what your state requires, contact your state Attorney General's office or
a local consumer protection agency.
Hey, it's just a phone call. And it will take less than 5 minutes.
Whether you end up buying a used car from a dealer, a co-worker, or a
neighbor, follow these tips to learn as much as you can about the car:
BUYING A USED CAR Power Tip #3
Examine the car carefully yourself using an inspection checklist. You can
find a checklist in many of the magazine articles, books and Internet
sites that deal with buying a used car.
Once I bought a used car in August, and never thought to test the rear
defroster. Guess what? Come November, I found out it didn't work. If
you're shopping in the summer, don't forget to check the heater. And if
it's cold as ice outside, still turn that air on full blast and make sure
it works!
Test drive the car under varied road conditions--on hills, highways, and
in stop-and-go traffic.
Ask for the car's maintenance record. If the owner doesn't have copies,
contact the dealership or repair shop where most of the work was done.
They may share their files with you.
Talk to the previous owner, especially if the present owner is unfamiliar
with the car's history.
Have the car inspected by a mechanic you hire.
There you go.
Follow those three "used car buying" tips and you are guaranteed to save a
ton of money buying a used car.
About the author:
Charlie E. Hendersen is the author and creator of the FREE website:
GetAnotherCar.com">http://getanothercar.com">GetAnotherCar.com A site
dedicated to providing useful tips for buying and maintaining your car.
Written by: Charlie E. Hendersen
(8)4 tips to save a bundle on your next new car purchase
Many of us have been at the car dealership and have been
drained by a salesperson during price negotiations for the purchase of a
new car. Most people give in too easily or do not negotiate at all to
avoid the dreadful act. This only means more money in the car dealers’
pocket, while you are out of several thousand dollars! Yes, they make that
much in profit per car.
This article unveils the dealer’s selling tactics and how you can get
around them. But before we dive into the new car buying tips, we need to
understand what makes up the dealer’s profits.
In addition to the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price), which is
the dealer’s cost for the car plus an additional 20-25% profit, a dealer
also gets financial incentives from the manufacturer when a new car is
sold. This is called Holdback.
Depending on the car, dealers can make hundreds on each car through
holdbacks. Dealers also get additional incentives and bonuses on selling a
car before the end of the month and/or quarter.
A shrewd dealer can make several thousand on a new car even by selling it
at invoice price. This is how new car buying can become tricky for the
consumer.
Ready to learn how not to put a dent in your wallet on your next car
purchase? Here are four tips to get you started. Each one is a dealer
tactic to watch out for.
1. The Guilt Trip
As you may have noticed, every desk in a dealership has photos of the
salesperson’s family, instead of photos of cars. Midway in the
negotiation, the sales person will bring them up and make it look like his
little commission check can hardly pay for his daughters college and
little Bradley’s braces.
A seasoned salesperson will soon have you feeling guilty for driving the
price down and hurting his commission. Watch out not to fall for this
tactic, since you already know about holdbacks and incentive programs from
manufacturers.
2. Wearing You Down
Come prepared to spend half a day at the dealership or pay whatever the
dealer asks for. Car Dealers are trained to delay and tire you out to the
point where you give in and accept their price just to get out of there.
After you make your offer, sales people typically claim they would have to
run it by their manager. You may then have to re-start negotiating with
the manager, who is also a seasoned salesperson. This dance goes on for a
while until you give in.
Remember, there are multiple dealerships in a city, so they need you more
than you need them. Demand to speak to the manager after a certain time
period or threaten to leave.
Because you are devoting a lot of time to bargain with the dealer, they
know you are a serious buyer, so they will not let you leave. The earlier
you can speak with the manager, the faster you can leave.
3. The Test Drive
We all enjoy a good test drive and look forward to it. Although it is
essential to test drive a car before you buy it, remember to not show your
absolute love for the car to the salesperson. Their goal is to get you
emotionally attached to the car, so it becomes a must have for you. I have
learned it the hard way.
To hide your emotional tears from the salesperson, mention the features of
a competing car in the same class, like the new shape, light, leg room,
resale value etc. This will make the salesperson a little vulnerable.
4. Monthly Payments
This one is to confuse you. Dealers will start talking about monthly
payments rather than the total price of the car. They will start by asking
how much you are willing to pay per month and how much of a down payment
you are willing to pay. Since people don’t want to look like they cannot
afford a certain car, they will usually give a higher number. Big Mistake!
You have left little room for negotiation when this happens. Always steer
the conversation to the total price of the car and do NOT mention any
trade-ins at this point. Only after the total price of the vehicle is
completely negotiated then talk about interest, monthly payment and
trade-ins.
General Rule;
As a general rule, remember to only focus and negotiate on the Total Price
of the vehicle. Everything else is pretty much the car dealer’s trough.
If the above new car buying tips seem like a lot of hassle, yet you still
want to get the best price in town, there are some websites that do this
for you. www.AutoAuctionBids.com
for example is a great website for this because you can collect price
quotes from multiple local dealers for a particular car as well as its
competing car models (like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Ford Taurus) and
compare them.
The website then allows you to send back the lowest quotes received for
each car make to all participating dealers in your area through the
website itself.
Dealers view this price and continue to submit new lower prices over a 3
day period. By putting local car dealers in such a price competition
allows you to avoid the dreadful face to face negotiation and yet gets you
the lowest price in town for up to 3 competing car makes.
The best part about AutoAuctionBids.com is that it is absolutely free for
you and there is no obligation to buy after the new car auction is over.
About the Author
Prashant Desai, author of various consumer tips articles and industry
expert for AutoAuctionBids.com. Email him at p_desai@autoauctionbids.com
to sign up for e-Newsletter and visit
www.autoauctionbids.com for
more information.
Written by: Prashant Desai