Cars are expensive, that’s pretty much a given. Whether you buy a brand new $60,000 car or a used $5,000 car, it will most likely put some kind of a dent in your wallet. Getting the best deal is key when searching for a new car for yourself. The best deal doesn’t just apply to the dollar amount, you also want the best value and something that will not break in a couple of weeks.

Now that my fiance is a sales consultant, I feel like I know all about cars and all of the tactics that can be used. Not all salesmen are bad people! I will say that now. This is something that I believed before he became one, but now that I personally know one, I feel like I know how a dealership runs.

And while I will say that most of these will probably work for you, I also want to say that most car dealership are not making a lot of money off of your actual car purchase. Most of the time his dealership takes a loss on cars when selling them to customers, and that’s because customers these days seem to research the car buying process so much (hopefully like you!).

Car dealerships are mainly shooting for repeat business, such as with you coming back to the service department for routine maintenance and repairs.

Below are some tips so that you can get your best deal and value when buying a new car.

Plan your visit

This is a important step in the car buying process. Just going into a dealership with no plan will usually result in you leaving with an expensive car that you most likely could have bought for cheaper.

Usually at the end of the month, dealerships are trying to beat their goals and therefore will try and give you the best deals in order to get there.

Also, most believe that they should wait until the beginning of the year so that they don’t have to pay sales tax twice, however, most dealerships will take that property tax total off your car purchase if you buy in December anyways if you just ask and explain to them that if they can’t give you an equivalent discount, then you’d rather just wait until January.  And since December tends to be one of the slowest months because of the misconception of extra property tax payments, they will also most likely give you a big discount in order to get you to drive off the lot in their car.

Also, in December most car dealerships tend to try to clear their old inventory. Some car dealerships are not allowed to place the new year’s cars (such as when it’s 2013 and there are still 2012 cars on the lot) until ALL of the old cars are gone. Therefore they will most likely give you a good deal so that they can start placing new inventory on the lot.

Just ask

Now, I’m not going to say that car dealerships NEVER make any money from selling new cars, because they obviously do every now and then or they would rather just operate as mechanics and an auto body shop. However, sometimes people go into dealerships and just take the price as is and don’t even try to haggle.

One time a customer came in and was telling my fiance that she wasn’t sure about the car because of the price. He then said “well ask me for a discount and then I can ask my manager.” She said “oh really you can do that?” He then explained that unless she asks, he’s not allowed to ask for anything lower of course. So he then went and asked and she got a discount.

The only thing bad that could happen when asking for a discount is a simple no, but most of the time they will say yes and counter with SOMETHING. Something is better than nothing right?

How did you get the best price on your car?

I’m sure you have all noticed that holiday stuff is everywhere now. Halloween stuff has been on the shelves for quite some time, and Christmas and winter items are starting to come out as well. It seems like just yesterday it was summer and 100 degrees out.

Traveling during the holidays can kill your budget, so there are many things to think about.

Below are ways to save on your holiday travel:

1. Think about your travel dates.

Can you be flexible with your traveling dates at all? Flying a couple of days before Thanksgiving and leaving a couple of days after will be very expensive, and also very busy at the airport. If it is possible, then try arriving or leaving the day of the holiday. Yes, this isn’t always ideal, but if it is possible, then it should be though about.

In general, days matter also. However, not when it comes to Thanksgiving though as these days I’m about to list are prime Thanksgiving traveling days. Flying on different days can also save you. Flying in on a Tuesday and leaving on a Saturday will save you much more money then leaving or coming back from your destination on Friday or Saturday.

Leaving at different times of the day can cost differently as well. Taking a 6am flight or an 11pm flight will most likely cost less than taking a flight during a more normal time.

2. Buy now.

Prices will most likely only go up from now until the holidays. There will be the occasional super sale on airfare, but would you want to risk that and possibly paying double if the sale never comes?

3. Use different airports.

Flying into airports that aren’t as busy can save you a lot of money. Farther airports might also be closer to your destination, so don’t always rule them out.

However, there are other factors to think about when doing this. How much will the additional cost is gas or a taxi cost? Can you use public transportation from this airport location?

 4. Use a Rewards Card.

If you can get any extra money back, then why not? If you already have a travel or rewards card, then look into the details to see how you can get the most money back.

5. Looks at bidding websites.

If you’re booking a hotel, try bidding on websites such as Priceline. If you look at bidding tips websites, they can tell you what most people pay and what hotels you most likely are bidding on. I greatly recommend this so that you aren’t just shooting in the dark for a price and a hotel.

6. Use Airbnb or other home rental websites.

I have used Airbnb once before, and I got a great deal. Renting a place for a couple of days is most likely much cheaper than getting a room at a hotel.

7. Get the economy car.

If you need to rent a car, then try getting the economy car. It is most likely the cheapest and will get the best gas mileage. Also, see if your hotel will spring for the rental car cost, as some hotels do this nowadays.

8. Use public transportation.

If it is possible in the place that you are going to, then trying using their metro system. It will most likely be much cheaper, and you might possibly be able to get places faster since you will be avoiding traffic.

9. Use coupons on food.

Food on vacations can be a budget buster. Try looking for coupons or specials for the restaurant that you are about to go to. Also, eating during happy hour or during lunch time will be much cheaper than eating during dinner at most restaurants.

10. Cook at your place.

If you have a kitchen in your room, then cook! Go to the grocery store and stock up on foods that you will be eating.

How do you save on holiday travel?

A mistake that many new home buyers make is not looking at the total cost of the house that they are about to buy. Only looking at the actual mortgage amount is a big mistake, as looking at that amount alone can fool you.

The principal and insurance amount of your monthly home budget can actually be relatively small when compared to the whole amount.

My friend and her fiance are looking at houses right now, and they are making a mistake when calculating their housing costs. They are looking at houses farther away because houses in the more rural areas are much, much cheaper. However, the costs that they are saving by being able to get a newly built house in a far away area are eliminated because of the long drive they will have to venture on every morning. They will both work more than 60 miles from their jobs and won’t be able to commute together.

Commuting costs should definitely be thought as, as demonstrated above! They also both have horrible gas guzzling cars, and will most likely be spending a little over $1,000 on gas every month.

When looking at houses, you should be looking at the overall costs such as the costs listed below:

1. Property taxes.

Many estimate that these will be lower, but in reality, property taxes are high. For us, property taxes equal approximately one-third of our total monthly house payment.

2. Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).

If you don’t put a large enough down payment on the house that you are about to buy, then you will have to pay PMI most likely. This can end up being a large amount tacked onto your monthly mortgage amount, such as $50 or $150 per month.

3. Home Insurance.

The neighborhood you live in and the type of house that you buy play a big role in how expensive your home insurance will be. You can of course try shopping around to find the best price, but there can be other things making your home insurance high. If you live in a risky weather area (such as floods, high winds, tornadoes, etc.), then this will cause your home insurance expenses to rise.

4. Maintenance.

With houses, there will something that will go wrong eventually. Pipes might need to be placed, water heaters will need to be repaired and so on. Some of these expenses might be “low” and only be a couple hundred dollars, while others might be thousands. A family member needs their roof replaced, and they had multiple people bid on the replacement. The lowest bid they received was $65,000. And no, they are not being duped, they have a VERY steep roof and asbestos, so that’s the lowest that any place would offer. Keep these maintenance costs in mind!

Also, the furnace can be an expensive fix or replacement as well. A friend of mine had to spend $6,000 to get hers replaced. Keeping a home maintenance fund is very important just in case something does come up.

5. Landscaping.

Your house looks nice now, but will it require a professional person to come by every now and then to make the landscaping look the same? Will you be able to do it yourself? If you have a very large yard (acres and acres), then you will have to either hire someone to come often, or you will have to put time, labor and buy a reliable mower to cut your lawn.

6. Utilities.

Even if a bigger house may seem like a “deal,” it might not actually be. A bigger house will require more maintenance, landscaping, and higher utility bills.

7. Extras.

You might say “oh I’ll buy this house but I won’t get internet, cable, cell phone, etc. so that I can afford the house payment.” How realistic is this though? If you know that you will be buying these things, then you should budget this into your housing costs so that you aren’t running later.

Did you forget about any housing costs when you first bought?

When my wife and I were just married, as I have shared before, we struggled to make ends meet. We had an emergency fund in place so we never had to stress about whether we were going to be able to pay the bills, but we always wanted to pay our bills with our income and not draw from the emergency fund. That is, after all, not the purpose of an emergency fund.

In order to achieve this goal, we had to cut back in many ways. This meant only eating out once a month and doing free hobbies. Naturally, we focused on hanging out, doing stuff outdoors, and board games. This is all great fun… for a while. Eventually, these free activities get old and they did. We got very tired of playing the same board games over and over. As a result, we were forced to find new hobbies that didn’t break the bank.

Find Cheap Shared Experiences

The first thing we did was to look for new ways that we could spend time together that wouldn’t break the bank. If it meant spending a little more money to have new experiences, we were okay with that. But we weren’t willing to spend too much money that would compromise our financial position. Here’s what we came up with:

Movie Night - One of the first things we did was implement a movie night. It wasn’t anything glamorous and 90% of the times, we got the movie from our local Redbox. That way we could make dinner at home and watch a $1 movie. It didn’t just involve sitting around the house, but it somehow became a time that we looked forward to. We eventually watched all of the movies that we wanted to on Redbox, so we had to splurge and spend $10 per month on Netflix. I know, big spenders!

New Scenery - Another thing that we did together was to explore new areas. If there was a park that we hadn’t visited, we scheduled a time to visit. In a matter of months, we saw several waterfalls, went on tons of new hikes, and just enjoyed experiencing new things. There are only so many times that you can do the same hike without feeling a little boredom.

Develop Personal Hobbies

Another thing that my wife and I realized is that we needed time to ourselves. Not only because it’s important to have alone time, but also because we each have different interests. My wife likes to do some crafts and I like to bike and build websites. We gave ourselves a little bit of spending money to find new personal hobbies.

Crafting - My wife instantly realize that the enjoyed doing crafts. Normally, she is not the stereotypical woman (doing all the girly things), but this was an exception. Yet, as many people probably already know, crafting can add up. She came back from the craft store the first time spending $80. Wow! That was a shock and forced us to find cheaper ways to continue this hobby. Now, we look for coupons or deals (like Jo-Ann Fabrics coupons) and are keeping her craft expenses to a minimum.

Biking - One of the first things I needed to do was to buy a bike. I looked on craigslist and wasn’t able to find a bike that I wanted. I ended up using some Birthday money to buy my bike and then enjoyed a practically free hobby. If only my wife could enjoy a free hobby.

Saving money while developing hobbies and discovering your interests is always a difficult balance. For us personally, we found the best success with prioritizing savings first and then allowing us to splurge a little bit as we made more money. This meant that we didn’t live with any regret and we were able to slowly enjoy ourselves even more.

Have you had success balancing saving money and enjoying yourself?

Everyone dreams of the day that their mortgage for their house will be paid off right? I know I do! We bought our house around 3 years ago, and would like to have it paid off in around 4 to 5 years. We have a long 30-year loan though.

There are many reasons why people want to pay off their homes early. Maybe you just hate debt and want all of your debt to be gone. Maybe you want to retire and lower your spending so that you are more prepared.

However, I do know that not everyone is in a rush to pay off their mortgages early. Your mortgage rate might be extremely low and you might be earning a much higher return in the stock market or in your other investments, which would persuade you to invest and throw your money at your investments instead of your house.

How is it possible that we can pay off our house so much earlier than the planned 30-year loan that we have? There are many reasons for this, mainly because of the fact that we plan on paying extra large payments to our mortgage debt soon. Our goal is to make a couple thousand dollars extra towards our payments every month, and we also hope to switch our payments to biweekly if our bank allows for it.

1. Increase your payment amounts.

This one is a no brainer. If you throw more money towards your debts, then of course you can pay your mortgage off more quickly!

Another way is to make more payments towards your debt. Did you receive a bonus for the holidays, signing on with a company, or for some other reason? Put that extra money towards your debt and make a new payment!

Even if you can’t put a large amount of extra money towards your mortgage payment, even a little bit helps if it is put towards your principal. That way you are not being charged all of that extra interest anymore.

2. Increase the amount of payments that you make.

As stated above, try and apply any extra money towards your mortgage. Everything counts and one extra payment is worth it.

This also goes hand in hand with making bi-weekly payments. With biweekly payments, you make a payment every 2 weeks. There are 52 weeks in a year, so instead of making 12 payments in one year, you are making 13 payments.

You are also shaving a little off interest as well. Not all banks will allow you to do this though, so first ask your bank. You might have to sign up for some sort of biweekly plan with them.

With paying your mortgage biweekly, you will most likely be able to shave AT LEAST a couple of years off your mortgage, and it’s really just that simple!

3. Refinance your mortgage.

Mortgage rates are extremely low right now, and everyone knows that. My friends don’t have the greatest credit in the world (they don’t have a car payment or credit cards, so they haven’t been able to build their credit the normal way), but still received a 30-year loan at what I believe was a 3.2%. That is great! Our mortgage is at 5%. We should refinance.

Refinancing your mortgage might cost a couple thousand up front, but in the end, if you can slash more than 1.5% to 2% off your rate, then it is probably worth it to refinance your mortgage.

Do you plan on paying off your mortgage early? Why or why not?

Everyone has some sort of financial priority in their life.  Setting priorities can be very good for a person or a family. If you know what you are striving for, then you most likely will try a little harder and put more effort towards it.

Without priorities, then everything would be all over the place. How would a person even know where to start, where to end, when things are going run, etc.? How will individuals know when to celebrate completing a goal as well?

Maybe you want to eliminate all of your debt, give a higher percentage of your income to charity, go to school, pay off your house, retire early or just have financial freedom. Each person is different in how they value different things in their life, and their different financial priorities. One thing to keep in mind that even if financial priorities are similar, you shouldn’t always compare yourself to others. Different people complete their goals differently of course.

How to set financial priorities for yourself:

1. Decide what you value the most.

Make a list of what’s important to you. You probably have a very long list of things that you want to accomplish. What honestly cannot wait another second? Try to determine what should be done first and what can wait a little while.  You can sort through the rest of the financial things you need to do as well, and maybe you can contribute to the rest equally but put most of your might to your top priorities.

Think about your future and think about where you want to be and what you want to have done. This is the first step!

2. Let people join you.

If there are others, such as family and friends, who might have similar priorities as you, then let them join you. You and them can most likely push each other to achieve your similar goals. Talking about things out loud can also be helpful.

Also, sit down with your family to make sure that everyone is on the same page. If everyone agrees on the financial priority, it will make it much easier, and of course, much less arguments.

3. Make sure your goal or goals are possible and realistic.

Creating a goal of paying off all your debt in one year when you know it’s absolutely not possible, then it’s probably not a SMART goal. A smart goal is specific, measurable, achievable, rewarding and track-able.

If your goal is not possible, then you are most likely spending way too much time (and wasting time) on something that will not work out in the end. And then you are also sidetracking other goals that you should be working on as well.

4. Keep track and always adjust.

You should constantly be keeping track of your goals. Try to set maybe a certain time for when you will track how you are doing. Maybe daily (if you want to be very on track), weekly, monthly or some other amount of time.

This way, if something does happen to be OFF track, then you can try to adjust it. It’s of course much better than waiting to see how you’re doing a year later and figuring out that you are way off track what you wanted to be.

5. Be prepared for things that will throw you off track.

In the end, something will most likely come up. If something sidetracks your goal or priority for a little bit, don’t let it ruin everything. Realize that things will come up and not everything can be scheduled perfectly.

What are your priorities?

What’s on the back-burner for you now?

I am a Handy Man.

This statement is a huge exaggeration. Not only do I know very little about cars or maintaining a car, but I know even less about home repairs. My wife and I have been considering buying a home in the next few years and we are currently saving up a down payment. Part of me wants to ignore the inherent responsibilities that come with owning a house. Sure, this may be a great way to build wealth and minimize future expenses. But it comes with responsibilities. The other part of me knows that I need to learn more about basic home repairs.

Basic Home Repairs / Responsibilities

Again, I am no expert, but as I have been doing some research, there are a number of roles that a home owner must take on if he/she wants to save some money:

Carpenter - One of the fundamentals of home maintenance is doing some basic home renovations. While big projects, like repairing a roof, may be too much work to take on yourself, there are some projects that you can do. Nailing loose boards or replacing trim around a door frame are some great examples.

Painter - Every home needs to be painted occasionally. While some houses have siding that does not require painting, there is still the inside. How long can you live with those off-white walls? You can pay thousands of dollars just to have the exterior of your house painted. Painting your own house is a great way to save money and it can be relaxing.

Electrician - This is one area that people will probably question. You have to be careful when playing with electricity, but there are still some basic functions of an electrician that you can do yourself – like changing a light switch or outlet.

Plumber - Again, if there is a huge emergency, you may want to call an experienced plumber. But, why not learn the basics. It could save you lots of water damage if you know how to shut something off or direct water flow elsewhere.

How to Get Started

There are many ways that you can get started in doing some basic home repairs.

Research - The first thing that you need to do is to research. With the internet, there are tons of sources for how to do basic home repairs. I have been researching how to do some of the basic stuff like replacing light switches, flooring, plumbing, etc. After learning the basics, I will probably look into bigger projects like kitchen remodels, diy conservatory, and adding on another room.

Practice - There is no better way to learn than to start doing! Practice what you are learning, while remembering that you aren’t going to be perfect the first time. You can always correct your mistake, so don’t be afraid to implement the skills you have learned.

Readers, do you perform your own repairs? Or do you always hire it out?

Are you overwhelmed by how difficult it seems to plan for your future? Do you find yourself wishing it were easier to get ahead? For those of us who don’t make a lot of money, it may be hard to save up an emergency fund or a cushion for the expenses in life that sneak up on us. People preach about having money in reserve for these unexpected expenses, but in reality, it’s much harder to do.

Yet, that doesn’t mean it is impossible nor important. Putting money aside for these type of expenses is very important because it keeps you from digging a whole. While not all debt is evil, it is important to avoid the cyclical nature of it.

Limited Options Without an Emergency Fund

People without an emergency fund saved up are left with fewer options. For those who don’t already know this, fewer options is usually a bad thing. It forces you to make decisions that you may regret later. The more options you have, the more possibilities of selecting a “good” option and not just one that is the best of bad decisions.

Borrowing Money: If we are honest, most people, when faced with an unexpected expenses, are forced to borrow money. The people who are smart enough to limit their negative impact will often reach out to friends and family first. Friends and family are there for these type of emergencies and should be considered before things like payday loans online, but they won’t solve all of your problems. In fact, asking family members for money too often will often ruin the relationship.

Bad Credit / Collections: The only other option available is to let the expense go unpaid. This will often result in it going to collections and this can ruin your credit for a long time. While you may be left with little or no options, you want to do everything you can to avoid this option.

Be Pro-active!

The best thing you can do is to be pro-active. It sounds like every other advice out there, but it so true. Don’t wait for an emergency to pop up. This means starting with spending less than you make. If you spend every dollar of your paycheck, how are you going to afford the future expenses that are bigger than the paychecks? Not to mention, continuing to pay for the ongoing expenses like rent or insurance.

Start by saving just a little bit at a time. I think if you can see yourself saving a little, you will not only feel more comfortable in yourself, but you will realize how much MORE you need to save.

Stop giving yourself limited options in life. Take control of your finances and act today.

An emergency fund can be very handy at times. An emergency fund can cover all different types of potential “emergencies.” It all of course depends on the person or family.

An emergency can be job related. Maybe you lost your job, will be taking a pay cut, taking reduced hours or so on. Maybe your car broke down and that is the only form of possible transportation for you. Your emergency fund could then also cover buying a new-to-you car as well. Of course, an emergency fund can also cover all types of other events: medical, house repairs, and so on.

However, it can also be very hard to build up your fund. Determining the amount you need, building up that amount, determining what will constitute a financial “emergency,” and so on can be difficult.

The first step is to decide how much you want/need in your emergency fund. Different financial advisers recommend different amounts. If your job is steady, then 6 months might possibly be either too much or just perfect. If you are self-employed, then it is possible that you might want a higher amount in your emergency fund because the likelihood of you having to dip into it might be a tad higher.

If you’re paying off debt, the recommended amount is around $1,000 by some advisers so that you can focus more on debt. I’m different though, I have debt, but I prefer to keep my emergency fund full at around $15,000.

For us, we prefer to have a fully funded emergency fund. We are more comfortable with it being fully funded, so that we are fully prepared. Our emergency fund is designated towards any potential job losses or any potential repairs that may be needed around our house.

We have a friend who did not a have theirs fully funded, and they had to pay $6,000 for a whole new air conditioning and furnace system in their house. In the end, I believe that had to just put it all on a credit card, and it would be hard to pay off a $6,000 credit card bill within one month so that it does not accrue.  This is something that we definitely do not want to happen to us. And we also don’t want any extra stress added on to us financially if it did happen. And this is what makes having an emergency fund worthwhile.

The $15,000 in our emergency fund would pay our basic expenses for around 6 months if something were to happen, or if we needed something to be fixed, then we won’t have to accrue more debt to get something fixed around the house.

Another question to ask yourself is where and how your emergency fund money will be stored. Do you prefer to keep it all close and store it in your house (this is not something I recommend)? We keep our emergency easily accessible in a savings account. Yes, it accrues very little interest, but it is readily available for us in case there is some sort of financial emergency where we need quick cash. Some also invest their emergency funds in the stock markets or put it into money market accounts.

There are several ways to build up your emergency fund quickly:

1. Pay yourself first. This will help you to save quickly. Designate a set amount of money form each paycheck to go towards your emergency fund.
   
2. Save as much as you can. This can include eating at home as much as you can, stopping your clothing spending for some time, watching your utility usage, eliminating or reducing your cable or cell phone bills and so on.
3. Find ways to increase your income. Maybe trying finding a part-time job. This can include working maybe at a retail store, waitressing or finding a side gig. Side gigs can include online income, babysitting, walking dogs, and so on. Even if the pay is small, they will add up quickly and help you reach your emergency fund number quickly.

How did you choose how much to put in your emergency fund?

When someone says budget, there’s always someone out there who lets out a huge groan. But let me tell you, budgets are not always boring! If you have an end goal in mind, maybe it could even be fun to beat your goals.

A budget can help you save for different things in your life: a house, car, college, and so many other things. You can save more now, in order to have what you want later. Or you can track your budget in order to make sure that you are on the right track.

Now, I don’t specifically track each category in my budget (even though I probably should), but I do make sure that I’m spending the amount that I want/need to.

We don’t spend more than we bring in each month, and whenever we make a purchase, we think about how it’s going to affect our cash flow, money situation and so on. As long as we stay within our budgeted amount, I am happy.

When budgeting, there are many things to keep in mind, but after a while, it’ll all come very easily to you. Try not to feel too intimidated at first, as that is how it will probably feel to you if you have not budgeted before.

Steps:

Know your full income. Many people who receive their first check from their first job are shocked by the amount that they pay in taxes. Make sure that the budget you are calculating is after-tax, or you might have a big problem. Taxes eat up a big part of your income. I’ve always heard of stories of people who would buy a house, car, etc. without knowing exactly what their after-tax monthly income would be. They would just take their annual salary amount, divide it by 12 (which is another mistake because paychecks don’t easily divide like that) and buy everything off that salary.

Determine how much you want to spend. What’s your goal? Do you want to save the complete other half of your after-tax income, put 30% towards debt, or something else? Also determine how much you want to spend in each category. I’ve always heard to not spend more than 35% of your income on housing, but of course in some areas where cost of living is more expensive, this is not always possible. Right now, our housing (mortgage, property taxes, insurance, etc.) is around 15% of our after-tax income, it used to be much more though.

Be realistic. If you’re always spending 50% of your income (or some other amount) on restaurants, clothes or something else that can be considered a “want”, then do not allocate an unrealistic number such as 20% to your “fun money” budget. Be realistic about where you are spending, and then use each budget month as a way to improve your budget

Include entertainment in your budget. Having no “fun” money in your budget. Making a budget and saying that you will never do anything that will require money is most likely not very realistic. Include at least a little bit if you have room for it.

Check your budget once a month. See if anything needs to be adjusted (or maybe even lowered!). This is a big step when it comes to budgeting! You need to see and make sure if your budget is actually working for you. There will most likely always be something that needs to be adjusted, and maybe you can even find areas that you can decrease, or allocate to other areas.

 Why I budget:

1. To feel financially secure. I make sure that I spend less than I bring in, and this is so that I feel in full control of my financial life and so that I feel less stressed. I want to be able to pay off my debt and retire early.
2. Not to sound selfish, but I also budget so that I can buy what I want and feel a little less guilty when I buy things that I do want.
3. To travel. I love to travel and by having a budget, I am able to do more of the fun things that I want to do.

  Why do you budget?