Buying VS Leasing A Car
by Takara Alexis
Most car shoppers usually do not think twice about if they are going to buy or lease a car. A great deal of them automatically chose to purchase a car because leasing seems so expensive. But, there are some times when leasing makes sense.
When you lease a car, you enter an agreement with the leasing agent to keep the car for a minimum of six months and pay a monthly lease payment. You can discuss the lease price the same way you would if you were buying the car. In fact, you should negotiate the price, but be careful that a price reduction doesn't result in increased prices elsewhere in the lease agreement.
People have the notion that when you lease a car it is more costly than when you buy one, when it fact that's not always the case. Buying a car is only cheaper if you keep the car long after it's been paid off. However, if you're like many people, and trade your car in before it's paid off, you're losing money. If you're only going to keep a car for a few years, leasing it is a better option.
The monthly payments on a car lease are also anywhere from 30% to 60% lower than monthly payments on a car loan. So, you save money on leasing a car, if you do it for a few years. But that's only if you would have traded in a purchased vehicle after the same length of time. If you plan to keep your car for a long time, it's cheaper to buy a car. For example, it's cheaper purchase a car and keep it for 10 years than it is to lease a car for 10 years.
One of the drawbacks of leasing a car is the audit process it goes through when you turn it in. The lease agent will go over the vehicle with a fine-toothed comb to look over the damages done to the car. You'll have to pay extra fees for anything more than"normal wear and tear" which might include things like miles over the allowance and too much scratches on the car.
When the lease is over you don't have any car payments, but you also don't have anything to drive unless you decide to buy the leased car or another one.
Deciding whether to purchase or lease a car is not only about price. You should also consider your personal lifestyle in the choice.
You should choose car buying over leasing when: You can afford bigger payments each month, you prefer to drive your car for a long time, you can afford to pay for repairs once the warranty is up, you drive more than 15,000 miles per year, you want to modify or customize your car, you tend to mistreat your cars or, you want to own a car.
You should choose car leasing over buying when: You want smaller monthly payments, you prefer to get a new car every 2-4 years, you don't want to pay for pricey repairs, you drive less than 15,000 miles per year or, you keep your car in good shape.
You are typically required to have a higher credit score when you lease a car than when you purchase one. That's because leases have lower down payments and monthly payments. If you have a poor credit history, you may have to pay a higher interest rate on the lease. Or worse, you might have your lease application denied all together.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
How To Raise Money-Savvy Kids
How To Raise Money-Savvy Kids
by Takara Alexis
As an adult, there is one thing you know for sure about money-it is a limited resource. And yet, that's a message we have an extremely hard time passing down to our kids. Many of us-often because we feel parental guilt for hours working (or playing) outside the home, away from them-give our children a lot of the things they ask for, despite the fact that we may not be able to afford them.
You can do a few things from the time your children are little-before they go to grade school in fact-to insure they do not dive into this want-it, need-it, have-to-have-it circle. And don't worry if your children are passed that age. It's not too late to start to make these changes. It won't always be easy, but stick to it and they'll get the message: The Bank of Mom and Dad is no longer open for business.
Kindergarten or first grade is a decent time to start giving an allowance. By this time, your kid may have a school store to visit where he or she can buy pencils or other supplies. If not, chances are he or she will have plenty of exposure-through you-to other places to shop. Grocery stores, drug stores, dollar stores...all are full of things your child will be able to purchase.
You don't want your child to receive a lot more or less than his or her peers. You could also resort to basic averages, which start at about $1 each week in kindergarten and go up $1 for every year in school. But the best way to decide how much money you will give your child each week is to decide what you think that money will cover. Make a list, figure out how much each item costs and then present it-as a fait accompli-to your kids.
Whether you give your children an allowance, they work for their money, or they get cash gifts for birthdays and holidays, today is the very best time to tell them that at least 10 percent of their money should be saved.
You're not going to get very far if you attempt to strip them of their hard-earned pennies right from the beginning. A better method is to show them that the little things they already do are acts of giving. Smiling at someone on the street, sending a card to a friend and keeping a lonely relative company are all ways that they can help others.
Another idea is to go through an easy closet cleanup. Helping your child collect a bag of clothes or toys they've outgrown for charity not only serves multiple purposes, but it's a simple to give back. And because kids grow so quickly, it can be done several times throughout the year.
by Takara Alexis
As an adult, there is one thing you know for sure about money-it is a limited resource. And yet, that's a message we have an extremely hard time passing down to our kids. Many of us-often because we feel parental guilt for hours working (or playing) outside the home, away from them-give our children a lot of the things they ask for, despite the fact that we may not be able to afford them.
You can do a few things from the time your children are little-before they go to grade school in fact-to insure they do not dive into this want-it, need-it, have-to-have-it circle. And don't worry if your children are passed that age. It's not too late to start to make these changes. It won't always be easy, but stick to it and they'll get the message: The Bank of Mom and Dad is no longer open for business.
Kindergarten or first grade is a decent time to start giving an allowance. By this time, your kid may have a school store to visit where he or she can buy pencils or other supplies. If not, chances are he or she will have plenty of exposure-through you-to other places to shop. Grocery stores, drug stores, dollar stores...all are full of things your child will be able to purchase.
You don't want your child to receive a lot more or less than his or her peers. You could also resort to basic averages, which start at about $1 each week in kindergarten and go up $1 for every year in school. But the best way to decide how much money you will give your child each week is to decide what you think that money will cover. Make a list, figure out how much each item costs and then present it-as a fait accompli-to your kids.
Whether you give your children an allowance, they work for their money, or they get cash gifts for birthdays and holidays, today is the very best time to tell them that at least 10 percent of their money should be saved.
You're not going to get very far if you attempt to strip them of their hard-earned pennies right from the beginning. A better method is to show them that the little things they already do are acts of giving. Smiling at someone on the street, sending a card to a friend and keeping a lonely relative company are all ways that they can help others.
Another idea is to go through an easy closet cleanup. Helping your child collect a bag of clothes or toys they've outgrown for charity not only serves multiple purposes, but it's a simple to give back. And because kids grow so quickly, it can be done several times throughout the year.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Improving Your Credit Score
Improving Your Credit Score
by Takara Alexis
Even if it is just a few days late, just one overdue payment-whether it's for your mortgage, a utility bill, an auto loan, a Visa account, or any of a hundred other credit obligations-could seriously damage your FICO score. FICO pays a lot of attention to whether you start a pattern of missing due dates, so a series of late payments can really hurt your score.
It is never too late to clean up your act. Get yourself up to date as quickly as you can and then stay current. Your score will start to improve within six months- and the longer you keep it up, the more noticeable the increase will be. The negative weight FICO gives to bad behavior like delinquencies lessens over time, so as long as you stay on the straight and narrow, those black marks will eventually disappear from your record for good.
Of all the factors you can control-and improve quickly-how much you owe is probably the most powerful. Say you have got a $1,000 balance on card with a $2,000 credit limit-and then the card company cuts your limit to $1,000. All of a sudden, you went from 50% credit utilization to being maxed out, and being maxed out could cost you as much as 100 points.
Closing old accounts shortens your credit history and reduces your total credit-neither of which is good for your FICO score. If you have to close an account, close a relatively new one and keep the older ones open. Also, closing an account will not remove a bad payment record from your report. Closed accounts are listed right along with active ones.
The best way to raise your score is to display that you can handle the responsibility of credit-which means not borrowing too much and paying back what you do borrow on time. Don't open new accounts just to increase your available credit or establish a better credit variety. This is especially true if you are just beginning to establish a credit history.
When you apply for a loan, the lender will "run your credit"-that is, send an inquiry to one of the credit rating agencies to find out how credit worthy you are. Too many such inquiries could damage your FICO score, since that could show you're trying to borrow money from various sources.
The FICO scoring system is designed to allow for this by considering the length of time over which a series of inquiries are made. Try to do all your loan shopping within 30 days, so the inquiries get tied together and it is obvious to FICO that you are loan shopping.
by Takara Alexis
Even if it is just a few days late, just one overdue payment-whether it's for your mortgage, a utility bill, an auto loan, a Visa account, or any of a hundred other credit obligations-could seriously damage your FICO score. FICO pays a lot of attention to whether you start a pattern of missing due dates, so a series of late payments can really hurt your score.
It is never too late to clean up your act. Get yourself up to date as quickly as you can and then stay current. Your score will start to improve within six months- and the longer you keep it up, the more noticeable the increase will be. The negative weight FICO gives to bad behavior like delinquencies lessens over time, so as long as you stay on the straight and narrow, those black marks will eventually disappear from your record for good.
Of all the factors you can control-and improve quickly-how much you owe is probably the most powerful. Say you have got a $1,000 balance on card with a $2,000 credit limit-and then the card company cuts your limit to $1,000. All of a sudden, you went from 50% credit utilization to being maxed out, and being maxed out could cost you as much as 100 points.
Closing old accounts shortens your credit history and reduces your total credit-neither of which is good for your FICO score. If you have to close an account, close a relatively new one and keep the older ones open. Also, closing an account will not remove a bad payment record from your report. Closed accounts are listed right along with active ones.
The best way to raise your score is to display that you can handle the responsibility of credit-which means not borrowing too much and paying back what you do borrow on time. Don't open new accounts just to increase your available credit or establish a better credit variety. This is especially true if you are just beginning to establish a credit history.
When you apply for a loan, the lender will "run your credit"-that is, send an inquiry to one of the credit rating agencies to find out how credit worthy you are. Too many such inquiries could damage your FICO score, since that could show you're trying to borrow money from various sources.
The FICO scoring system is designed to allow for this by considering the length of time over which a series of inquiries are made. Try to do all your loan shopping within 30 days, so the inquiries get tied together and it is obvious to FICO that you are loan shopping.
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