Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Technology. A car is one of your most important expenses and similar to houses, if done improperly, it can have long last ramifications. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Tips For Buying Your First Car The Smart Way.
Buying your first car is an exciting time, and it’s something you’ll want to do as early as possible. It’s not exactly something you should rush into, though. You could end up getting the wrong car and making a few mistakes if you do. You’ll want to do it the smart way, which means knowing what you’re doing.
Using a few car-buying tips makes sure you do exactly that, with three top ones standing out. If you’re about to buy your first car, it’s worth diving into them.
Buying Your First Car The Smart Way: 3 Top Tips
1. Get Preapproved For A Loan
For your first car, you could need a personal loan to pay for it. It’s not worth waiting until you’re at the dealership to get this. Instead, you’ll want to go to the dealership knowing exactly how much you’re able to spend. By getting preapproval for the loan, you can do exactly that.
Once you have this, you can narrow down your options much better, while also making sure you can afford the repayments.
2. Don’t Get Too Much Car
When you’re buying your first car, it’s easy to get caught up in your options and start considering larger and more powerful options. These mightn’t be the best-recommended, though. They could end up being too powerful for you to handle, and they’ll come at quite a large cost.
Coupled with that are the ongoing expenses that they’ll end up coming with. Larger, more powerful cars tend to have higher insurance premiums and cost more to fuel up. If you go overboard with your car, it could end up being too much to keep it on the road. Avoid that as much as possible.
3. Don’t Get Add-Ons At The Dealership
If you’re looking to keep costs low when you’re buying your car, it’s worth avoiding getting any add-ons at the dealership. These usually come at a heavy markup and are where the dealership makes most of its profit. You could get these somewhere else at a fraction of the cost.
Protection plans, warranties, and insurance can all be part of this, as are the things that could be physically added to your car. These mightn’t be worth the cost when you get them at a dealership. By looking elsewhere, you could get the exact same thing – if not a better option – for a more affordable price.
Buying Your First Car The Smart Way: Wrapping Up
Buying your first car the smart way doesn’t have to be complicated. It could be much easier than you’d think, and you shouldn’t have a problem getting the perfect one for you. All you’ll need are a few car-buying tips to help with this.
Not getting add-ons at the dealership, getting preapproved for a loan, and not getting too much car will all be parts of this. While that could mean spending a little longer finding the perfect option for you, it’ll be more than worth it once you’re on the road.
Three focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Home/Living Discussions and Home/Property Discussions. One of the biggest financial questions we all face is whether continue rent or buy a home. In some instances homeowners ponder whether it’s more feasible to downsize and rent. The following guest post is entitled, The Pros and Cons of Renting vs. Buying a House.
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If you’re like most young professionals, you probably dream of owning your own home one day. But is that the right move for you? There are pros and cons to renting and buying, so it’s crucial to weigh your options carefully before deciding. Keep reading to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
Renting Pros
More flexibility
One of the main benefits of renting is that it’s much more flexible than buying. If your job transfers you to a new city, you can easily move out without worrying about selling your house. This is helpful when you’re first starting in your career and you’re not sure where you’ll be long-term.
Additionally, having more flexibility is great if you’re not ready to commit to an area. Maybe you want to live in the city for a few years before moving to the suburbs. Or maybe you want to try out different neighborhoods until you find one you love.
Less responsibility
When you rent a house, you don’t have to worry about things like painting, repairs, or landscaping. You also don’t have to worry about property taxes, homeowners insurance, or HOA fees. This can be a relief if you’re not interested in taking on those responsibilities.
Renting a house also means you don’t have to worry about the long-term maintenance of the property. Over time, all houses need new roofs, new appliances, and other major repairs. As a homeowner, you would be responsible for those costs. But as a renter, your landlord would have to foot the bill.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that there are no responsibilities at all when you’re renting. You’ll still need to take care of the property and keep it clean. And you may be responsible for small repairs, like fixing a leaky faucet or changing a light bulb.
Renting Cons
No Equity
One of the disadvantages of renting is that you don’t build equity in the property. When you buy a house, you gradually pay off the mortgage and eventually own the property outright. But when you rent, you never really own anything.
This can be a problem if you ever want to move or if you need to sell your house. If you’re renting, you’ll have to find a new place to live and may not get as much money for your house as you would if you were selling it.
Rental fee changes
If you’re a renter, one thing to be aware of is that your rental fee can change at any time. Your landlord may raise the rent due to inflation or because they need to cover increased costs (like property taxes or repairs).
This can be frustrating if you’re on a tight budget. But it’s important to remember that landlords are businesses, and need to make a profit to continue renting out their properties. Try to budget for possible rent increases, and be prepared to move if you can’t afford the new rate.
Buying Pros
Builds equity
One of the benefits of owning a house is that you gradually build equity in the property. Over time, you pay off the mortgage and eventually own the property outright. This can be a huge advantage if you ever want to sell or if you need to borrow money against your house.
Additionally, owning a house can be a great investment. If you ever decide to sell, you can usually make a profit on the sale. And if you keep your house for a long time, the value will continue to increase.
Lower long-term monthly fee
Mortgage payments are lower than rental fees in the long term for a few reasons. First, when you buy a house, you are essentially borrowing money from a bank to purchase the home. With this, you can spread the cost of the home over a longer period, which results in smaller monthly mortgage payments.
Mortgage lenders also only require that you make monthly payments until you have fully paid off your mortgage. This means that you will own your home outright in a relatively short time, depending on the terms of your mortgage.
Additionally, as you make your monthly mortgage payments, you are building equity in the property. This means that over time, your home will become more and more valuable, and you will be able to sell it for a higher price than what you initially paid for it.
Conversely, your monthly expenses will always be the same, regardless of how long you stay in the property. As a result, renting can be more expensive in the long term than buying a house.
Buying Cons
Mortgages can be complicated
Mortgages can be complicated because they involve a lot of legal and financial terminology. You need to understand all the details of the mortgage contract before signing it, or you may end up in a lot of debt.
Mortgage lenders may also require that you meet certain requirements, like a minimum credit score or down payment amount. If you don’t meet these requirements, you may not be able to get a mortgage at all.
More responsibility
When you own a house, you are responsible for all costs related to the property. This includes things like repairs, replacements, and property taxes. If something goes wrong with the house, it’s up to you to fix it.
This can be a lot of work, and it’s essential to be prepared for it before you buy a house. Make sure you have the money saved up for repairs and be prepared to budget for them in the future. Additionally, make sure you know what your local property taxes are and how much they will increase each year.
Owning a house also means that you are responsible for maintaining the property. This includes things like mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, and shoveling the snow. If you don’t want to do these things yourself, you’ll need to hire someone to do them for you. All of this extra responsibility can be a lot to handle, so make sure you are ready for it before buying a house.
Whether you decide to rent or buy a house, there are pros and cons to both options. Consider the pros and cons before making your choice. Ultimately, the best option for you will depend on your specific circumstances.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Many people like to buy brand new items. In many instances though, used items can be a powerful strategy. The following contributed post is entitled, The Benefits Of Buying Used.
If you are someone who usually buys the things you need for your home and business new, then you are probably wondering about how you can save money, and the answer is undoubtedly buying used.
However, if you have never bought anything used before, you might be wondering what the benefits of secondhand are, so let’s take a look at them right now.
Save money
As we touched on above, whether you are buying iPhone 6S Plus that has been used and fully refurbishes, or a used car, when you choose to buy goods that have already had a life, you will save a huge amount of money, and these days, even used goods often come with a warranty and a full guarantee, so you have nothing to worry about.
Good for the planet
When you buy used, you are not causing the demand for new items to increase, which means fewer finite resources are needed and less carbon is produced. If this is important to you on a personal level, then it makes sense to buy used, but it can also make sense on a business level too.
These days, customers are looking to buy from companies who are ethical and who care about the planet, if you buy used IT equipment or recycled paper or things of that nature, then you can talk about them and how you are trying to be more ethical thus saving money and boosting your brand credentials in the process. You know it makes sense.
It helps people
Buying used goods can also help people. If you buy directly from people in your neighborhood, you might end up supplying them with the few dollars they need for the grocery shop or to pay the electricity bill that week. And if you buy from a thrift store, you will help to fund many good causes too. If you are someone who likes to help those less fortunate, then buying used is a good way to do that because it benefits your wallet and the charities and people who live around you too.
Cut down on packaging
Packaging, especially plastic packaging is a really bad thing for the environment and those of us who live on the planet. Obviously, when you buy used more often you end up using less plastic packaging, which means less waste overall. It is also a really good way to set an example and show that another way is possible.
Bigger profits
If you buy used machinery and equipment for your business, then you will be able to take a bigger profit at the end of the year and keep your cash flowing more effectively, which is why so many more businesses are buying secondhand today.
As you can see, there are numerous benefits to buying used both in your personal life and your professional one, so before you spend lots of money unnecessarily on anything from phones to clothes, see if you can find the same thing second hand instead.
Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Technology. An RV can be a strong investment if you’re wise in purchasing it. The following contributed post is entitled, Things to Consider When Buying an RV.
Buying an RV is a perfect way to experience travel without having to book a hotel. RVs are more popular than ever with the Coronavirus pandemic in full swing. People are needing to escape but wanted to have the option of interacting with other people during their travels.
No doubt you are excited about making the purchase, but before you go ahead you need to know exactly what you should be looking out for to make the best purchase possible. Here is a look at what you need to bear in mind before purchasing an RV.
Visit a Lot of Dealerships
Going to several dealerships is one of the easiest ways to see exactly what is available to you. During these visits, you should review information about brands and make yourself more acquainted with exactly what you want in an RV.
Visiting many dealerships and looking at several models will also make you more aware of the layout and style of the various brands of RVs.
Create a Must-have List
After you’ve been to several dealerships you will know exactly what you want from an RV. Write down all the things that are essential to you.
Once you’ve created that list you can then decide which features you are willing to negotiate or compromise on.
In doing all of this you should have your budget in mind. You can admire all the RVs that you want, but if you don’t have enough funds to make the purchase then you will only end up being disappointed. Keep a close eye on your budget when making a list of your must-haves.
Consider Buying Your RV Used
It may have never crossed your mind that you should buy your vehicle used, but buying a used RV that is in good condition with all the features you want may be just within your budget.
Make sure that the engine is in proper condition and that things like valves, the oil pan, duramax head studs, spark plugs, and the crankshaft to name a few are in good working order.
The amenities should also be livable. Do a careful examination of the bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping areas before making your final decision.
If you check Craigslist regularly you will find people selling their RVs. You have to move fast though because if the RV is of good value it will be snapped up quickly.
You can also go on the Facebook marketplace to see what is available daily. Don’t rule out looking at an RV because it’s a few miles away. Remember, you have to look at all your options to make the right choice.
Hit the Road
Now that you know what to look for in a great RV, you are ready to make your final purchase and hit the road. When buying an RV make sure that you check out all the features you need while keeping within budget.
Finally, do not rule out buying the RV used, you may get a better deal than you thought possible.
Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Technology. New technologies are emerging all the time. As such it’s important to spend your money wisely and make sure getting the right terms when you’re making your new technology purchases. The following contributed post is entitled, Questions To Ask Yourself When Buying New Tech.
If you’re looking to buy new tech and you don’t know where to begin then don’t worry, you have definitely come to the right place. Whether you’re looking to buy a new TV or you want to invest in a new gaming PC, you need to be sure you’re buying the right products for you. Luckily, there are lots of questions you can ask to ensure you’re doing exactly that. From setting yourself an overall budget to buying from trustworthy retailers, the more questions you’re asking the better. With that in mind, here are a number of questions you can ask yourself when buying new tech:
What Is Your Overall Budget?
One of the first things you need to ask yourself when it comes to buying new tech is in regard to your budget, as you need to ensure you’re not spending more than you can afford. Whether this means researching the average cost for the item you want to buy or hunting around until you find the best price, you need to ensure you’re not spending more than your budget allows. For a guide to budgeting for new technology at home, you can visit this site here.
Are You Buying From A Trustworthy Retailer?
Another important thing you need to consider is whether or not you’re buying from a trustworthy retailer. If you’ve never heard of them before, it might be worth doing a little bit of research.
From reading reviews online to asking your friends and family if they have ever purchased from them, there are lots of ways to ensure you’re buying from a legitimate store. Another option is to ensure you read buyers guides.
Have You Read Product Reviews?
When it comes to buying the right products, you need to be sure you’re reading as many product reviews as you can. Not only will this tell you whether or not the product is high-quality but it will also give you an idea as to whether or not there are any issues you need to be aware of. For a guide to trusting product reviews, you can visit this site here.
How Soon Will It Arrive?
Another important thing to consider is how soon the product is going to arrive. If you’re in a hurry, you may want to find a retailer that can offer next day delivery.
Is There A Returns Policy?
Although the chances of there being an issue with your item are low, you need to ensure there is a returns policy you can trust. Whether it’s a 30 day returns period or something a little longer, having that peace of mind when buying a large ticket item is important.
With the options above you can be sure you’re asking the right questions before you buy new tech, helping to ensure you’re making the right yourself decision. What else should you be asking? Did we miss anything off of the list? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Most of the time we think of buying property domestically, but there is also the potential buy property abroad. Some people would discourage it, but you can successfully do it if prepared. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Buy A Property Abroad.
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Buying a property is a stressful enough experience when you’re buying one in the area you live in. Buying abroad is even more of a tough task, whether you’re going to move abroad, buy a vacation home for yourself, or buy a property as an investment to rent out as a home or a vacation property. Buying a home that is in a country that you aren’t in is hard, but not impossible. You need to do a lot of research before you decide, to make sure you’re making the right choice.
Ask all the questions you can think of about where the property has been built before you think about it too seriously. For example, you need to know if the land the property was built on should have been set aside for land agriculture. Does the land have a history of problems like flooding? Make sure you know about any potential issues before you decide to buy anything.
Bring in a local independent lawyer to help you and to advise you during the sale. Ideally, you need the lawyer to speak English and the local language of the country you are looking at property in. If you’re buying a home in a foreign country, then it is enormously beneficial to have someone locally who can help you to understand any laws and make sure you aren’t being ripped off. A local lawyer will also explain things to you to help you avoid any potential permit issues that you might not know about.
Research the area. You want to know a lot about the area you’re going to buy a property in so you aren’t burned with nasty surprises later on. You should check if the area is known to experience earthquakes or other natural disasters, for example. Do some research into what the neighbourhood is like to live or stay in as well. Is it noisy at night? Is it generally a safe area? Does it suffer from traffic problems? All of these things could impact your ability to let the property out if you plan on buying it as an investment, as well as damaging your own enjoyment of it if you’re buying for you.
Look into the planning permission requirements in the local area. If you want to make any changes to a townhouse that you’re buying, then you will need to be aware of any permissions you will need in order to do so. Your property may also need some licenses to allow you to live there. Make sure you look into this properly before you make arrangements to move. If you don’t have the right permissions in place, then you may not be able to legally live in your new house or arrange things like the utilities.
In some countries, poor construction standards can be an issue. To avoid being caught out by this, always get an independent valuation from a local professional surveyor who is not otherwise connected to the sale. Even a new build should be checked properly for any potential problems. Have the property looked over for poor soil, insufficient foundations, substandard building materials, or questionable building locations like flood areas.
When you’re buying a property in another country, you will need to make sure you can actually understand the contracts. You might only get one contract which is in the local language. To make sure you understand what you’re signing, you should get a professional translation done. If you get two copies, one in the local language, and the second copy in English, make sure you still get the translation checked so you know the two copies actually do match.
If you’re planning to buy a property in order to rent it as a home or a vacation let, you need to think about how you will manage the property. Make sure you’ve included the cost of maintaining the property into your budget as well as the cost of buying it. Will you manage the property yourself or will you bring in a managing agent to look after it for you? A local managing agent is the best idea if you aren’t planning to move to the area, as an agent will be able to look after things like lost keys or repairs that are needed without you having to worry about it. Make sure that you can earn enough profit from renting your property out to cover the costs of hiring this management agent.
Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Whether it’s your primary residence or an investment property, a key is to save money when buy your property of interest. Doing so will make whatever your intended purpose for the property is. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Save Money When Buying Property.
There are many different ways that you can buy a property. When it comes to choosing a home for yourself and your family, you will no doubt have a number of different requirements that you will be looking for. The house will need to be located somewhere that suits your needs. Whether that means that it is an easy commute to your place of work, or is close to friends and family, there will always be concerns that surround your preferred choice of property.
But often, one major factor that plays into your decision making is the financial aspect. You will no doubt want to get the most house for the least money. That means having a home that meets all of your needs, for as little as possible.
Here are some ways that you can look at spending less on your property.
Buy Land And Develop
If you have the time, patience, and the willingness to put in a lot of hard work, you could buy a piece of land such as the ones found on the wyndham ridge estate and then build your own home. Of course, you will need to engage an architect and a builder to help you realize your dreams unless of course, you have these skills yourself.
You would obviously need to price up the entire project before you could commit to it, but in theory, you could save yourself some money and have a much better home.
Restore A Property
When a house falls into a state of disrepair, it will rapidly lose its value. So, if you come to buy a home that is in poor condition, you will be getting the potential for a much better home, for much less.
If you are willing and able to work to restore a run-down property, then there are some real savings for you. Get a survey carried out of the entire property and use that information to help you to prioritize tasks. There may be unseen structural problems that should be addressed before anything else.
Buy A Property Before It Is Built
Many property developers will be looking to sell homes that they are yet to build. They want a very quick turnaround on any houses, and it often helps them if they have sold the property before they even break ground.
Look for developments opening up in the area that you are interested in living. Often, many homes will be built at the same time. You’ll be able to view floor plans and artist impressions of how the home will look once built. Often, the developers will build a show home first, which they can use for selling other properties that follow the same design.
Of course, buying a new home will come with its issues. Once the home is completed, you may need to call the builders back to carry out remedial works on any snagging issues that you may find. This is quite normal, but it is something that you should be aware of.
Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. Depending on the type of business or company you’re in, there will come a time when you’ll need to upgrade you tools and technologies. Doing so properly will prevent any interruption in your operations, while doing it incorrectly can interrupt your operations. The following contributed post is entitled, Common Mistakes Companies Make When Buying New Tools.
Buying new tools for your business? Here are a few common tool-buying mistakes to avoid.
Skimping on quality
When it comes to tool quality, you get what you pay for. Cheap tools tend to be less reliable and less efficient, especially if you’re buying used tools. As a result, you’re likely to pay more in repairs and replacements in the future. Such tools also tend to look cheap, which won’t do any good for your professional image.
Consider the factors that affect quality control before buying and research into these. If you’re buying a cutting tool for instance, consider the cutting tool material. You’ll generally pay extra for this added quality, but it’s worth it in the long run.
Splurging on gimmicks
Whilst spending a little extra could guarantee better quality, you should avoid splurging your money on tools beyond your needs. If you need to buy a printer for your office, consider whether you really need an industrial printer capable of printing hundreds of copies per minute. Make sure that you’re likely to use the tool to its full potential.
Buying single-use tools that could be hired
If you’re using a tool once, there’s no use in buying it only for it to gather dust for the remainder of its life. When it comes to these tools, use rental companies to hire them for a short period instead. You’ll save a lot of money by doing this. Just make sure to hire from a reputable company – the best companies will look after their equipment and ensure that it is top quality.
Using too many different brands
Whilst you don’t need to stay completely loyal to one brand, there are advantages to having several tools of the same brand. Firstly, it’s likely that such tools may have similar controls – a die cutter and a vacuum mold machine from the same company may have similar buttons and dials making it easier to learn the controls. There may also be a certain level of integration and cross-compatibility. Hand-held tools of the same brand for instance tend to use the same battery packs or the same chargers. Two types of software from the same brand meanwhile may be linked together so that you can easily move data from one to the other.
Overlooking energy-efficiency
This one applies only to electrical machinery, but it’s an important factor to consider. Machinery that uses up lots of electricity will cost you more in energy bills. Such machines tend to be older used machines – most modern machines are very energy efficient. You can usually find energy ratings for machinery online.
A key focus of my blog is Financial Literacy/Money. Everyone needs a place to live and an important consideration if you’re worthy of a mortgage is whether or not to buy or to rent. There are considerations for both, and sometimes people buy before they’re ready. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How To Decide Whether To Buy Or Rent.
Moving home can be an exciting, yet equally stressful time, and of course it always depends on your reasons for moving in the first place, but aside from looking for a new place, getting rid of the current place and then actually having to pack up your stuff and move, there’s also the question of whether to rent or buy.
Of course, there’s no right or wrong – only what works for you, but it’s important to take into consideration your own needs and circumstances when deciding on which option is right for you.
So, in this post we’re going to share with you some of the reasons to consider renting or buying with a list of points for each so that you can decide which one is better for your needs right now.
Renting:
Less paperwork:
One of the most appealing things for most people who rent is that there’s certainly a lot less paperwork to deal with compared to buying. When you rent a place, you typically sign a lease, but this is nothing more than a standard document containing a few pages – unlike with buying where you have multipe things to sign and forms to fill out before you can even pay your deposit.
It gives you more freedom:
Although even if you buy a house you can still move anytime you want to, it definitely takes a little more in the way of planning when you own your place compared to when renting where you can simply give the required notice and hand back a set of keys.
You’re not responsible for repairs:
When you rent your place, the landlord is responsible for making sure everything is in working order and any repairs needing done to the property have to be carried out at their expense as long as you didn’t cause the problems or need for repairs yourself.
Buying:
You own the property:
Of course, buying has plenty of upsides just like renting, and one of those is that once you’ve paid your mortgage off you own your property outright, which definitely appeals to those who want to use property as an investment or who don’t want to be paying someone else’s mortgage each month. If you’re considering buying a place, then you’ll obviously need a mortgage and can have a look online for things like an itin mortgage lender to see what type of mortgage you could get and what would be suitable for you.
You can decorate as you wish:
Another great thing about owning your place is that you don’t have to ask permission from a landlord if you want to carry out any renovations or decorations, so you can make the place your own style as much as you like. It also means that any work you do in the place is something that you’ll get the full benefit of and won’t be leaving for someone else to enjoy at your expense.
It can be cheaper than renting:
Although there are always exceptions, buying is typically cheaper than paying rent each month.
