finance

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9 Things to Consider When Buying a Car 

Buying a car is very exciting, but there are many considerations to make. This guide lists 9 things to consider when buying a car.

Buying a car is extremely exciting. But being on the verge of excitement can always lead to making mistakes.

There are some things to consider when buying a car, things that will ensure that you make the right decision that will leave you satisfied.

In this article, we will cover 9 things you might want to consider.

So if that sounds interesting, keep reading to learn more.

  1. Your Need for the Car

A very necessary idea to consider is your need for the car. Needs and wants are far apart, and rarely crossover in the realm of common ground.

So think what you will be using the car for the daily commute, adventure, showing off, so on and so forth.

Has your family expanded and you require more room? Do you need a car that can go off-road, and have efficient mileage? Or maybe you’re a bachelor and you want a small car because you hate public transportation.

Think about your needs, or more so your problems, and then determine why the car is a solution to those issues. Thus, you will narrow down the options and make a better choice.

  1. Your Budget

Budget is very important, and if this is your first car, it’s critical to your success. Consider your entire monthly income and expenses, so that you can determine the amount you can spend on a car payment.

Looking for a new car is looking for a new loan. All loans are different, as some offer more money and some offer better interest than the others.

Understanding these changes in loan structure is crucial to understanding the realistic cost of your monthly payments. It’s also a good idea to have 20% as a down payment to cover the car’s price.

This will help you get out of term earlier, reduce the interest and make sure you don’t need excessive insurance.

  1. Used Vehicle

Buying a used car is a great opportunity to save money, and get a vehicle in optimal condition. A used car doesn’t have to be 20 years old, even cars that are 5 years old are depreciated but ultimately function as new.

Having an open mind about buying provides you with more opportunities. That means that you can look for vehicles from dealerships, individuals, online directories, so on and so forth.

Don’t limit yourself. You never know, your dream car might have already had an owner. Find out more about buying new vs used.

  1. Cost of Ownership

Another critical aspect of buying a car is cost of ownership. Ownership costs cover fuel, repairs, maintenance, insurance, and of course, depreciation. Out of all those aspects, depreciation is the most important, because at some point you might want to sell the car.

In general, your car expenses should not exceed 20% of your budget for the month. Obviously, the more expensive a car, the higher the insurance will be. If you are looking to buy an expensive car, you can work with a high net-worth insurance company, so that you get a great deal.

Besides all of that, you need to think about the availability and cost of spare car parts. Not to mention, the fuel economy is very important as well.

  1. Test Drive

No matter if you’re buying a new or used car, a test drive makes all the difference. Your car is your ship, and you are the crew, thus it’s important to get along.

If you don’t like driving that car, don’t buy it. Make sure everything feels comfortable and enjoyable. When driving, listen for odd sounds, and inspect if possible.

How’s the interior of the vehicle? Does it appeal to you? There’s a myriad of other questions that you can ask yourself to determine if the vehicle is right for you.

In any case, if you can’t decide between two vehicles, a test drive makes all the difference.

  1. Car Inspection

No matter if you’re buying from a dealership or a private person, you should always get an inspection by a specialized mechanic.

Even though it might cost you some money, it can save you lots of trouble from buying a vehicle that will fall apart in front of you in the future.

Also, the mechanic would be able to instantly assess any necessary servicing to the vehicle that will make sure you get the best possible driving experience.

  1. The Right Time

Getting the car at the right time can be very useful.

If you’re not in a rush, buying a car towards the end of the year will be cheaper then earlier in the year. Dealerships have quotas, and they need to move product. If they haven’t reached the number yet, they will be more eager to provide deep discounts on great vehicles.

You can also save money by taking advantage of holiday sales. But if you’re not up for waiting for a holiday or the end of the year, you should go car shopping early in the week.

Most people do their shopping on the weekend, thus a weekday will allow you to get better attention from a salesperson, which means you have a better negotiation advantage than somebody else.

  1. Things to Consider When Buying A Car: Incentives

If you’re looking for a specific vehicle from a specific dealer, you should show interest and sign-up for various newsletters and contact mechanisms, which will provide access to you for the salesperson. If you disappear for too long, they will contact you and see if you would like to buy at a lower price.

Ask about incentives and trade-in offers. If you have a vehicle that you would like to get rid of, offer it up as trade-in, and you might save substantially on your purchase.

  1. Insurance Quotes

Out of all the things to consider when buying a car, this is not as important, but valuable nonetheless.

Insurance agencies take car models and makes into consideration before they can provide you with a premium. One would think that insuring a new car will be less expensive than an older one, however, that’s not always the case.

There are many ways to reduce your insurance premiums, so keep your eyes peeled and do some research.

Buy Your Car

Now that you about the things to consider when buying a car, you can actually get to find the right car for purchase.

As long as you adhere to and consider these ideas, you will be way ahead of the rest, thus making you a better buyer, and dealerships love that.

If you’re interested in learning more about vehicles, check out our categorical page on the left handlebar on the website.

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Is the Write off Worth It? How to Donate a Car (And If You Should)

Is it more worth it to donate a car or sell it for cash? Learn about the tax write offs for donating a car, here.

You’ve seen the signs that say you can donate a car to a good cause.

Would they even want your car? Whether it’s the salvation army car donation you’re looking into or another organization that wants you to donate your car, you might not be sure it is even worth the hassle.

Continue reading this article to learn more about car donation and what you need to know.

Look Out for the Tax Man & Scams 

While it might seem like a good idea to help a good cause by donating your car to a charity — be careful. If you don’t work with a good charity, you might find yourself mixed up in a scam or other problematic situation.

Before you decide you want to donate your vehicle, make sure you speak with a professional like a CPA  to see what their advice is on the specific charity you’re considering. If you claim more than what you’re supposed to for your car donation this can get you into trouble with the IRS.

Helping out a charity and getting rid of a car at the same time might seem like an attractive way to help out a charity and get help yourself. While there are some organizations that are on the up and up, you do have to do some extra work to make sure.

Considering Selling Your Car and Donating the Proceeds 

Instead of trusting someone else to give the charity of your choice the money from the sale, why not sell your car and donate the proceeds instead? When you do this, you’ll know where the money is going and you’ll still get the write-off on your taxes.

The good news is the write-off on your taxes won’t be anything to worry about since you’ll be able to prove a specific monetary amount.

While that might sound like a good idea, you might be wondering, “Who buys cars that don’t run?” You should know that there are companies that specialize in buying cars that don’t run. You can look around for some in your area and you’re sure to find companies that will have use for your car.

Doing a Good Deed 

Wanting to do a good deed is great but you need to make sure to protect yourself from any legal matters. Selling your car and donating the proceeds will allow you to have the pleasure of doing a good deed without worrying you’re getting scammed or doing something you’ll be in trouble for.

Making Sense of When to Donate a Car 

Now you can make an informed decision on whether to donate a car or not. You might decide that you want to get some cash out of it instead.

Now that you’ve learned this information, why stop there? Our site is filled with more articles that can help you as you’re increasing your knowledge of cars, donations and more.

Browse our site to find more great articles you’ll love.

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2010 Jeep Wrangler Date Night: Seeing Sara Evans and Fairground Saints at The City Winery in Nashville, Tennessee

This past Saturday, my wife and I did something we have only done once before in our 8 and a half years of being parents: We hired a babysitter!

And if you know us in real life, you know how strange that truly is. Because when it comes to money, we are extremely conservative. We never leave the house without the kids unless our parents are visiting from out of state.

But yes, we not only paid a babysitter for the night but we also paid full price for tickets to see Sara Evans and Fairground Saints perform at The City Winery in Nashville; which is about 40 miles away from the bedroom community we live in.

And on top of all that, we got to take our new Jeep (it’s a 2010 with 60K miles, but we paid cash for it, thanks to being faithful followers of Dave Ramsey) to Nashville for the first time.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Everywhere we go is automatically more fun when we go in the Jeep!

It’s always seemed a bit ironic that though I was born and raised in Fort Payne, Alabama, while my wife was born and raised outside of Sacramento, California, yet she is the big country music fan.

With that being said, Fairground Saints (pictured above) are actually from Santa Barbara, California.

We stopped halfway there to have a glorious dinner at Local Taco in Brentwood. When you and your spouse have spent the greater half of this past decade being a vegan and vegetarian, you can try to imagine how awesome eating “normal food” is again…

It was so good, I’m already plotting the next time we can go back so I can have the Korean BBQ Braised Beef, as well as the Nashville Hot Chicken tacos again!

As for the show, this makes our 2nd time to see a performance at The City Winery in Nashville. I’m convinced at this point, it’s undeniably my favorite place to see musicians perform in the entire Nashville area.

The place is classy, intimidate, and a lot of fun.

So this is what it’s like to hire a babysitter and drive out to Nashville for a date night?

We really should do this more often!

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2010 Jeep Wrangler JK Sport 4WD 6 Speed: Family Ride in Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee

It’s been two weeks now that I finally obtained my dream vehicle, a Jeep Wrangler. As part of the fun for Mother’s Day for my wife, I announced we would be going for our very first family leisurely drive through the not-so-faraway Jeep-friendly spot: Percy Warner Park in Nashville.

This weekend’s drive confirmed what I always believed about owning a Jeep Wrangler; that you don’t simply own a vehicle, you own a mobile amusement park.

Automatically, anywhere you drive is suddenly more exciting. The view is undeniably better. Whenever you see a road you want to go down, or go up, that you wouldn’t normally be able to… well, now you can.

And we did. Many times.

There is no fear of getting stuck in the mud, because now we have 4 wheel drive.

There is no fear of not being able to turn around if we get to the end of a narrow dead-end road, because the Jeep is so short.

There is no fear of boredom, because we are ultimately riding in a mini monster truck.

Something really crazy about my 7 and a half year journey to finally getting my Jeep Wrangler is that I never ever drove one until I had already bought mine!

That’s how much I knew I was destined to own one.

I can’t remember the last time I bought anything for myself that made me so happy.

When you’re the husband and the father, you just sort of go along with whatever is going on with your family. There was honestly nothing I needed or even wanted anyway.

Except for the Jeep, which I couldn’t afford until now; and was able to pay cash for. (My wife and I are very serious about Dave Ramsey!)

But this Jeep isn’t just for me: My whole family enjoys it.

It’s simply more fun to drive now; even in bumper to bumper commuter Nashville traffic.

That’s how good a Jeep Wrangler is.

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Choosing to Be a Church Pastor as a Career Path, Not as a Calling

I am currently fascinated by this concept in America: In theory, a man who is not actually a believer could choose the profession of being a church pastor; not because he believes in the teachings of Christianity or that he is being called by God to do so, but instead, simply because he sees being a church pastor as a promising career path.

Church pastors have to make a living, too, you know. They have families to support. The tricky part is this, though: The salary that a pastor earns is often directly related to the size of his congregation.

Not only is there a salary to consider, but often, the church members’ tithes cover the pastor’s insurance, as well as a housing stipend.

Here’s what the career path looks like:

This man goes to seminary. This man graduates seminary.

Man starts pastoring a small country church and remains there two years, as he builds a reputation as “an engaging speaker and a strong leader, just what this church needs” (largely due to the fact he simply has the right personality for the job and is a good communicator); while using clever social media posts to build his reputation. The money isn’t amazing, but it pays the bills.

Word gets out, and now this man is offered a position at a larger church in a bigger town just an hour away: This one even has two church buses and even a humble sized “life and recreation center”. The money is definitely better and there is now basic insurance available.

He puts in three years at this one before his reputation (and his congregation’s perception of the Lord’s calling) sends him to the suburbs of a decent sized city; like Atlanta, Indianapolis, or Houston.

His church now has a dozen members in the worship band alone. His sermons get thousands of views on YouTube. The pastor even has a popular Instagram account which regularly features his high dollar sneaker collection; even if most of those shoes were given to him as publicity by the shoe companies to promote their brand.

By this point, it’s hard to speculate exactly how much money this pastor actually makes; but given all the perks with his career, it doesn’t matter as much anymore.

For example, he gets paid thousands of dollars per event, to travel and speak at other churches.

He even has his own book out, which he earns all the royalties from. So even without depending on the church itself, his side hustles help provide an extra cushion for him and his family.

As long as this man is smart enough to invest in his marriage, ultimately by avoiding cheating on his wife or getting divorced; and as long as he never involves himself in official financial scandal, like embezzlement or tax evasion, his career remains strong.

He retires in his mid 50’s and lives happily ever after. He totally gets away with “serving” as a church pastor for his entire career. Then, he peacefully dies in his sleep at age 78; having lived quite comfortably the past 30 years on his financial investments. Not to mention, he still has millions of dollars in the bank to leave for his family.

But then what?

I bet there are more of these “career path pastors” then we realize. In the end, though, we all answer individually to God at the end of our lives for our own actions:

For how we cared for the poor, the widows, and the fatherless.

For how we treated our neighbors as ourselves.

For how we made the decision to forgive, even when it didn’t make sense from a human perspective.

For how we worked out our own secret sins (gossip, judging others, apathy for the hurting), as opposed to focusing more on the ungodly tendencies of other people who have didn’t temptations than we do.

But I suppose that is a risk these career path pastors are willing to take; given that they don’t actually have to believe in order to successfully pastor a church.

Uh oh… I think I just accidentally wrote the concept for a screenplay for a Christian movie starring Kirk Cameron, Sean Astin, or Nicolas Cage.