Caution when buying vehicles, and GM's big mistake
Written by Mark Burch
While the country, and even the world, continue to be mired in an economic crisis, people are still using great caution while making major purchases, particularly in the area of automobiles. We are keeping our cars, trucks, and SUV's longer, and avoiding car payments. While an automobile is a necessity for a majority of Americans, car payments are most certainly not.
Since so many of us are choosing to keep our vehicles longer, we must be careful to avoid imprudent purchases such as new cars, or cars that become an economic burden due to frequent and/or costly repairs. Purchasing brand-new vehicles continues to be a less than wise investment even with radically low interest rates. The problem is that new vehicles lose so much of their value the moment you drive off the lot. I have met so many people upside down on their balances that they are very discouraged when attempting to get out of debt. The overwhelming majority of people cannot justify the expense of buying a brand-new car. This includes hybrid cars. As a results, many of us are left to purchase used vehicles. This can be a great choice for many of us.
A lady living on fixed income raising her nieces is looking to cut her expenses. Currently, she is unable to pay anything more than her basic living expenses. She has an opportunity to move to a mobile home not far away. It's considerably smaller than the house she has rented for the last few years. Should she just go ahead and make the move?
I knew from talking to her that she was not looking forward to a small mobile home. While the rent may be lower, there is no guarantee that utility bills are going to be lower as a result. In this situation, she's also losing some appliances, and will have to cover whatever moving expenses may occur.
Recently, I was able to spend time with Matt Sapaula, Chicago's "Money-Smart Guy" and host of the Money Smart podcast on iTunes. Matthew was in town to speak at a conference. After connecting on Facebook a couple of nights previous, a couple of us agreed to meet him and chat Friday morning.
My friend Monica J. Foster, owner of BUTTERFLYWHEEL™ Motivation, Advocacy & Consulting was with us as well. She had been on Matt's show a couple of years ago sharing her inspirational life story, but this was the first time they had met in person. It was great. As I shared with Matt about my coaching business and seminars, Monica threw in an unsolicited testimony for me, to the "Money-Smart Guy"!
A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to teach my Making Cents - Financial Foundations seminar to a great group of folks at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. The foundations class covers the basics of developing an emergency fund, budget, and a debt snowball plan to get out of debt in a focused and practical manner.
The majority of the attendees in my seminar are currently unemployed. They come from various backgrounds, but I really appreciated their enthusiasm and their interest in supporting each other. This came in handy as we began discussing funding priorities, particularly with respect to a lovely lady who is raising a couple of young girls after the tragic passing of her niece.
This is a great time to start planning your financial goals for 2011. Did you fall short of your goals this year? How’s your budget? Do you see a plan for retirement? I heard recently that many shoppers had no budget. What? Short-sighted thinking will very easily produce long-term pain. Don’t let this happen to you. Start planning for next Christmas. Setting aside a little money each month will allow you to buy your gifts in cash.
I went to the Best Buy store near my house yesterday looking for a new DVD player. Ours have quit working a while ago. I have put off buying a replacement for a while because, not having anything other than basic cable at our house, the majority of new players hook up to your cable or satellite box. The few that have built-in tuners anymore cost $150 more than the newer players. Yuck!
The customer is always right. The customer is king. Give the customer what they want. We hear and believe phrases like this all the time, but are you doing your part to earn good customer service? Quite often, I see people getting the service they deserve.
When you are an excellent customer, good customer service can also follow. Let me provide a couple of examples of how, but being an excellent customer, it can come back to reward you, and even save you money. In all cases though, it is the right thing to do.
I must admit that I sometimes have unkind thoughts towards commercials that tell folks they can get credit regardless of their situation. Actions have consequences, and we don't really need to have brand new cars if we can't afford them. If your credit score is low, you are a high risk, or you don't have enough debt history to make the creditor comfortable.
Tax Freedom Day — the day on which Americans have earned enough money to pay all federal, state, and local taxes for the year — arrived on April 9, 2010. Your specific Tax Freedom Day depends on where you live. Here in North Carolina, the date was April 7. My friends in California will celebrate April 14. The latest celebrations will be in Connecticut on April 27, while Louisiana celebrated way back on March 26.
In preparation for some new rules as a result of Congress addressing credit issues, Bank of America announced announced that beginning this summer it will only authorize single debit card transactions at the point of sale if a customer has enough money in their account at the time. So what does this mean for their customers, and potentially other customers of different financial institutions?
What Others Are Saying
-
My husband and I attended one of Mark's financial seminars. When we began, my husband and I just couldn't figure out where all the money was going, but now we know where every dime is going and are more...Read More...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Connect With Us On:
