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Buying a car is a big financial investment. Most people are not able to pay cash for their new vehicle and must rely instead on car loans to make their purchase. In order to be able to make lower monthly payments, many people are now taking out loans that can take up to five years to pay off. The interest charges on these loans are quite high. By the time the car is finally paid off it will have cost many thousands more than if cash had been used to make the purchase.

In order to avoid the large outlay of money involved in buying a new vehicle, many individuals instead choose to buy a used car. This is certainly an option for some, but people who wish to own a new car can save money by following a few rules that make car financing less costly.

1. The first thing to remember is that cars are depreciating assets. As soon as a car leaves the lot it has lost several thousand dollars in value. Every year the car is worth less and those financing their car for five years are left with an asset that does not have much value. The best policy is to save as much cash as possible to pay for the car. Not only will this save a lot of money in interest over the years, it also puts the buyer in a position of power when negotiating car prices.

2. Decide on your budget before going to look at cars. Avoiding emotional buying is easier when you know how much you can realistically afford. Determine how much of a cash down payment you can afford without having to make sacrifices. There are websites that have loans calculators that allow you to check how much loan payments will be for various car prices.

3. Do comparison shopping of loans online. There are many websites that offer car loans at affordable rates. Getting a car loan at the dealership is not always the best option since every warranty or add-on that is purchased with the car will be added onto the loan and result in extra interest charges. Obtaining a loan before going to the dealership allows you to negotiate for a better deal. Do not immediately offer to pay the full price of the car. Car dealers expect to negotiate and the given price is never set in stone.

4. Car dealers love to up-sell their customers. Typical up-sells include extended warranties, rustproofing and fabric protection. Warranties can be purchased directly from the warranty provider. Car dealerships are only the ‘middlemen’ and stand to make a profit by selling them. Rustproofing is only necessary if you live in a place where a lot of salt is used on icy roads in the winter. Fabric protection is a personal choice but not generally necessary given the depreciating nature of vehicles.

5. Avoid negotiating ‘packed payments’. If the dealer tries to sell you a car based on the monthly payment you have to make, rather than the whole purchase price, be aware that this can add up to much more than the amount needed to cover the cost of the car.

Are you looking for ways to make your dollar go further? Staying on a budget can be difficult if you’re not sure where to start. Try following these 5 easy ways to help you manage or lower your expenses.

1) Buy generic brands

Grocery stores usually offer a store brand or a generic brand that costs less than name brands. Pharmacies also offer generic versions of most medications that tend to be far less expensive. It’s also important to avoid shopping on an empty stomach. If you do, anything and everything will look delicious. You’ll throw out that budget you had in mind along with your will power to resist that chocolate cake in the bakery. So, eat before you go to the grocery store and stick to your list!

2) Carpool

With rising gas prices, who wants to pay so much to drive to and from work every day? Find someone you work with who lives close enough to you that you can carpool. Carpooling will save you money on gas, allow you to use the HOV lane, and give you time to catch up on water cooler gossip before you get to the office. If you have no options for carpool buddies, you can use public transportation or even consider moving closer to work to shorten your commute.

3) Pay off credit cards

Pay off your credit card with the highest interest rate first. It is imperative that you make your payments on time. Late payments can lead to a nightmare of late fees, increased interest rates, and seeing that dreaded decrease in credit score. It is a good idea to make a separate calendar just for bills and their due dates to avoid missing payments. You will never have to incur late fees because you simply forgot to pay the bill.

4) Pay yourself first

A wise man (my dad) once told me that the most important bill to pay is – you. All you have to do is budget a certain amount of money from every paycheck and essentially “pay” yourself. This money should go into your savings account. You’re continually adding a fixed amount to your savings and growing your emergency fund a little at a time.

5) Take advantage of free offers

There are free and discounted offers all over the Internet, you just have to find them. For instance, if you type in “pizza hut promo code,” you’re likely to find a coupon for a few bucks off your pizza. You can also sign up for newsletters from your favorite online stores. You’ll get emailed frequently with discounted offers. There are also tons of online coupon sites. If you’ve ever seen the television show “Extreme Couponing” you know just how much coupons can save you. There you have it! Try these 5 simple ways to stretch your dollar. Remember, creating and managing a budget plays a crucial role in your financial health. Don’t let the process overwhelm you. Simply pick a place to start and go from there.

If you are the super sensible type of college grad who spent all of your time at school working hard to stay afloat, you might well have come out with your diploma as well as a nice pot of savings – or at least not too much debt.

If on the other hand you didn’t (like 99% of your peers, myself included) then congrats, you have just arrived at that point in life where you need to repair and rebuild and start your journey to financial stability.

Step 1: What Are Your Key Goals?

When you have lots of debt and little income you have 2 overriding goals; so these are what we will focus on:

1 – To pay off your debts, so that you can begin saving.
2 – To repair your credit rating, ready for when you need it.

So before we get started, your first task is to write down all your debts – this won’t be fun, but you need to know your starting point. So make a list of who you owe, how much and what it’s costing you (ie, interest rate).

Step 2: Paying It Off

You need to prioritise which debts are paid off first. In general store cards, then credit cards and overdrafts, loans etc come last.

Paying off the high cost debt will save you the most money, money which can then be used to pay off more debt. As soon as a card is paid off you can destroy it and cancel the account.

High Risk Strategy:

If you can take a relatively low interest loan to pay off all of your cards this might be a good idea, it will save you money and give you a much more manageable repayment. Be careful though, if you end up taking out new cards you will just get further into debt. Only take this option if you are sure you can trust yourself and if the numbers add up.

Use Your Credit Cards

Long term credit card debt is bad for your credit rating, so pay these off first. Once you have paid them off though, using your cards occasionally will help to improve your credit rating. Again, this is risky and should only be done if you trust yourself to pay off your balance in full every month.

If you can’t use a card responsibly just get rid of it, slip ups will cost you, and you can’t afford that right now.

Be Vigilant

For the time being you are going to be constantly close to your limit, because all of your income will be working hard to pay off debt. It is important to watch your finances closely and be careful to avoid dipping into your overdraft (or at least going past the limit). Set aside 10 minutes every other day to review your progress so that you always know where you are.

Step 3: Getting Them Paid Off

If you have multiple debts, keep an eye on the balances. Sometimes it is worth paying off a smaller debt as soon as you can, even if it is not a high interest one. This isn’t optimal financially, but being able to cross off a debt is great for your motivation.

In the long term you just need discipline; it can be very hard, but as long as you can see progress being made you should be able to stay motivated and keep at it.

A career in finance offers a wide range of potential paths. From payroll and bookkeeping to major corporate investment strategies, the world of capital, expenditure and fiscal procedure is a varied one. However, there are some essential skills that anyone looking to forge a working life in finance would do well to master, and which will give an excellent skill base whichever route in the field they choose.

It may sound a little disingenuous, but the first skill anyone must master is a sound understanding of financial terminology and processes. Building on mathematical skills learnt at school, college courses in finance and business will introduce the financial tools utilized in areas such as taxes, estate planning, investments, international finance, and the legal ramifications in each area. Given that areas of the finance industry often intersect, a thorough grounding in a wide range of financial disciplines is a great start to your career.

Because finance relies on a clear understanding of figures and analysis how numerical values are related, a good eye for detail and the ability to focus on small elements are necessary skills. A single slip in a set of data may have severe ramifications. You must also be organized in your work so that you have information to hand and your workflow can be understood when exported to clients or colleagues.

Finance is often a specialized sort of field, one in which particular knowledge is accrued to make the employee a valuable asset. As such, communication skills are required so that you can easily assimilate information and present it to those who may not have the same level of technical understanding. This is particularly essential for those who choose to work in consumer finance, advising members of the public on pensions or investments, for example. Even those working within financial institutions will often need to communicate relevant information to other departments and individuals within the firm or to provide comprehensive details of their analytical framework and processes, so the ability to present clearly, comprehensively and concisely really helps. Individuals working in finance who wish to set up their own business or go freelance will need good communication skills to help network and forge industry links.

Project management is another vital skill to develop for a career in finance. You are likely to need to integrate with other departments, to work to deadlines and to collaborate with colleagues.

These days, the vast majority of financial work is done on computers. From simple accounting practices to international futures trading, computers and their software are the tools of the industry. Mastery of Excel will allow you to present data sheets and reports, while accounting programs vary between businesses, but may include programmes such as AME, GAAP, Intact and Quicken. With more and more of the financial industries processes migrating to external servers, a knowledge of Cloud computing and SaaS may also be useful.

Once you are in the finance industry, you may enhance your career prospects by specializing in a particular area, developing your skills so that you offer a unique service. Among the areas that are seen as today’s growth sectors are business valuations, mergers and acquisitions, benefits administration and tax planning.

There’s no one among us who would turn down more money. We could all use a little extra cash. Even though we’re all the same in that respect, what we’d do with any extra money would be radically different. All of us have different spending habits and personal finances, and not all of us are very smart with our money. Everyone needs to examine their finances from time to time and look for ways to improve, but some of us need more help than others.

The following are five essential questions you need to ask yourself. If you answer no to all of them, you are in dire need of a financial makeover.

Are you happy with your spending habits?

The first clue that you need a financial makeover is if you’re unhappy with the state of your finances. You might not be able to instantly increase your monthly income, but you can do something about your monthly spending habits. If you’re not satisfied with how you’re spending, it’s time to do something about it by taking a very close look at where your money is going.

Do you have a six-month emergency fund?

One of the best things you can do for yourself financially is keep a six-month emergency fund. This fund should have enough money to pay all your bills and cover your entire cost of living for six months, just in case anything was to happen and you lose your income. If you don’t have your emergency fund yet, or if you’re tapping into it now, you probably need to make over your finances.

Are you putting away some savings every month?

Even if you don’t have a six-month emergency fund yet, you should be working toward it regularly. After everything is paid for, do you have money left over? If you do, what do you do with the leftover money? If you aren’t saving any of it, you’re going to have to start. While you should be treating yourself and enjoying your money, at least some of it should get put aside every month.

Do you have a budget?

When your paycheck comes in, do you know where it’s all going? Do you have target dollar amounts for your spending in all categories, like food, clothing, and restaurants? If you don’t, the single best thing you can do for your finances is create a budget. You’ll need to really evaluate your spending habits. When you write everything down, it will be easier to find problem areas, and it will be easier to reach your financial goals.

Are you paying off your debt?

If you have debt, you should be working to pay off a portion of it every month. Hopefully you can afford to pay more than just the minimum payment, too. If your debt is growing, you are in desperate need of a financial makeover. It is possible for you to begin paying off your debt if you make doing so one of your financial priorities as soon as possible.

Alexander Wilson is a small business owner and freelance writer who loves to travel when he can afford it. After saving for a long while he is looking to book himself a trip at one of several hotels in Maldives. His fiance has a love for island resorts and if things go well on this journey he may consider a honeymoon in the Maldives one day.