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Reasons To Pay Off Your Car

07.12.2012 by Kevin Mercadante //

It’s better to be debt free than owe money.

I’m talking everything: your credit cards, student loans – even on your home.

It can be done – if – we make the right choices.

Regarding auto loans: if you have a choice, pay it off ASAP!

Here’s why.

Owning a car is expensive enough without a loan

Owning a car comes with many expenses: gas, insurance, registration, taxes, maintenance, care, and repair. Together these can total several thousand dollars per year. But throw a monthly car loan on top, and you have thousands more.

The secret to success? Pay cash for cars and save money for their regular care. If you take care of them they’ll take care of you.

If you lose your job, it’s one less payment

Living light never feels better than when you lose your job. Suddenly income evaporates (or is lowered to the level of an unemployment check) and one of your primary new tasks is to cut spending. If you own your car, one major expense is already out of the way.

In today’s unstable job market, this is a goal worth making reality!

The RISK of not making your payments

Most of us take the risk of auto loans a bit too lightly. After all, stop paying your credit cards and you may get nasty phone calls and a series of threatening letters, but nothing will be taken from you, at least not for a while. Stop paying on your mortgage and you’ll get to stay in the house for as long as the slow wheels of the foreclosure process will allow.

But – stop making payments on your car, and you’ll lose it, and quick!

If you lose your car you’re probably not able to earn a living. Do you see the vicious cycle here?

Never take this risk of borrowing money lightly.

Own important things free and clear, whenever possible

Call it peace of mind or whatever you want but owning things without debt is as a sanity issue.

If everything you own has a loan attached to it, life can be maddening. Debt is everywhere you look—even when you’re out driving your car.

A debt free car is like a mental and emotional oasis, it’s one very important asset you can own free and clear, and we all need as many of these victories as we can get.

Keep your options open

Few things in life are constant.

As we go through life, our circumstances change,  our directions change, and even we change. Even if you have no intention of it, your future can hold an unexpected life change.

If change does come – trust me – you’ll be better served by having all of your financial ducks in a row. And owning your car free and clear is one great way to prepare.

Benefits of owning your vehicle

Owning your vehicle free and clear benefits you in several ways, including but not limited to:

Sell your car. A car loan is a limiting factor if you should decide to sell. Auto loans reduce the amount of money you’ll clear on the sale ,and (if the loan is large enough) could even render the sale impossible.

Buy your next car. A loan means less money from a sale or trade-in, and that means a lower down payment on your next car.

A lower down payment means an even larger loan on the new car, and the cycle of ever higher car debt to continue. By being debt free on your car, the cycle is broken.

Start a new business. If you want to start a new business, being debt free on your car makes it easier. It’s not just one less bill to pay, it’s also one less obligation to worry about. If you start your own business you’ll want the fewest obligations possible.

Accept a lower paying job. There are at least two reasons this could happen, 1) you’re laid off and forced to take a pay cut, or 2) you move into a job that you really like but it pays less. The car loan, so easy to handle at your current pay level, may be impossible to manage in a lower paying job. By owing your car you’re in a position to move when you need or want.

Raise children at home. How much easier would this be to do if you owned your car debt free?

Just to take some time off. Each of us need to do this from time to time, especially between jobs or before starting a new career or business venture. It’s a way of clearing our heads before the next big move. Whatever the reason, it’s easier to do with no car loan to worry about.

We should work to be debt free in as many areas of our lives that we can – but – your car is one asset to be especially motivated to pay off.

Once you do, many risks and burdens go away, trust me!

Can you see why being debt free on your car is so important? Do you see why it should be one of the first debts to pay off?

Categories // Debt, Money Management Tags // auto loan, borrow, own

Homemade Cleaning Products – DFA Tip of the Week – 2/16/2009

02.16.2009 by Matt Jabs //

There are many ways to reduce costs in our every day lives, so to help do just that each Monday I will post a money saving “Tip of the Week”.

This weeks tip involves…making your own homemade cleaning products!

If you ask my wife, I have been going on and on about making my own homemade cleaning products for about a year now.  She just gives me that “yeah sounds like a great idea, why don’t you run with that” look and goes about her business.  What I really desire is for HER to become interested in the several benefits of such an endeavor and make it her own…but I won’t hold my breath!  🙂

Reasons for Making Your Own:

  • You wallet will be fatter! A lot of homemade cleaners are made from cheap ingredients like white vinegar & ammonia, which are both much less expensive in volume than a bottle of Windex.
  • Although I do not endorse the way the world has erroneously rallied behind “environmentalism”.  Making your own household cleaning products is a solid way to make a positive impact on the world around you. In doing so you are sending a message to cleaning products manufacturers that you want a better, more sustainable, less expensive product.
  • Improved self-reliance. What if Walmart stores were not open any longer?  How would you clean your living quarters?  If you have experience making your own products you won’t have to worry about it!  Also,  your knowledge & experience will be a blessing to your friends, family, & neighbors.
  • The snowball effect. Starting down a road of frugality and self-reliance will ultimately bring you more of the same.  This endeavor will more than likely kick-start other similar money saving ventures.
  • I have listed just a few of benefits to making your own homemade cleaning products, there are many more…share more reasons by leaving your comment below.

Sounds Great…Let’s Get Started!

To commence your homemade cleaning products adventure go to Sam’s Club or COSTCO and pick up some empty commercial spray bottles.  After looking around the web a little I noticed that Sam’s Club has the same product as Amazon but for about half the price!  Want to start cheaper still?  Simply save the empty bottles from your current cleaning products and use them.

And now for the big secret…THE RECIPES!!  Well, it’s not that big of a secret…here is an indispensable article for homemade cleaning products recipes from TipNut.com.

This information should help give you a strong start.  Make sure to come back to DebtFreeAdventure.com and let us share in your progress!  I too intend to post articles referencing the way my wife & I are implementing the tips given here at DFA.  Until next time…

Click here to see all past DFA Tips of the Week.

Categories // Earn Money, Money Management Tags // cleaning, Homemade, make, own, products, your

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Content on Debt Free Adventure is for entertainment purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website may change without notice: please visit referenced sites for current information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. We respect your privacy. Privacy policy.

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Disclaimer

Content on Debt Free Adventure is for entertainment purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website may change without notice: please visit referenced sites for current information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. We respect your privacy. Privacy policy.

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