The average yearly cost of car ownership is $8,500. This includes; financing, registration/license fees, insurance, and gas. Don’t let that number scare you though, there is hope.
As a disclaimer, in order to get the most out of this guide you will need to re-think how cars are perceived; they are a necessity, not a luxury.
The following steps will show you how to save money on your used transportation needs. That’s right, used cars only in this article. Buying used and paying in full, upfront, is the most cost effective way to purchase a car. So, without further ado, here is your guide to buying a non-financed used car.
Start a car fund.
We recommend buying outright. This means fitting a car purchase into your budget. Cut out any unnecessary spending and start a car fund. Here are some great Personal Finance Spreadsheets from Google Docs to get you organized.
The key to this step is learning how to live with what you’ve got. Keep driving that clunker until it stops running, find a spare car from friends or family, even utilize the company car. Be prepared, saving up to buy a car outright will not be easy, it requires sacrifice, persistence and some luck.
Don’t start looking for a car until you have almost all of your money saved up. Don’t tempt yourself. If you find that amazing deal and buy on credit, then all hope is lost. You need to remember why you set out to do this; to never have a monthly car payment again.
Research. Research more. Then, research again.
At this point, based on the amount of money you’ve saved up, you’ll want to start looking for a car. Use websites like Kelley Blue Book Online, Auto Trader, and Consumer Guide’s – Used Auto for actual values and reviews on reliability. This will also help determine if you’ve saved enough money to buy the year and make of a car you’re interested in.
Lastly, if you have a mechanic you know and trust, ask his/her opinion on certain cars they’ve worked on that they think are the most reliable.
Stay Organized and Compare Cars.
Start a folder. Keep all cars that you’re interested in inside of this folder. The websites you went to on the tip above will help. Next, start a comparison sheet to help you find out which car is the best. Keep them organized by price, mileage, year, special features and contact information of the seller. Once you’ve narrowed it down to only a couple of cars, your job will be much easier.
Ask the right questions, save time and money.
At this point, you’ll want to put that contact information in your folder to good use. Here are some good questions to keep in mind when calling about the car you’re interested in:
- Is the car still available? (Obvious, but this should be the first question you ask.)
- Are you the original owner? If not, how many previous owners have there been?
- What is the reason you’re selling your car?
- Does this car have a clean title? (Make sure it is not a salvage title, you don’t want a car that has been in an accident or stolen. A lot of people will buy these cars at auctions, then fix them up and re-sell them. Usually a big no-no when it comes to reliability.)
This is a good step to take before you actually see the car in person. You get a good sense of the owner and the car without having to make the trip out to see them. Your next step, before meeting up face to face with the seller, is to arm yourself with as much info for negotiating as possible.
Visit Kelley Blue Book Online and keep the prices of the car you want in mind. If someone is selling a car for $10,000 and you see it listed on KBB $ 8,000, chances are you can get them to drop their price. When you feel confident in all of your research, it’s time to meet with the seller and inspect the car.
The Meeting and The Inspection
Once you find the car you’re looking for, set an appointment with the seller. Here are a few things you should keep in mind for the meeting:
- Bring a folder with all the info you’ve gathered in your research, a pen, and something to write on.
- Meet with the seller during daylight, this helps you to notice anything wrong easier.
- Write down the VIN number, (located on the driver’s-side dashboard, underneath the windshield) you can enter this in a website like CarFax to see the history of the car.
- Check transmission fluid. It should be reddish and slightly transparent. If it smells burnt, it needs a transmission fluid flush. ($40 – $300)
- Check the oil. Golden in color is good. If it’s color is black, this means the seller hasn’t had changed the oil in a long time, this is a bad sign.
- Bring a mirror so you can check under the car for any leaks, dents, or scrape marks.
- Bring a cloth and magnet. Place the magnet over the cloth. If the magnet sticks in some places, but not others, it means the car has probably been fixed with Bondo, or some other type of filler material. The car has been extensively repaired. Avoid it.
- Check the tires for any noticeable and uneven wear, if so it means the alignment is probably out. This is a very expensive repair.
- Bring a dollar bill. Go around to each door and hang the dollar bill outside of it. Close the door. If the dollar bill slides out with ease, the car has most likely been damaged.
For much more information on used car inspection you can go to samarins.com How to inspect A Used Car – An Illustrated Check-List.
Since you’re face to face with the owner, here are some questions to ask:
- Ask for the maintenance record.
- What is the service history like?
- Has it been driven off-road, on the highway, around town?
- Ask to see the title. If it’s a salvage title, and you don’t mind driving one, you can negotiate for a much lower price.
Once you’ve asked all the questions you need, you should ask to take the car for a test drive. While driving, listen for unusual noises, such as clunking over bumps or squealing when turning the steering wheel. Also check if the car pulls severely to the left or right, if so, it has an alignment problem.
Once the inspection and test drive have been taken care of, arrange for your mechanic to look at it. This costs about $80, but a professional opinion could save you thousands of dollars in repairs down the road.
Negotiation 101
Once your mechanic has given your potential new ride his approval, it’s time to start negotiating with the seller. Don’t be the first to offer a price. Go over anything your mechanic may have found, then ask the seller what their best price is. If you did enough research, and looked into the marketplace, you can counter their offer.
Don’t let your emotions get the best of you. If you show your excitement for the car, you will be at a disadvantage. You need to come with the facts, and try to be as removed as possible. Remember, most people selling their car will not put down a reasonable offer.
The Final Steps
Once the purchase has been made, you need to remember to ask the seller for these things:
- Owner’s Manual
- Service History
- Registration
- Handwritten Invoice
- A minimum of 2 sets of keys
Hit The Road, Jack
Well, you’ve got your new (used) car, and we hope it gives you many years of great reliability. We hope this guide helped you in your quest for the best car for your money. If you have any suggestions, stories or questions, please feel free to comment below.
Tags: auto care, buy used, comparison shopping
Posted in Featured, Travel | 3 Comments »
Parents often wonder “what is the best product for my kids?”. I think this is especially important when it comes to diapers. Choosing the right ones can help save you money. Doing some research and making sure they’re comfortable and also absorbent are key factors in buying the right diapers. Here is a comparison chart featuring reviews and the cheapest places to buy diapers:
All prices and reviews are subject to change.
Obviously the Alberton’s Baby Basics brand is the best value, but if you’re into buying bulk, you’ll want to go with the CVS Supreme 210 count from cvs.com. It may only seem like a 1 penny difference, but multiply 210 diapers by 0.1¢ and you end up spending $21 more. Keep in mind these are all prices that were found online and are for size 3 diapers, you may find different prices at your local grocery stores, but this is a good starting point.
Comment below so we can hear some of your reviews or experiences you’ve had with your favorite brand of diaper.
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Recommended links:
Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands, kids
Posted in Family, Featured | 3 Comments »
You’re walking down the grocery store aisles wondering if you’re getting the most out of your food shopping, maybe even some of these question come to mind.
- Can my coupons be more organized?
- Is it really that bad to shop on an empty stomach?
- Should I spend the extra dollar on the “name brand” items?
According to most; one of the biggest expenses is their grocery bill, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Grocery stores are designed to get you to spend as much as possible, but with these easy tips you’ll could potentially cut your grocery bill in half.
The amazing power of coupons.
Some might casually use them, some might not use them at all, and some even obsess over them. We know coupons can save money; 80% of people are using them, but most do not have a system for organizing them. Here are some quick tips on getting the most from your coupons:
- Start a coupon clipping kit, this will include:
- Envelopes, an accordion file or large wallet
- Scissors for clipping the coupons
- A calculator
- A small pad of paper for making grocery lists with
- Pens and pencils
- Take coupons as seriously as you would take real cash. It can help understand how important they really are.
- Try your best to keep track of all your spending. Knowing this information will help you stay organized and be much more efficient in saving you money.
- Use printable grocery coupons. Coupon Mom is a great resource for tons of coupon needs.
- Develop an organizational system, sort them by expiration date, category of product or alphabetical order.
- Stick to only a couple of specific stores so you can track their sales better.
- Stack coupons, if you can double up on coupons, do it!
- Even though there are a lot of good printable coupons, always use your Sunday paper to clip coupons from as well.
- Leftover with extra coupons? Use The Coupon Forum to trade your left-over coupons.
These are just some tips to get you started, obviously the art of coupon clipping is a fairly in depth subject, so for much more information on this subject you can visit this TipNut article on making a coupon organizing system. Also, here is a great in depth article on coupons over at The Digerati Life.
Not all items on sale are actually cheaper
Many grocery stores will place items at the end of an aisle to grab your attention. This is a common tactic to have you thinking that these “sale items” are the cheapest of their kind. Don’t go for the impulse buy on this. To find the real bargains, make sure you scan all of the items in the aisles (especially generic brands) to see which are the least expensive. You may be surprised how much money you’ll save buying generic foods vs name brand items on sale.
Comparison Shop: Bigger is not always better
Stores are figuring out that consumers have the “buy in bulk, spend less” mentality, and they are taking advantage of this. Sometimes buying in bulk can actually end up costing you more. Make sure that when buying your next box of cereal, you compare it with the smaller box to see if you are actually saving money buying in bulk.
Don’t shop on an empty stomach
I think this comic courtesy of keanerdotnet sums up everything there is to be said about shopping on an empty stomach.
Generic Foods Vs Name Brands
One of the biggest ways to save money when grocery shopping is to avoid the name brands and stick to the generics. It’s easy to get wrapped up in spending more on a name, but everything in the generic brand usually has the exact same ingredients. If you absolutely must have some name brands, first check if there are coupons for it, and make sure it’s worth the extra money to you. Another great idea is to buy the generic brands of common items such as; flour, salt, eggs, milk, etc.
Make a list and stick to it!
If you spend enough effort and time researching the best deals to help make your shopping list, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t stick with it. Always make a shopping list. Never go into the store blindly, that is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you go into the store as prepared as possible, this will allow you maximum efficiency in saving you money.
The art of saving money on groceries is a tough one to master, but with enough time, effort and experience, you too can become a grocery shopping guru. By following these tips there is no reason that you couldn’t cut your next grocery bill in half, if not more. Please share any tips or experiences you’ve had that can help other people save money.
Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands
Posted in Featured, Shopping | 2 Comments »
After being in the daycare business for over 25 years, I have decided to start supplying the formula for my daycare children. Costco is under “Kirkland brand” and Sam’s Club is under “Members Mark”.
Information that I have found is that Members Mark is a little bit harder to mix up. Kirkland and Members Mark are basically the same ingredients as Similac or Infamil. They both are government approved.
Cost wise Costco formula is about .35 cents an ounce and Sam’s Club was about .45 cents an ounce. On the Costco website it has great reviews so I think I will try the Costco Brand.
For a free sample of Members mark Formula: www.membersmarkformula.com/free_sample.aspx
I also came across a free sample from Wal Mart’s parents choice formula: www.parentschoiceformula.com/sample-milk-baby-formula.aspx
Does anyone have any opinions on using any of these formulas?
Costco has a formula comparison chart here:
Infant
Formula Nutrition Comparison Chart |
|
Kirkland
Signature
Infant Formula |
Enfamil
LIPIL |
Similac
ADVANCE |
Nutrients/100
Calories |
|
|
|
| Protein g |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.07 |
| Fat g |
5.3 |
5.3 |
5.49 |
| Carbohydrate g |
10.9 |
10.9 |
10.56 |
| Water g |
133 |
134 |
133 |
| Linoleic Acid mg |
900 |
860 |
1000 |
| Vitamins: |
|
|
|
| Vitamin A IU |
300 |
300 |
300 |
| Vitamin D IU |
60 |
60 |
60 |
| Vitamin E IU |
1.5 |
2 |
1.5 |
| Vitamin K mcg |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Vitamin B1 mcg |
100 |
80 |
100 |
| Vitamin B2 mcg |
150 |
140 |
150 |
| Vitamin B6 mcg |
60 |
60 |
60 |
| Vitamin B12 mcg |
0.25 |
0.3 |
0.25 |
| Niacin mcg |
1050 |
1000 |
1050 |
| Folic Acid mcg |
15 |
16 |
15 |
| Pantothenic Acid mcg |
450 |
500 |
450 |
| Biotin mcg |
4.4 |
3 |
4.4 |
| Vitamin C mg |
9 |
12 |
9 |
| Choline mg |
16 |
24 |
16 |
| Inositol mg |
4.7 |
4.6 |
4.7 |
| Minerals |
|
|
|
| Calcium mg |
78 |
76 |
78 |
| Phosphorus mg |
56 |
53 |
42 |
| Magnesium mg |
6 |
8 |
6 |
| Iron mg |
1.8 |
1.8 |
1.8 |
| Zinc mg |
0.75 |
1 |
0.75 |
| manganese mg |
5 |
15 |
5 |
| Copper mcg |
90 |
75 |
90 |
| Iodine mcg |
6 |
10 |
6 |
| Selenium mcg |
1.8 |
2.8 |
1.8 |
| Sodium mg |
22 |
27 |
24 |
| Potassium mg |
83 |
108 |
105 |
| Chloride mg |
63 |
63 |
65 |
Added
Lipids: |
|
|
|
| DHA mg |
17 |
17 |
8 |
| ARA mg |
34 |
34 |
22 |
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: comparison shopping, generic brands, kids, sams-club
Posted in Family, Featured | 6 Comments »
