Before Choosing a New Car Do This

There are a few things that you want to get done before choosing a new car. You will be surprised to find that about 6 million cars are sold in the US each year, that is not the surprising part, the surprising part is that people tend to look for homes for sale shortly before they purchase a new car. There is something about choosing a new car after buying a home that compels a lot of people because it happens a lot.

It may be that more people buy new homes at the beginning of summer than get carried away with the summer fun and feel like choosing a new car is the perfect way to fill that garage. Or maybe the phenomenon is based on a new home, new car attitude. In any event, there are a few things that you should do before choosing a new car.

A Critical Mistake

One of the biggest mistakes new homeowners make is to plunge themselves into debt. Some of the debt that new homeowners accumulate are for the necessary things like new furnishing for their home, and immediate cosmetic repairs.

Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to buying the things that you need to make your new house a home. Instead of trying to furnish the whole house at once, do it room by room over time. Instead of making all the cosmetic changes that you want to make at once, do that a little at a time.

Take an honest look at what you can live with and what you absolutely cannot live with before you start buying things for your new house. Agree to sleep on big purchases for a day or two before you make them.

Avoiding the stress of worrying about how you are going to meet your bills starts with not running up your bills in the first place. Be very conservative in your spending until you get used to making your mortgage payment and know how much it is really going to cost to run your household.

Let’s Get the House Right First

Before you apply for an auto loan, you want to make sure that your house is in order. For example, consider driveway paving to get your driveway in great shape, driveway resurfacing will help protect your auto investment. You do not want to risk the safety of your new vehicle on a bad driveway.

Taking care of your property before you purchase a car will help you to enjoy your purchase, guilt-free. If you are having any roof problems, call in a roofer, even if it means delaying your new car purchase by a few months. It is far better to protect your real estate investment than drive around in a new car right away.

Just because you can be approved for purchase loans does not mean you should take them. Be wary of taking on too much debt at once. Things always seem more affordable on paper than they are when you are making payments.

Making Choosing a New Car More Affordable

Once you have your house in order, you will want to take a look at your finances to ensure that you can really afford to buy that new Toyota. Cutting the fat from your budget can help to make a new car more affordable.

Here are some ways you can cut some of the fat from your budget:

• Skip the all-inclusive cable or satellite package and go with the basics
• Keep your thermostat up 2 degrees higher in the summer and 2 degrees lower in the winter
• Use coupons to save on grocery bills.
• Consider having solar panels installed
• Reduce your entertainment expenses

If you want to be able to afford the new house new car combo you are going to have to make some lifestyle choices. Skipping the all-inclusive cable and satellite packages can be substantial savings. There are so many free streaming options today that overpaying for cable or satellite is not a necessity. You can put up to $100 a month back into your budget by cutting back on your package.

Energy Costs

Energy is a big expense. Getting your energy costs under wraps will free up some of your budget choosing a new car will be less of a financial burden. Heating and air conditioning suck up a lot of your energy budget. Setting your thermostat 2 degrees higher in the summer and 2 degrees lower in the winter can help you realize substantial savings.

Cut Coupons

The biggest part of most people’s monthly budget is swallowed up by energy costs and groceries. You can get your energy costs under control with the tips above and now it is time to do something about that grocery bill.

If you are not the coupon cutting type you should learn how to be. There is a ton of savings waiting for you at the grocery store. Cutting coupons is a great way to shave a lot of money off your weekly grocery bill.

You can find coupon savings for just about every product you buy. An easy way to find some discounts is to subscribe to the product websites that you are familiar with. Typically as a reward for just putting in your email address, you will get a discount coupon.

Another way to find coupons for the products that you use is to look on social media and follow the brands that you love. Brands will often post coupon codes right on their social media channels. It can be a great way to realize some savings without having to do anything extra.

Why pay full retail prices when you do not have to? It feels great when you score decent savings. Take advantage of couponing and looking for deals to reduce your grocery budget.

Consider Solar Power

Have you considered the benefits of solar panels? You can save a ton of money on energy with solar, and you may also be eligible for tax benefits , and other financial benefits. Installing solar panels can line your pockets nicely with savings and more.

Of course, there are also the environmental benefits of going with solar power. Solar can be a worthy investment that delivers a great ROI.

Cut Back on Entertainment Costs

Before you head out for your next nighttime outing consider whether you really want to spend the money or not. There are cheaper things that you can do at home that can help you to save. You do not have to go out and spend money to have fun.

Have friends over for a potluck meal in the backyard. Everyone brings a dish so no one person is absorbing the cost of the gathering and everyone gets to spend some time together and save money. Fun can be affordable.

Start a new tradition by investing in some board games and having a weekly “game night” with family and friends. Ask everyone to bring their favorite snack to share and enjoy a night of board games. It is a great way to gather, have some fun, and save some money.

By finding different ways to have fun instead of paying to have fun you can put that saved money back into your budget. You will be amazed at how much money you can save by cutting back on what you spend on entertainment.

Choosing the New Car

Once you get your home in order, and get your budget in order, you can get ready for choosing your new car but this is not the time to stop looking for savings. The best time to purchase a car is the end of the month, and if you can wait until the end of the year there will be more savings available.

You can make some savvy choices when it comes to choosing the new car that can save you thousands of dollars. For example, doing some comparison shopping among local dealerships and using the information that you gather to negotiate with the dealerships.

Comparing your options can help you to save thousands of dollars on your new car purchase. If the dealership wants your business bad enough they will match other dealership’s pricing. When your shop is as important as where you shop when choosing a new car.

Most dealerships are very anxious come the end of the month to get rid of cars. They will offer some really great incentives to make sure when they tally up their sales for a month that the number is impressive.

Don’t shop for your new vehicle on the weekend. Weekends are busy times for choosing a new car and salesmen have plenty of people to sell vehicles to come in the door. Go mid-week, when there are fewer customers trying to buy cars.

When you go to the dealership mid-week you get the salesman’s undivided attention, and you also may get a better deal on your purchase. When you meet with the salesman ask about “leftovers”. Choosing a new car can mean choosing a car from last year’s stock.

Leftovers are the previous year models that the dealership has not been able to sell. Typically, if you are in the market for a new car during the last quarter of the year, you will find great deals on leftovers. The dealership is desperate to clear out old inventory so they can bring in the new year models.

The savings on a leftover can be substantial, and you sacrifice nothing by purchasing a leftover. You save and you get a great new car.

Lets Talk Auto Loan

Some of the savings that you find at the dealership are tied into using their financing but not always. For example, if you go to Ford for your new vehicle and are looking to take advantage of the 0% financing you will likely have to go through Ford credit to get it.

Sometimes you can get great dealer financing terms, but not always. If you are not offered an incentive to finance through the dealerships financing partner than consider getting your own financing before you hit up the dealership.

Start with the bank that you do your banking with. Sometimes your own bank will offer the best rates. If you do not like what your own bank has to offer, consider opening an account with a local credit union just to take advantage of the low rate auto loans.

You do have options when it comes to auto financing, be sure to explore them all to get the best rates and the best terms. In some cases going to the dealership with pre-approved financing can speed up the purchasing process.

You are in the driver’s seat when it comes to choosing a car that fits in with your budget. Don’t let salespeople pressure into buying something that is going to really stretch your budget.

You Can Have It All

If you follow some simple steps you can have it all. You can have the new house and the new car and more importantly peace of mind knowing you can afford it all. You can have it all but maybe not on the timetable you were hoping for. You may have to make some tough decisions about what you can and cannot afford.

Ultimately slow and steady does win the race to accumulate all the things that you want. Slowing down and making sure you take care of all your responsibilities that can’t wait first will have you choosing a new car before you know it without the worry.