New vs. Used Cars: What Suits You the Best

By Adam Boulton

Both the new and used cars have their own advantages and disadvantages. It is the mindset of the people who are purchasing the car.

Some like to buy cars only for the sake of showing their buying capacity and their status symbol while some others would be obsessed with buying fancy new model cars as soon as they are launched in the car market.

New cars are meant for people who have the buying capacity, who think of only quality of a product and not the quantity, who would like to enjoy sole ownership of the car and who do not want to get compromised with their comfort.

Whereas used cars are bought by people who would like to enjoy the benefits of owning a car but cannot afford to buy a brand new car. Such people are very practical as they think that, when a used car is purchased in a good condition it will serve the purpose of the new car and also comes with a very less price tag.

Used cars are purchased by people who know the value of money and save money by all means and methods.

Buying a new car is really exciting, but then buying a used car makes sense as lot of money is saved.

A new car after purchase is no longer a new car and has to undergo depreciation value. As the value of the new car decreases up to 40 percent within three years, a car is not considered as an investment.

Whereas when a used car is purchased it benefits the purchaser with a lower value. Money is saved on insurance premium cost, registration cost, financing cost and licensing fees, and the purchaser need not worry about the sales tax too.

A used car is considered to be less reliable, as the exact condition of the car is not known.

Also when a used car is bought in auctions, the purchaser is not even given a chance to look or test-drives the car, which makes the purchase altogether very risky. There is no idea if the previous owner performed maintenance and repairs of the car regularly. Such cars even though bought at a very low price will end up costing more on repairs and maintenance after purchase.

When buying used cars detailed inspection of the interiors has to be made, as it will avoid any chances of replacement of any item as it costs more. The exterior of the used car also needs careful examination to find out if the car was involved in any accident or damaged in any natural calamities etc. The engine and the oil should be checked to avoid heavy expenses in replacing the car engine. Car should be test driven to see the performance of the car, suspension and to check the brake controls.

There are certain kinds of used cars which are maintained very well, handled and driven by a single owner and which even comes with a lifetime warranty. The purchaser will be very lucky enough to buy such kind of well maintained, hassle free used cars.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Adam Boulton is an expert in dealing with automobile related matters. He has contributed several informative articles on topics such as used cars and auto loan to webguides - www.getbestcars.com and www.autoloanguide.info

Should You Get A Loan Or Use Your Credit Card?

By Joseph Kenny

When you are considering borrowing money, you need to make a decision as to which is the best option. Should you apply for regular loan or should you make use of the available funds on your credit card?

The first thing to consider in these circumstances is how much money you need to borrow. If it is a large amount of money then certainly, applying for a loan will be the better option. Many modern credit cards offer very attractive rates, but there is a limit to how much is available on your card.

In addition, if you wish to buy a big ticket item, many sellers of items such as cars, will not accept credit card payments for such a large transaction. Items like this should realistically be paid for with a conventional loan.

There are two types of loans available; one is a secured loan, which generally requires that the lender place the charge on your house as security against payment. Items such as cars can often be purchased using an unsecured loan or a loan that is secured on the vehicle, rather than on your home.

The major difference between secured and an unsecured loan is that a secured loan will give a larger amount of credit and a much lower rate of interest. Credit cards are the most common form of unsecured loan available. However, interest rates are generally considerably higher than those on a secured loan.

Secured loans can be flexible, with slight variations allowed in monthly repayments. However, the most flexible of these cannot compare with the options that credit cards offer to make the payments that you wish each month.

The regular loan does offer the advantage that you know exactly how much you will be expected to pay each month, and how long will have to pay for. It can be difficult to calculate with credit cards how long your payments will last and how much interest you will pay, because of the infinite varieties of payments can make each month.

Both loans and credit cards offer the opportunity of paying the full amount back at any time. A loan may have penalties for early repayment; there are no early payment charges on credit cards.

A credit card is far more flexible in that if you pay off all or part of the money, you may then automatically re-borrow that money, and use it again. With a conventional loan, you will have to wait until you have repaid the amount you borrowed in full. Then, you will have to make a new application, to borrow any further funds.

Most personal loans carry a fixed interest rate, credit cards may offer a temporary fixed interest rate, but most cards can vary their interest rates on month-to-month basis if they wish.

Some equity release or debt consolidation loans offer flexible lines of credit. Where you may take out as much or as little as you need at any one time and only be charged interest on the actual amount you have used. Not the available credit that you applied for and have available to you.

This is very similar to credit cards, in that they also only charge you interest for the amount of available credit that you have actually used. The cheapest way to obtain a short-term loan is certainly through a credit card. This method is only cheap, if you pay it off quickly. If you purchase a new TV with your credit card and pay it off when you receive your next bill, there will be no interest to pay. If you pay it off rapidly, within five or six months, the interest rate can be extremely competitive.Once you go over this period, a loan may be a far better option, and if you stretch payments to 12 months then the loan will be far more financially viable.

Some stores that sell goods like TVs may offer 0% or very low interest rates. Unless you intend to pay off your card at the end of the month, this type of loan would be a better alternative.

To summarise, credit cards work well interest wise if you pay off the amount you borrow very quickly. If you intend to make gradual payments, a loan, either secured or unsecured will probably be the best option. For big priced ticket items costing thousands of pounds, a loan is far more preferable and practical than a credit card.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Joe Kenny writes for Credit Cards Web, offering compare credit cards or onlystop.com for some great credit cards, for US residents with credit card debt visit Rebuild for credit card debt relief

Money Saving Tips In The Supermarket

By Jerry Leung

You may find that you have been spending too much in the supermarket. It will be a good idea if you can save money while shopping in the supermarket. In fact, there are ways to help you avoid spending too much. The followings are some tips for you.

You should try your best to avoid impulse buying. This is usually the main reason for spending too much in the supermarket. You should only purchase what you really need. And you should never buy something if you do not need it.

You have to try to make a list of items before you go shopping. Pre-plan shopping can actually help you a lot in terms of saving money. You should only buy what you have planned to buy. This is the way to avoid impulse buying since you will only buy the thing you really need. You have to keep reminding yourself that you should only purchase according to the list. No matter how attractive an item is, you should never buy it if it is not on the list. You need to train yourself to follow this rule.

You should also try to eat before you shop. Experience shows that if you have a full meal before you shop. You will not be tempted to buy the snacks. On the contrary, if you feel empty when you are shopping, you will be very inclined to put some cookies, chocolates or even ice-cream in the basket.

Sometimes you can get a better price if you purchase in bulk. For example, you may get a discount if you buy 30 cans of coke at a time. If you really need coke from time to time, you should buy it in bulk. You will be surprised by the amount you can save each month if you can have the habit to buy in bulk. On the other hand, you should never buy in bulk if you only need an item once only. You are wasting your money if you buy more than you need.

You should also buy the items when they are on sale. There can be a huge discount when the items are on sale. Remember, a can of soft-drink will still be the same can even if you buy it with a discount. Of course you should pay extra attention to the expiry date when you purchase these items.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

The author has great interest in finance. You can check his blog on Forex and Insurance Tips. Be sure to check Learner Motorcycle Insurance and Attaining Financial Freedom From Home Loan.

Home Organization - the Basic Organizing Principles

By Jude Wright

The real purpose of organizing your home is not just to have it clean and tidy, but to give yourself more time to do what you want. You will be more likely to find what you need when your home is organized and you know where items are supposed to be.

There are many benefits to being organized. You will feel more self-confident because you will be in more control of your surroundings. You will love the feeling of being able to complete your tasks. There is the added bonus of being proud of your home when visitors come to call.

Here are some easy steps to simplifying your home organization:

Think About It

Most people put their belongings wherever they happen to be when their hand touches them. A better way would be to think about where an item is going to be used and how it will be used before putting it away. Items should be put where they are going to be used the most often. If they are used in another area frequently, such as scissors, buy another of the same kind of item and choose another home for it.

It may seem easier to put something in a nearby drawer rather than in a designated area. But, it's not so easy when you are looking for it and can't remember where you put it. Having a specified "home" saves a lot of frustration.

Throw Away What You Don't Need and Sort What You Have Left

Everyone seems to have lots of stuff. Much of it is never used and just takes up valuable space. To truly have an organized home, every part of your house should be gone through, discarding everything that has no real value. There should be one area reserved for those things that are important for sentimental reasons. Be ruthless. Give or throw away anything that you have not used in the past year.

Using the three box method, start in one area of a room and look at every item. Put it in the appropriate box: things that belong in another room, things to give away or sell, and things that you are not sure about. Also keep a trash can nearby for things that are not usable.

Now, look at your room, and decide on its function. Determine the proper place to put things according to how and where it will be used.

Do I Really Need This?

While you are going through your house, you will probably come across things that you are not sure about. When this happens, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I really need this? Some people keep things because they think they might need it sometime in the future. Ask yourself, what would be the worst thing that would happen if I lost this. If you are keeping things just because you might need it in the future, do you think that you would be able to find it then?

2. How long has it been since I use this? You may have clothing in your closet that you are keeping because you might get back down to the weight that you were when you wore it last. But, are you being realistic?

3. Why do I need so many of these? Sometimes we buy an item then we need when we can't find one that we already know we have. Pretty soon we will have three or four of them spread all over the house. Decide which one you really need and get rid of the rest.

4. Take the box that contains the items that you are not sure of and put it away in the attic or garage. If you don't need anything in that box within the next few months, you can probably live without it.

Keeping It Organized

Now that you have your home organized, you need to find ways to keep it that way. Whenever you are going to buy something, ask yourself where you are going to put it. Be sure that you are really going to use it. How much work is it going to take to keep this item maintained? If you buy something that is replacing a similar item, get rid of the original item.

Using a bit of common sense and thinking every day about where things should go will help keep your house the organized home that you want it to be.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Stop by cleanandorganized.com to find more information on how to keep your home clean and organized.

The Seven Deadly Sins Of Credit Card Use

By Michael D. Strauss

No matter how convenient credit cards are - and they're almost obligatory for modern life - there's no denying that they can land the unwary card-holder in a whole world of trouble if not used carefully. Here we present the seven deadly sins of credit card use.

Late Payments

The number one rule of using credit cards is to pay your statement on time. Not only do late payments cause damage to your credit rating, they also cost you money - both in the form of the late payment fee, but also in the form of a hike in your interest rate for repeat offenders.

Minimum Payments

Even if you keep to a good repayment schedule and always pay on time, only paying the minimum amount required on your statement is a major mistake that most of us make - not least because we're actively encouraged to do just that by setting up automated payments such as direct debits. The problem is, with minimum payment levels set at only a few percent, nearly all of what you pay is swallowed up in interest charges leaving your debt virtually untouched. Sticking to the minimum amounts will all but ensure that you stay permanently in debt, and will cost you dearly in overall interest charges.

Cash Advances and Withdrawals

Most credit cards now offer the facility to withdraw cash from a huge number of ATMs worldwide. Don't do it, except in a real emergency when you really need cash and have no other way of getting it. Not only will you be charged a fee, the interest rate charged is usually much higher than your normal rate, and because more expensive debt is usually the last to be cleared, you'll be charged this high rate each and every month while you're carrying a balance.

Credit Card Convenience Checks

These are a bad idea as they suffer from the same drawbacks as cash withdrawals - i.e. high interest rates. Even if your card is one of the few still to offer this 'facility', avoid it - there's little benefit in using a check, and plenty of cost!

Spending on Balance Transfer Cards

Balance transfer deals can save you a fortune in interest on your debt if you handle them correctly. The problem is, many people fail to get the full rewards by using the same card for balance transfers and purchases. Because of the way most cards allocate the payments you make, your purchase debt will never be lessened until the balance transfer is fully repaid, and so will attract interest without any of it being repaid. Use separate cards for spending and balance transfers.

Impulse Purchases

One of the major causes of problem credit card debt is the casual use of cards to fund impulse purchases. As you're not actually parting with any cash, using a card doesn't feel as expensive as ordinary purchases, when in fact it's much more expensive! Think carefully before you buy whether or not your purchase will seem as good an idea when your next statement drops on to your doormat.

Paying for Essentials

While using your card as much as possible is a good idea if you're benefiting from a reward or cash back scheme, you should only do this if you pay off your balance in full every month. Using your card to pay for essentials such as food and energy bills, and letting your debt build up unchecked, is a sure sign that you're living beyond your means and need to have a hard look at your budget.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Michael writes on credit cards and related subjects. Visit his site to compare balance transfer credit cards along with low interest cards, rewards, and cash back schemes.

Refine Your Business Description Until It Is Crystal Clear

By James Copper

You have probably been with owners of other small businesses on a course or in a seminar where people could not describe their businesses. Clarity on the kind of goods and services offered by your business is essential to good focus and ultimately to a successful marketing effort. Sometimes business owners, or those wishing to start a business, are passionate about the general area they want to be in such as landscaping, day-care providers or copywriters but beyond that their business ideas are hazy at best.

You should start your business; in fact you should start your business proposal, by first defining the business you are in. It is only by doing that that you will be able to come up with a Unique Selling Proposition or Point of Difference that will make your business stand out and gain you a loyal and growing clientele.

There is a simple way for potential entrepreneurs to define their businesses. They should start at the end and work backwards. If they know where they want to go then they will know how to work on the route to get there. If you set goals then the rest of the process becomes easier.

To think creatively and in new ways there are abundant tools available such as brainstorming, mind mapping and freewriting. Above all, business people should think about their businesses from the customer's perspective. Do I meet the expectations of my customer? And who is my customer? These are the type of questions that needs answering.

Brainstorming with fellow businessmen or on your own, or by yourself, focused on what you consider to be the goal of your business, is most useful. Mind mapping goes one step further than brainstorming. It enables you to you create and perceive ways in which the interests of your business and the customer can match each other.

Freewriting is an interesting process whereby you seize upon the essence of your business and write about it continuously for anything from ten minutes to half an hour. You will know when you have written sufficient.

There are no hard and fast rules about using these tools but one. Do not assess or change what you have written as you go. Simply allow the ideas to flow. Even if you are doubt that a particular idea will be helpful just write it down. Only when you have spent sufficient time engaged in the process should you look at what you have done. Then you can sift through it all and retain what works for you. You will be surprised at what emerges.

As mentioned, these techniques can be done on your own or with others. Obviously you may want to discuss your ideas with other business people and professionals. But at the end of the day it's your business and you need to know what it is you are offering in the marketplace. It helps immeasurably when you are asked by a financial institution or a customer to write a proposal, and when you are developing sales material.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

James Copper is a writer for www.marketinglinx.com

Wealth Creation Traps: The Appearance Of Money

By Sean Rasmussen

A number of common traps keep the middle-class from maximizing their money-making potentials and succeeding in wealth creation. Among the most common wealth creation trap of the middle class is the "appearance of money".

What Is the Appearance Of Money?

The appearance of money, as might already have been guessed, is simply the need to buy and to have so that one looks like he or she (or they) have money. It grows out of the need to keep up with the neighbors, to be accepted, to live the way and have the things that they feel society says they should.

It is easy for the middle class to have the appearance of having money. Easy credit, bank loans, mortgages, car and automobile loans, all are designed to give the middle class the appearance they need; and to indebt the middle class to the banking institutions in the meanwhile. By playing on the psychology of the middle class, the banks create an everlasting cash flow for themselves. A cash flow that, although the middle class willing subjects themselves to, is at the expense of the middle class, at the expense of the middle class's financial success.

As long as the focus of life is on appearing wealthy, the focus is not appropriately placed on making money. But the only real way to be wealthy is to make money, create wealth, and achieve lasting financial success.

Don't The Wealthy Present The Appearance Of Money, Too?

It is a fallacy myth, that the rich struggle to keep up and appear wealthy. The wealthy present the appearance of money because they actually have money. It is not an appearance, it is their reality!

The reason that the wealthy have money is because they have properly placed their priorities. The wealthy shun status and focus on the real goal, financial freedom, and work to achieve it. Once they have, the wealthy are able to buy what they want and live the life they want to because they have the financial backing to do so.

The real difference between those who succeed in wealth creation and those who fail is based in a very large part in the goals set in the beginning.

- The middle class (referring to those unable to move beyond a work-for-pay lifestyle) focus on getting and having things.

- The wealthy focus on having money so that they can have things.

As Jamie McIntyre in the 21st Century Academy says, "Many people get caught up in appearing to be wealthy, instead of becoming wealthy." It is an unfortunate truth, but not one that is without hope of changing.

Just as appearing to be wealthy is a mindset psychology, so, too, is being wealthy. The choice can just as easily be made to really be wealthy as it can be to look wealthy. Making that choice, and re-prioritizing, is one of the first critical steps towards wealth creation and towards really financing the life of the wealthy.

Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com

Sean Rasmussen is a stock market and property investor. He likes topics about communication and success. His wealth creation blog deals with topics of financial freedom and creating wealth.