It depends on factors such as 1) what kind of deal you can make with the dealership, 2) the typical mileage you put on your car, 3) how much you wear down a car, and 4) the primary use for the car.
To determine whether leasing or buying is best, compare the costs and other issues involved in a lease or purchase. The following factors should be considered:
You first need to decide on the type, size and options of the car you would like (such as manual, automatic windows, airbags).
You then need to decide what the car dealer has to pay for the car of your choice – the “invoice cost”. The difference between the sticker price and the invoice price can be negotiated.
You can obtain this information two different ways. The best way is to look at an auto pricing service supplied by a consumer group or an auto magazine. For instance, Consumer Reports New Car Price Service (800-933-5555), at a price of $12 per model will give you details of the invoice price and the sticker price that can be adjusted for options or rebates as well as tell you how to use the data for negotiating. This is the best way because it gives you the most recent information.
Another way is to use pricing guides that can be found on the Internet. Two popular sites are Intellichoice (www.intellichoice.com) or Edmund’s New Car Prices (www.edmunds.com). You may also be able to obtain these books at the library and they will give you an idea about the information that you need instead of exact data.
If you have a trade-in, you will want to find the value of that car too. You can use the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide (check your local library or www.nada.org) to look up your used car.
Now it’s time to begin negotiating with dealers. Because you know the invoice price, you can use that information to bargain for the lowest mark-up from the dealer’s cost.
An amount like $300 to $500 above the dealer’s cost is a sensible mark-up, unless the car you want to buy is either difficult to get or very popular.
Any attempts by the dealership to sell you rustproofing, undercoating, or other extras should be refused. You may want to invest in an extended warranty, depending on the model’s repair history.
Keep in mind that you are not just looking for a car. You also have to select a dealer with whom you will continue a long-term relationship with, as you usually have to service your car at the dealership. If you aren’t comfortable with the dealership, go somewhere else.
A good time to try for a good bargain on a car is the last Saturday of September, October, or December.
Before you start looking for a car, learn about the financing options. You can be prepared when the dealer starts to discuss financing if you are aware of what the banks are charging.
Some points you will want to highlight during the negotiations are:
Lastly, go to other dealerships even if you think you have a great price.
Like a loan, the monthly lease payment is reliant on the term of the lease, the implied interest rate and the initial “purchase price” of the car. The “lease-end” or “residual” value varies from a loan, but is still important. This is the value that is expected at the end of the lease term.
You are paying the difference between the initial purchase price and the residual value in a lease. The lowest purchase price should be negotiated, which will lower the cost of leasing. If you don’t intend to buy the car at the end of the lease term and it is closed-end, you might want to negotiate a higher residual value. Make sure that your expected mileage during the lease aligns with the allowed mileage in the agreement. If it doesn’t, you may pay significant penalties when you turn the vehicle back in to the dealer.
Lease arrangements come in two different types: open-end or “finance” and closed-end or “walk-away.” This is how they work:
Open-End: The Risk of Depreciated Value Falls on You
At the end of the lease, the customer accepts the risk that the car will have a particular value or “estimate residual value” at the end of the lease. Due to this, the monthly payment is lower.
At the end of the lease and your return of the car, it will be appraised. If the appraised value of the car is equal to at least the estimated residual value stated in the agreement, it will not be necessary to pay anything. With certain contracts, it is possible to receive a refund if the appraised value is lower than the residual value, although, you might have to pay part or all of the difference.
Closed-End: The Risk of Depreciated Value Falls onto the Dealer
At the end of the closed-end lease, the car is returned to the dealership and you simply walk away. It must be returned with only normal wear and tear, and with less than the mileage limit that is stated in the lease. The monthly payment is higher than an open-end lease because the dealer bears the risk that the car’s value will decrease by the end of the lease.
Learn what the total initial costs will be when determining if you want to lease or buy. You will use this total amount to compare to the cost of buying.
Initial costs are the amount you will need to come up with for the down payment when you lease a car. The security deposit, the first and last lease payments, the “capitalized cost reductions,” the sales taxes, title fees, license fees, and insurance are included. Usually the initial costs amount to less than the down payment that is necessary to purchase a car. During the bargaining with the dealer, all initial costs are open for negotiation.
The Lessor must disclose all up-front, continuing, and ending costs in a standard, understandable format according to the Federal Consumer Leasing Act.
Here are a few questions that should be answered before you sign a car lease
If you owe money at the end of the lease or if you miss a monthly payment, the Lessor is permitted to keep the security deposit. It may also be used to cover the car’s damage or excess mileage from the limit stated in the lease by the dealer. Your security deposit is given back to you if you do not owe anything at the end of the lease’s term.
At the end of the lease period, the federal Consumer Leasing Act (CLA) puts a limit on how much the dealer can collect. The dealer cannot collect more than three times the average monthly payment.
For the following reasons, a dealer may collect a higher amount:
At the end of the term of the lease, the dealer may opt to sell the car. If the car is sold for less than the residual value specified in the leasing contract, you may be obligated to pay as much as three monthly payments to make up the difference.
You may want to negotiate to have the right to approve the final sales price as part of the lease agreement, so the dealer does not sell the leased car for less than the residual value just to get the car off the lot.
A few other things to keep in mind:
Dealers must disclose the total number of payments, total amount of those payments, a schedule of payments, and the amount of each payment in accordance with the Consumer Leasing Act. The Lessor must inform you if there is a penalty for late payment.
The dealer bears the maintenance expenses in a maintenance lease. The opposite is true in a non-maintenance lease. If the dealer provides repair and maintenance, you will need to bring the car to the dealership in line with the suggested schedule by the manufacturer to maintain the warranty coverage. (You will typically have to obey the manufacturer’s scheduled maintenance in order to guarantee warranty coverage, even if you have to pay for the repairs.)
You pay the dealer a set amount for maintenance each month in what is called a budget maintenance provision. The dealer subtracts maintenance expenses that are incurred from your maintenance account. When the lease ends, you will make up the difference or receive a refund if more was deposited than used.
The final costs include:
At the end of your lease term, you may have the option to purchase the car. This is more commonly found in open-end rather than closed-end leases. The dealer must inform you of the estimated residual value of the car and formula to be used to figure out the purchase price at this time.
You will need to pay an extra charge if you end the lease before the completion date based on the difference between the estimated residual value at the end of the lease and the actual residual value at the given time. This may be a large difference. Most agreements state that you must have the car for a minimum of 12 months.
Before you sign the contract, the dealer must tell you whether you may terminate early, and the cost of early termination.
It is very similar to a down payment. You may be asked by the dealer to put a certain amount of money down before the lease begins. The capitalized cost reduction varies with the geographic area and the customer’s credit rating. The smaller the monthly payment, the greater the down payment will be. Those that want to lease instead of buy normally don’t want to pay a large down payment – not having a down payment is one of the major benefits of a lease.
Unmarried couples don’t:
Here are some important steps to take for couples that are unmarried:
In the case of death, life insurance will provide a form of income for your dependents, children or whoever is your beneficiary. Because of this, married couples usually require more life insurance than singles.
Having someone dependent on your income will determine if you need to have life insurance. If someone such as a child, parent, spouse or other individual is dependent on your income, you should have life insurance. The following are situations where life insurance is necessary:
All organizations that you had correspondence with while using your unmarried name should be notified. You can begin with the following list:
Definitely. When an important life event occurs such as marriage, it should be updated. If not, your spouse and other beneficiaries will not get what is meant for them at the time of your death.
You are entitled to file a joint income tax return upon marriage. Although this simplifies the filing process, you will more than likely discover that your tax bill is either higher or lower than when you were single. It’s higher when you file together, as more of your income is taxed in the higher tax brackets. This is commonly known as the marriage tax penalty. In 2003, a tax law that intended to reduce the marriage penalty went into effect, but this law didn’t get rid of the penalty for higher bracket taxpayers.
Once married, you may not file separately in an attempt to avoid the marriage penalty. Actually, filing as married filing separately can raise your taxes. For the optimal filing status for your situation you should speak with your tax advisor.
Yes. After marriage, there are many ways of owning property. They differ from state to state.
A plan for the termination of the financial partnership of the marriage is crucial if you are thinking of divorce. All financial assets and liabilities that have been acquired during the years of marriage will need to be divided. If children play a role, the support that will be paid to the custodial parent in the future should be taken into account.
The time put into organizing this will be worth it in the long run. The following are a few steps to consider:
As soon as you know you are going to be getting a divorce, immediately cancel all joint accounts.
Regardless of who accumulated the bill, creditors can legally try to collect payment from either party on the joint credit card or other credit account. You will be responsible for payment as long as your name appears on the joint accounts.
The agreement that is reached during the divorce may state who must pay the bills. From the creditor’s point of view, both your spouse and you are responsible as long as the joint account stays open. The creditor will attempt to receive payment from who they think are most likely to pay while reporting late payments to the credit bureaus in both names. Due to the irresponsibility of the co-signer, your credit history could be harmed.
You may be required to pay the remaining balance in full upon closure of the account. If this is the case, ask the creditor to distribute the outstanding balance to separate accounts.
It is possible to separate yourself from your spouse on your credit report, if the spouse’s credit is hurting yours. If you can prove that he/she opened the shared accounts prior to marriage and that he/she pays the bills, you might succeed in convincing the creditor that the damaging information is relevant to your spouse and not you.
It may take persistence to demonstrate that the credit history in question doesn’t reflect your own.
If the name on your account changes, lenders may appraise the application and credit line to decide if your qualifications meet the credit standards. You may be asked to reapply.
To avoid inconvenience, maintain credit in your own name. Preserving your own, separate, credit history makes things easier in the future. In an emergency, if you need credit, it will be available.
Avoid using your spouse’s name – i.e. , Mrs. Peter Johnson – for purpose of credit.
Get an update on your credit report. Be sure that your name, as well as your spouse’s, is being reported correctly. If you would like to use your spouse’s credit history to your benefit, simply write a letter to the credit agency and request that both names be put on the account.
Find out if there is any incomplete or inaccurate data in your account. Send the credit bureau a letter asking them to correct this information. They need to confirm receipt within a normal time period and inform you when the mistake is fixed.
Improving your own credit history in your name should be simple if you have been sharing accounts with your spouse. Make a call to a major credit bureau and ask for copies of your account information. Get in touch with the issuers of the cards with whom you share accounts with your spouse and request to have your name on the account as well.
Make an agreement with your spouse to plan for the legal issues that will be dealt with in the future, such as division of property, alimony or support payments and child custody. The amount of time and money that will be spent trying to reach a legal solution will be lessened dramatically if this can be done, either with the help of lawyers or court.
The following are general tips to face the legal aspects of divorce:
Each state has their own laws regarding the division of property between ex-spouses. When it comes to applying those laws, matrimonial judges have a great amount of flexibility.
Whether or not an attorney represents you, you should make sure to have done the following:
Consider having the divorce agreement supply you with funds if you have not worked outside of the home during the marriage.
Upon completion of a divorce, individual tax returns will be filed. There are a few areas that may result in tax consequences. The following are the most common:
If in accordance with the qualified domestic relations order or other order of the court in the case of an IRA, these plans are separated as non-taxable. However, this is the case only if the assets stay in the retirement account or IRA. Once the funds are allocated, they will be taxed to the recipient. The payer does not get the benefit of a deduction and the recipient does not have taxable income when divided.
Typically no, although specific fees paid for income or estate tax advice due to the divorce may be deductible. The fees used to decide the alimony amount or to collect the alimony may be deducted. These would be subject to the 2% limitation under the miscellaneous item deductions.
Typically, the custodial parent has the right to the deduction. This is normally discussed in divorce agreement negotiations. If agreed to in writing, the non-custodial parent may have the deduction.
The following is a list of papers that will be necessary:
vBirth Certificates of dependent children. These may be obtained at either the County or State Public Health offices where the child was born.
To learn how to handle the following assets of the deceased, speak with your financial advisor.
General rules are as follows:
Planning ahead is the best way to avoid overpaying for a family member’s funeral. You should know about the Federal Rule or the regulation of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) dealing with practices of the funeral industry. It provides that:
Contact your federal, state or local consumer protection agencies, the Conference of Funeral Examining Boards (www.theconferenceonline.org), or the Funeral Service Consumer Assistance Program (FSCAP) (www.funeralservicefoundation.org) if you are having a funeral problem that cannot be resolved with the funeral director.
If the deceased has paid Social Security for a minimum of ten years, he/she is covered. Contact your local Social Security office or call 800-772-1213 to find out if the deceased was eligible. There are two types of available benefits, if eligible:
One-time death benefit – A death benefit is paid by Social Security towards burial expenses. To apply the payment to your funeral bill, simply complete the form necessary at your local Social Security office or ask the funeral director to complete the application. This is only available to eligible spouses or a child that is entitled to the benefits of the survivor.
Benefits of a survivor for a spouse or children – The spouse will be eligible for benefits if he/she is 60 years old or older. The benefit amount collected before the age of 65 will be less than that due at the age of 65 or older. Widows who are disabled are eligible for benefits at age 50. If the deceased’s spouse cares for dependent children under the age of 16 or for disabled children, they may qualify for benefits before age 60. The deceased’s children who are disabled or younger than 18 may also qualify for the benefits.
It is the legal process of allocating the estate to the lawful heirs as well as paying the debts of the deceased. The process typically includes:
A petition must be filed by the spouse or the selected personal representative with the court following the death. A fee for the process of probate will be charged.
Probation of a will might require legal assistance, depending on the size and complexity of the assets to probate.
If the deceased and someone else jointly owned assets, they are not subject to probate. The proceeds of a life insurance policy or Individual Retirement Account (IRA) will be paid to the beneficiary and are not subject to probate.
The following sums up the different taxes that may need to be paid upon death of a family member:
To refuse all or part of the property that is being passed on to you by a will, intestacy laws or the operation of law, you should make use of the disclaimer. The property is passed to the next beneficiary in line with an effective disclaimer.
By the property passing directly from the decedent to the next beneficiary, it could possible save thousands of dollars in estate taxes. The wise use of the a disclaimer and the condition for a disclaimer in a will permits the shifting of assets and income to maximize the estate tax marital deduction, unified credit and the lower income tax brackets.
To provide for financial contingencies, disclaimers may also come in handy. For instance, if someone needs funds, you can disclaim an interest to them.
Of course. If the surviving spouse didn’t remarry before the end of the tax year, he/she may choose to file a joint return.
Typically not. Unless the recipient paid for the privilege to collect the life insurance policies, they are non-taxable income. For instance, if a policy was purchased as an investment.
Typically, yes because it is considered income with regards to the decedent. The tax is due by the recipient because the deceased had not paid the distribution’s income tax. You may be entitled to a deduction for a segment of the estate taxes paid, if the account’s value was incorporated in the estate tax return of the decedent.
The law will pass on the jointly held assets with right of survivorship on to the joint holder. The designated beneficiary of the insurance policies and retirement accounts will be awarded to said individuals. The assets owned only by the decedent will be dealt with according to state law, known as intestacy. Generally, the preference is given to the spouse or children, but the laws differ from state to state.
You should first approach the seller of the item. Then, get in touch with the relevant consumer agency. If neither of the previous provides adequate results, a lawsuit can be filed or you may use arbitration.
Approach the Seller
Compile all necessary evidence such as canceled checks, receipt, photographs showing the issue, a warranty, bill of sale or contract.
Determine your goal. Would you like the product replaced? Would you like a refund? Are you just looking for an apology?
Schedule a meeting with the manager, customer service representative or other appropriate person by calling the store or service provider. In this meeting with the individual, describe as clearly as possible the nature of the issue and what your goal is. If you can only speak by phone, write a letter as follow-up and keep detailed notes of the dates and with whom you spoke with. It is important to note that if there is a valid warranty for the product, it is best to follow-up with the manufacturer and not the merchant.
Take the issue to a higher level, if this doesn’t find a solution. This could be the corporate president or supervisor. At this point, you should put your complaint in writing if you have yet to do so. This letter should detail your name, phone numbers, address, and account number (if applicable). Include the date and place of purchase as well as the model and serial number if a product is involved. Concisely describe the issue at hand and the process you have gone through so far to reach a solution. Lastly, you should include what outcome you want and state a deadline for this outcome. Keep a copy of the letter for yourself and include relevant copies of documents. Make sure you keep the originals and retain copies of any correspondence you receive from the company.
Get in touch with an agency
If your desired goal has yet to be reached, you will want to look in the phone book or online for a consumer complaint agency, such as the county, city or state consumer protection office or the Better Business Bureau.
Another option is to go with the trade association method. There are industry trade associations that will offer to aid in mediating issues with regards to their members.
You may want to get in touch with the appropriate state-banking regulator if your issue deals with a bank. If an insurer is involved, you will want to get in touch with the state insurance regulator, for a securities problem contact the securities regulator or for utilities problems contact the public utilities commission.
Call the state-licensing department if you the issue deals with a state-licensed trade, such as a plumber.
Research the lemon laws of your state, unless you reside in Arkansas or South Dakota, by getting in touch with your state consumer protections agency in the event that you purchased a bad used car.
Get in contact with your area postal inspector, whose information can be located in the U.S. government section of the telephone book, for issues that pertain to mail order or mail fraud.
Look into finding a local television news program hotline for resolving consumer complaints.
Filing a lawsuit
When there are no more options, you will want to file a court case in either small claims court, if the amount is small (usually less than $5000) or if not, a regular lawsuit.
More than likely speaking with an attorney and having them draft a letter to the merchant or service provider giving the details about the lawsuit will resolve the issue.
You probably won’t need to hire a lawyer if a small claims case is involved. If the case is bigger than small claims, you will want to hire a lawyer.
The following are a few ways to lessen your bank fees:
These tips will help you save on all types of insurance:
These are a few tips to remember to help save money with utility costs:
There are many opportunities due to today’s cost-cutting competition among phone service providers, such as:
The options that follow will help in reducing the cost of your mortgage: