We are nearing the end of the month and I hope your savings plan is off to a great start. Remember it is important to save first and then spend. Saving has to be intentional. As for all my educators out there, I know this is the toughest pay period of the year. Many received their last pay check around December 15 or so and are anxiously awaiting the end of the month to receive that next check!! How do you survive that long month and a half? All year saving is the key. I am have noted in previous posts, set a goal and purpose for saving. If your purpose and goal is to survive the December/January pay period, that is completely fine.

Use the savings you have accumulated throughout the year to make those holiday purchases and avoid using your December paycheck until the end of December as if it was a regular pay period. Receiving your check early can truly hurt you because many forget about the extended time and begin to spend freely for Christmas and then bills began to suffer. So if you have not set a goal for savings yet, go ahead. It is never too late.

You may ask, what else can you do? There are some key things that I have done in the past as it relates to purchasing vehicles. Everyone that knows me, know I love cars!! Many people enjoy leasing and it benefits them well. I have never leased a vehicle so I can not provide any guidance or success stories with leasing. When purchasing a new vehicle, please do your research. Shop around. If you can get with your bank or another company that does pre qualification, then that may benefit you as well. Having a lender before arriving at the dealership could be beneficial to you and your credit. Most dealerships send out your credit profile to many lenders and see which one has the best option for you. That may seem great, but each one of those banks also individually pull your credit report and that counts as an inquiry on your credit report. Too many inquiries may lower your score. After you have secured you a vehicle and it is time to pay, you should consider ways that will best benefit you.

One thing you can do when paying off a vehicle is to pay every two weeks instead of once a month. Just pay half of the payment (check with your lender first so see if this is allowed) and then pay the other half. This will result in a little less interest, but you will actually end up paying it off quicker. I also like to pay an even amount by rounding it up. So if you payment is $827, round it at minimum to $850 and if you can do more, round it up more. Here is an example of how this can work for you. Say you have a loan for $10,000 and your loan length is 5 years and your interest rate is 10%. Your monthly payment would be around $212 and at the end of your loan term you would have paid almost $2,800 in interest. Well, round that up to paying $250 a month instead. You will save over $500 in interest and the car will be paid off sooner than the 60 months. See what works for you.

TIP: In reference to purchasing a new vehicle, always check with the dealership to see if they have a demo. Demo are basically new vehicles with less than 5,000 miles on them. You can generally get great deals on them. Demos are just generally vehicles owners or managers may drive but they are never registered so it benefits you.

Happy Savings Everyone!!