subject: Tips On Being Savvy With Your Cash [print this page] When working with finances and money, people are generally either very good with their money and their spending habits or very, very bad. There does not seem to be much of an in between and this seems to be because people are just uninformed about the processes of financing or they just do not understand what to do with their money. For example, folks can go to the automotive websites to find specials at a particular dealership as well as checking out the auto dealer marketing online. This is a great way for people to be well informed when shopping for a car whether it is used or new. You can set a budget on how much you want to spend on a car and what you are willing to spend on on extras that are not standard features such as tinted glass instead of ordinary glass.
The first thing to ask yourself when you are going to make an investment is if you have enough money to begin with. Taking out loans are not a good idea, no matter what people tell you, and they should be avoided at all costs. If you want to buy something expensive like a computer or a boat, you need to save for it. Mankind has grown to the point that people need to be instantly gratified or they feel they have been conned. The days of delayed gratification and preparing to get something you want are supposedly over.
This obviously should not be the case. If you want a laptop, you work as hard as you can and save for as long as you need to until you can buy it. What people usually and foolishly do instead, is get a loan and buy the computer instantly without thinking of the consequences. Now, not only do you have the loan to pay back but you also have to pay back interest on the loan and you end up spending more than the initial product cost in the first place. It does not make any sense.
Likewise, getting credit cards is an equally bad idea. Credit card companies are notorious for preying on consumers and adding hidden fees to their cards. People get into this trap by accidentally, overspending and then having to catch up again. Even spending one dollar over the budget that has been set can cost you a charge and then, if you do not pay that back exactly on time, you get another fee. Likewise, credit cards charge interest on all of those fees, plus the amount of money you are technically borrowing with the card. Debt can rise incredibly quickly on these cards so the safest route is just to save the money yourself and then but whatever you need afterwards.
Clearly, getting sucked into the world of loans and credit cards and debt is a terrible idea. Some consumers are in debt for the rest of their lives because of a few little mishaps they made with companies like these. It is best just to stay away, especially when you are younger and more likely to overspend on a credit card, and raise the money on your own in a checking account since it will add interest to your money instead of the other way around.
