Life is good, without a car payment

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Ah yes, I can feel it in the air. Early spring. Home and car buying season.

The dreaded car note. The average car payment is now hovering around $400 or more per month.

Here’s what you can do to get rid of your car payment and where you can put that money now that it’s not being spent on a car.

Get a shorter term. Many dealerships offer 72 month terms. I see this advertised all the time whenever I research or look at purchasing a vehicle. Hogwash. You can get a car loan for less than five years. If you want to be out of debt sooner rather than later, buy a less expensive car and finance for four years or less. Preferably three as once this year comes up and is marked off the calendar you can’t stand writing out the check anymore.

Use a zero percent deal. There are dealers and credit card companies that offer 0% financing deals. The catch is that you have to pay it off with 12-15 months on average. However, if you start here, you pay less interest over the life of the loan. Better yet, if you can pay it off during this time, your done and can tell the car company to honk that horn where the checks don’t shine.  

Save up and pay cash.  I know what you’re thinking. Can’t be done right. Well, it can be. It just takes time and discipline. For instance, pick out a car, write down the price, and set a goal of 5 years. Do the math and figure out the how long it will take to save up the money monthly. For example, a $20,000 vehicle will require you to save $334 a month for 5 years. Then you can walk into the dealership and pay cash!

Invest your money in stocks instead.  Now that you don’t have a car payment, you can put that money to work. Check out some IRA’s and mutual funds with an investment company. Money not spent can become money that interest is earned upon.

Beef up your rainy day fund. It’s a jungle out there. Anything could happen so you best be prepared. Take that $334 and start socking it away in savings. Do this for three years and you will have saved $12,000! That could be a down payment on a home.

Donate.  There are many organizations and people out there who need help. You can decide to feed the hungry or become a genie and grant wishes or set up a scholarship fund. No matter what you decide it can make a difference in someone’s life. The best part is that when it comes from the heart you feel good too.

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