Buying a New set of Wheels!

Hey everyone,
So I have been planning on buying a new set (at least for me) of wheels for a couple years now. My ol' Toyota Corolla just keeps on chuggin' along- so I have been pushing out the threat of a car payment for a lot longer than I anticipated!

There are a few things that I know I want, and then a few things that I am not so sure about, so maybe you all can help me!

I know I want:

• A used car between 2005 and 2008 (I will consider lower if its a jag :))
• Good gas mileage (but of course)
• sun roof (I appreciate the sunburnt scalp)
• leather seats (dog hair will not stick!)
• trunk space
• automatic transmission (I like manual, but I tend to roll backwards too often)
• 4 doors (trapping my back seat passengers is not my thing)
• Colors: Black or dark red
• Toyota, Honda, Mazda, or Nissan

I am not sure about:

• V6 Engine-does this mess with your gas mileage abilities?? I don't really know what this means anyway
• Buying from a dealer or private seller
• If I want to spend $10000 o r$15000
• If I am currently getting ripped off on my car insurance
• If I want black lights under my car (OK, just kidding)

What do you all think?

Has anyone bought a car recently? How did you decide what to choose? Did you take out a loan? What kind of marketing as it relates to cars and loans draws you in?

Just keep your change!

Hi GABbers,

I hope everybody's doing well. Is it just me or are the blogs getting more interesting?

Well, I want to write this blog about saving change. Any change I get after making a purchase during the day I put in a jar. You know, if you save your change it really adds up over time! In just two months I have saved almost $20.00. To me, that's a lot.

I am going to keep adding to my change and see how much I can save in one year. I am just curius. I did the math and figured that if I save only $15.00 every two months it would add up to $90.00 in a year. Let's be honest; that's not much. But at least the money wasn't spent on little things like gum or candy or something I really don't need. I could even give it away to a good cause.

What do you all think? Imagine if we all saved our change for a year and put our money together to give to a good cause. We'd have a lot. But what am I thinking? We'll probably be spending it on school!

Anyway, looking forward to reading everyone's new post. By the way, does anyone know when we are having anothor teleconference?

Learning To Live According To My Means

Hello my fellow Gabbers,
Lately I have been under alot of stress. I was forced to move out of my mother's house and live with my father due to the fact that me and my mom were not getting along. At the age of 19, day to day I have been learning the true value of a dollar and how to mange it wisely. I have applied the techniques that everyone has mentioned in their blogs. I have opened up a saving account to earn interest on my money and I have applied for a credit card so that I may start establishing credit. I had to start somewhere, by reading every one's post I thought that the best time to start managing my finances was now. I no longer have my mother in my ear telling me what to do step by step.
Growing up in a household where learning how to write a check was a tell me/ guide me sort of thing. I was never taught the simple financial aspects of life. If I had received birthday money from family or friends, my mother would put it in an account and I would never see it again. Now, I am in charge of everything. Taxes, savings, bills, school etc.
Hopefully by reading and interacting with my fellow Gabbers, I can learn more techniques and teach other youth in my same situation the smart ways to manage their money.

Outreach

So this past week when I finished my brochure I handed them out to some friends my age and relatives that I have that are in middle and high school. My cousins actually asked me for more information on saving and budgeting. I am surprised at all the people out there who have no money saved up and have no idea on how to save. I told her what I am doing with the SECU and she was really surprised there were these types of programs out there. So I gave her information on my loan brochure and also on how to save and what the best ways are. I showed her the SECU website and told her the new young adult website that was coming out soon and she can't wait to use it. My friend and I the other day were sitting outside talking and she was stressing about college and how she was going to pay her tuition this year. She has a subsidized loan through the government but she really did not know anything about it because her mom was mostly taking care of that. She had no idea she didn't have to pay interest back until 6 months after graduation. Needless to say I taught her somethings that day. Its such a great feeling knowing that we as gabbers are learning new information to empower friends and family members. 

Credit 101: Journey to financial literacy Day 3

Hey guys,
I'M BACK! letting you in on the most important chapter in the book of my life as a reformed humanistic capitalist. What will they say.. the ones that know me, when my life is over? I'll tell you what they won't say, they won't say, "that girl left us nothing but a bill" What about the ones that don't know me! Well after I finish my (Credit Report Restoration Plan) they'll say "Hey, I didn't know her but her credit was great" Lol... Class is back in session and I hope everyone did their homework from our last post. If you did do your homework than you found a copy of your personal credit report as well. Well... What did you find? If your credit report looks anything like my own, than you need a CRP(Credit Report Restoration Plan). If you haven't realized it yet, let me be the first to tell you that I have no idea what my Credit Report Restoration Plan will consist of; at least not completely.... Together we will figure this thing out! Tell me what you think of step one: Change your thinking

Step One-Change you thinking:

Its the American way to buy all you can, card charge what you can't and lay-a-way what's left behind. Living "beyond your means" is a value seen in every aspect of American life. The media, civil societies, and even our government perpetuates irresponsible spending habits. For example, if I was already a trillion dollars in debt, I probably wouldn't borrow money from my friend in China to "stimulate my economy." If America had a FICO score what do you think it would be... Get the picture? However, poor spending habits don't materialize over night, they begin with being out-of-touch with your financial reality. For me, growing up in a household that taught me to spend only what I had in my pocket gave me the impression that credit was like forbidden fruit. And what did Eve do... Who knows the end of that story? Saving every dime, keeping your money under the mattress, and not establishing credit at all is what I consider the rightist approach to finance. Spending everything you have and charging everything you don't is what we refer to as the leftist approach to finance. Stability is achieved through balance. The first step to undergoing credit report restoration is changing the way you think about your finances. Before you change how you think, you must ask yourself " how do I think about finance?" What values have shaped your financial culture? Was it your mother, teacher, or friend that influenced you to act for or against the ideology that drives your financial thought process. WOW.. I think we just had a break though; an epiphany. Before we change the way we think about how to manage our financial lifestyles, we must first realize what it is we already think.. and why!

Well that's step one! Do a little soul searching and find out what values drive your thought process about the financial lifestyle you lead. Next post we'll discuss what to change your mind set into. Till then, tell me about it.. What did your family or experiences growing up teach you about credit(ie money, finances, nothing)

Class dismissed!!

The Bureau

So how’s everybody doing lately, I’ve been doing good I actually just came back from Texas. But the reason I’m telling you this is because in Fort Worth, Texas is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP); and for those of you who don’t know, the BEP is the sole producer of all US paper currency since 1877. The BEP also produces several other security documents such as U.S. passports, materials for Homeland Security, military identification cards and Immigration and Naturalization Certificates, but is still well know for printing currency. There is only two BEPs one in Fort Worth, Texas and another in Washington, D.C. Although most believe the dollar bill comes fro the US Mint, only coins are created at the US Mint. Though new printing , production and examing technologies have brought the BEP into the 21st century, to help stop counterfeiters, the Bureau’s engravers continue to use the same traditional tools used over 125 years ago – the graver, the burnisher, and the hand-held glass. And they gave us a sneak peak that there will be new hundred dollar bill coming out, but the official date is unknown but either this year or 2009. If anyone gets the chance I would highly recommend taking the free tour, not only will you see large, blank sheets of paper turn into wallet-ready bills but you will see millions of dollars in less then an hour.

Small Steps to Savings!

I am furnishing my new apartment and it's coming together. The better it looks, the less stressed I feel. Know what I mean?

I've been trying my best to get good deals so I went to Walmart for some things. First, I made a list to shop from, which was smart. I thought I did pretty well with my purchases, staying under $300.

I've been reading about a way to save on home phone bills, too. Families with low incomes can apply for a service that offers a $12 discount. Small savings like that can add up when money is kind of tight.

I still need some furniture for the living room. I am going to watch what I spend so I can stretch out my money. I am feeling blessed and greatful for this new place.

Hope everybody's doing good. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts.