Candyfloss & Dreams

Tag: money

  • Finance with Finesse – How to Finance Your Car for Your Road Trip

    Imagine it – your next road trip has you traversing Australia’s outback in a rugged truck of your choice. Or better yet, hop into the speedster of your dreams to indulge in the many sights that Melbourne, Sydney, or any one of Australia’s great urban centres offer. Then there are the country’s numerous scenic beaches that beckon you to enjoy sand and surf at your leisure.

    However, before taking off, you will need new wheels to get you to your destination in style. Financing a vehicle can be a one way ticket to your next road trip. In addition to the many other ways of financing a car today, Latitude can help finance your car in the most efficient, cost-effective way so in no time you can be in the driver’s seat pioneering new paths across the Australian landscape.

    Continue reading to learn more about how you can finance a car to make your next road trip a memorable one.

    planning a road trip, finance road trip

    Ascertain The Vehicle’s Purpose

    While it is a small factor, knowing how you plan to use your vehicle is a factor you should consider before actually looking for a loan. By doing an assessment of your needs, you might find you can quickly and more accurately find a vehicle that is appropriate for your lifestyle choices, whether these choices include using the vehicle in rugged landscapes or for hanging out on the beach on weekends. Plus, there’s no point on taking in a massive amount of debt if you go on road trips infrequently.

    Understand Credit And Your Credit History

    By understanding how credit works, you have a better chance at seeking out appropriate financing and knowing how to leverage your credit to gain the advantage when settling on a loan. Factors to pay attention to include knowing your credit score, looking at your debt-to-income ratio, and understanding the remarks related to the accounts on the record. These factors all affect your ability to get financing, and more importantly, directly affect your interest rate.

    The ability to get credit varies from individual to individual. Generally, speaking though, the more debt you have reduces the amount you can borrow, and in some cases, requires you make a sizable down payment to reduce the interest rate. Furthermore, derogatory, charge off, and slow payment remarks can hamper financing a car at a reasonable rate. Ultimately, you should check your credit report yearly to make sure that everything on the report reflects your history, as everyone is entitled to at least one free report through any of the major credit bureaus.

    Look For Finance

    Before settling on one loan, search through the many options available. Today, online technology has made it possible for consumers to finance just about anything through online institutions and options like Pentagon Ford 0%. Furthermore, their interest rates tend to be just as, or much, better than traditional banks and dealerships.

    Another go-to are credit unions, which are also known to give consumers competitive rates. Credit unions typically offer their customers lower interest rates when compared to traditional financing options, including dealerships. The point is to do a comprehensive search before settling on a loan.

    Get Pre-Approved

    Another way to finance your road trip vehicle is to get pre-approved for an amount. This reduces the amount of time shopping for a car and limits your choices simply because it gives you a pre-set budget. Moreover, it streamlines the financing process while at the dealership.

    A Vehicle To Your Road Trip

    Financing a car has been simplified through the many avenues financial institutions have made available to consumers. The once complicated process, often lasting the entire day, can be transacted within a few hours. For the most part, accessing the financing that will place you in your new road trip car begins with being armed with the right information and being prepared to find the next great deal.

    This is a collaborative post.

  • Investing In Your Child’s Future: Where To Begin

    When you have a young child, it can be very difficult to see beyond getting them through the day ensuring that they are washed, dressed, and well fed as well as trying to avoid disasters. Looking after your child and fitting in their needs around your lifestyle can often take precedence over any future considerations, however, the future health of your child, often relies upon the decisions you make early on in their life. These decisions will go on to determine who your child becomes, and how much you can support them in this journey.

    Consider Investing In The Stock Market

    Over an extended period of time, shares provide a better return than a savings account. You could buy zoom shares, for example. Investing in safe stocks that offer you a secure return, will allow you to provide your children with either the stocks themselves or the financial value of the shares. You can even put the assets in your children’s name, with several brokerage firms offering custodial accounts. A custodial account means that the custodian can manage the assets of the child, but no one apart from the child can take out anything until they have come to the age of maturity. It is worth looking around, and seeing which brokerage firm can offer you the best account deal, for example, no minimum investment or commission.

    Education

    The financial security of your children is often dependent on the quality of education they receive from a young age. Choosing the school that your children go to is a big decision, as this is a place they will spend most of their formative life in. Find a school that mirrors your core values, and that you feel comfortable sending your children to. Looking at league tables, and visiting schools in person will help you decide which school will best cater towards the individual needs of your children and will provide them with the best education possible. Decide whether you want to, or can afford to, send your children to a private or state school.  Many people that prefer to send their children to a private school but struggle with financing this decide to invest in a private secondary school for their children and a state primary school and sixth form education. This reduces the overall cost of education while providing their children with private education for the five years of secondary school. To prepare for the costs of education, that also includes school resources, uniforms, school trips and extracurricular activities; you’ll need to start saving for your child’s future as soon as possible.

    Higher Education

    Once your child goes to university, you will have to factor in all the additional costs that this might entail, particularly if you don’t want your child to rely upon a student loan. It should be noted, however, that student loans are an option for students who need additional support, and should not necessarily be viewed as a financial burden, as these loans are very flexible and do not need to be paid back until the individual is earning enough money to comfortably do so.

    In order to prepare for this, which may seem a long away, it is worth considering bonds as well as saving. Masters programs and study abroad programs will increase the employability of your children, and therefore, the costs associated with this will pay off in the long run.

    Invest in property

    With the property market becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to enter, it is likely that young buyers will have to rent for much of their life before they can save enough to put towards their own home if indeed, they are ever able to buy a property at all. To leave your children with something that will continue to provide an income, it is worth investing in property. This is a form of equity that will continue to grow and provide both yourself and your children with a form of financial security that is a safe investment. There are many ways that you can invest in property, and ensure that you get a foot onto the housing ladder, including buying an affordable home that you can fix-up and go to auctions rather than going through an agency. This can be a particularly lucrative field of investment which can even lead to property developing. If you even stick to one property, however, you’ll still receive a regular income if you rent it out, which you will be able to pass on to your children.

    Photo source- Pixabay

    Provide Your Children With A Cultural Education

    Making sure that your children have a wide and varied education also involves building upon their cultural understanding and awareness of the world. In order for your children to become citizens of the world, and give them every opportunity, it is important to encourage their cultural development, in subjects such as literature and the arts. Do not only provide your child with music lessons but take them to concerts and recitals, in which they can see what a musician in practice looks like.  In a similar vein, go to the theater as much as possible, or even to the cinema, as a fun way to expose your children to visual arts in an accessible way. Travel is an excellent way of exposing your children to different cultures and will provide them with an ability to adapt to different environments, particularly if they spend an extended period abroad. While it is not always easy or possible to spend time abroad in exotic locations, there are ways to do this if traveling or living abroad is a priority for you. One option is to see if your company provides sabbaticals, which you can read more about here, and which would allow you to take six months or a year away from work, with your job position secure upon your return. You will, of course, have to consider your children, and this is easier to do when your children are young and do not have commitments such as exams to worry about. Fortunately, children settle into foreign environments far quicker than adults, particularly if they go to school and make new friends. Learning a new language is a skill that your children will be able to take away with them and use throughout their life, increasing their employability and potential to work abroad.

    investing child future