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How to Finance a New Vehicle

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Finance a Vehicle|How to Finance a New VehicleAfter your home, your vehicle is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make, whether it’s a car, truck or motorhome. Unless you already have savings, you might be looking to finance a vehicle, and there are many options for doing so, but it can be confusing when working out what’s best for you. Here are some ways you can pay for your next vehicle.

Cash

If you have decent savings and don’t like being in debt, then paying upfront in cash could be your best option. While it means you own the vehicle outright, there are pros and cons to paying in one lump sum, such as:

You may be excluded from certain dealership deals
You no longer have that money in your account if an emergency comes up
If you get a decent interest rate on your savings, as a low-interest loan may mean more money in your pocket overall
If you do decide to pay in cash, make sure you get the best possible deal, check out lots of dealerships and see what special offers or extras you can negotiate.

Vehicle Loans

If you’re planning to borrow to finance your car, then specialist vehicle loans are often the cheapest way. You choose your vehicle, so you can take your time looking at the Bailey Autograph and other new motorhomes, and you fill in an application, either online or through the dealership. Normally, they’ll ask for a down-payment, but there are often deals available for those with little or no deposit. You’ll then have a choice of the length of the loan, and you can find out your repayments.

Some auto loans pay off the entirety of your balance, while others are ‘conditional purchase’ type schemes where you get lower payments, but have to pay a balloon payment at the end of the term if you want to keep the car. If you change cars a lot, you might want to pick the latter, but if you would rather own the car at the end, then you should aim to pay it off.

A Standard Loan

If your credit is good and you’re always getting loan offers, then you may decide to take out a standard bank loan to finance the car. This gives you many of the advantages of being a cash buyer, including flexibility, but again it means you can miss out on special offers such as free extras or services. You should calculate your monthly payments compared to rates offered by auto loan companies, and if possible, try to take out the loan over a shorter term to save on interest. If you aren’t getting good loan rates, take a look at your credit file to see if there’s something holding you back.

When it comes to financing a vehicle, you have plenty of options, many of which will depend on your income, credit rating, and whether you’re buying used or new. It’s important to look through all options and compare rates to ensure you get the best possible deal.

Key Financial Tips For Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Finances|Key Financial Tips For EntrepreneursStarting a new business venture can be an incredibly exciting time, but you must also be careful and well-organized during this period, especially when it comes to your finances. Money will be incredibly precious when first starting out so you must have a clear budget in place and know where every single cent is being used. This can be tricky with so many areas that need attention and particularly if this is your first business venture. With this in mind, here are a few financial tips for entrepreneurs which should help you to manage money effectively from the start.

Secure Enough Funding

Possibly the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs will make is not getting enough funding to get the business up and running to a high standard. It can be hard to change how your brand is perceived, which means that you need to get off to a good start. Work out exactly how much money you need factoring in every expense and then use a variety of funding sources to reach this amount. This might include:

  • Personal savings
  • Loans from friends/family
  • Angel investors
  • Venture capitalists
  • Bank loans
  • Crowdfunding

Keep Costs Low

Every cent counts when first starting out, so you need to find ways to keep costs as low as possible without it impacting the quality of the product/service. There are a few different ways to do this, including:

  • Outsourcing instead of hiring staff
  • Working remotely
  • Going paperless
  • Using alternative energy
  • Negotiating with suppliers

Car Finance

Most modern-day businesses will require at least one vehicle if not a fleet as part of the operation. This can be a huge cost, which is why car finance deals are a smart option. There are poor credit car finance deals from specialists like CVS, which can make it possible to lease a car even if you have poor or no credit at all.

Invest In Insurance

It’s always better to have a safety net when it comes to insurance, and this is true in the business world too. The types of insurance that you use will depend on your industry but make sure that you have adequate coverage before getting started. You can usually make savings on insurance by shopping around and consolidating insurance policies.

Reinvest Into The Business

Once the business starts to find success, it can be tempting to splash the cash and increase the amount that you pay yourself, but this is a classic mistake. Instead, this money should be reinvested back into the company to drive further success. Putting more money in marketing is always a great idea as increasing brand awareness, and reputation is vital for growth and competing against the bigger brands in your industry.

Every entrepreneur will have concerns over finances when launching a new business, and this is for good reason. The above are a few key tips to keep in mind which should help you to use your money smartly to help get the business up and running to a high standard. You should then continue to be stringent with every cent as the business starts to grow.