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Prepare for Big Purchases
Life is full of major expenses, while some are unexpected, others such as a condo, new car, or wedding can be prepared for with a little advance planning. Here are a few tips on how to make sure life's big expenses aren't big surprises for your wallet:
- Prepare a budget. Since this purchase is not a regular expense, you want to make sure it's budgeted for. This is a great opportunity to create a yearly budget .
- Make sure you don't tap into your emergency funds. Emergency funds are for emergencies, like a sudden illness, loss of job, or car trouble. A big-ticket purchase is not considered an emergency, so eave your emergency fund account untouched.
- Save money in advance of your purchase.
If you're looking to buy a car, visit Your Money Counts or www.carfax.com for helpful hints on the car buying process.
New home buyers should check out the Housing and Urban Development's Nine Steps to Buying a Home .
Take the Quiz-
40% of students are likely to buy a pair of jeans (or something similar) they really want even if they do not have the money to pay for it.
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Total consumer debt topped $2 trillion for the first time in 2003.
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Research has shown that as little as 10 hours of personal financial education positively affects students spending and savings habits.
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40% of Americans say they live beyond their means.
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50.8% of college-age adults agree with this statement: "I have experienced repeated, unsuccessful attempts to control, cut back or stop excessive money use."
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Teens surveyed by Teenage Research Unlimited reported spending 98% of their money, rather than saving it.
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One out of three households reported using credit cards to cover basic living expenses, on average, for four of the past 12 months.
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20% of graduating college students have $10,000 or more in non-school related credit card debt.
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The average household with debt carries approximately $10,000 to $12,000 in total revolving debt and has 9 credit cards.
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The US has recently seen an over 50% increase in bankruptcies among people under age 25 (fastest growing age range for bankruptcies)
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Half of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.