Personal Finance

By Edward Pacheco

In today’s difficult economic times there is definitely something to be said for leasing a used car as opposed to a new car. In short, leasing a used car will provide the buyer with an opportunity to get the new truck or sedan that they want without having to fork up a ton of money. Leasing used is something that has not been popular in the past, but it is slowly starting to become more relevant.

The reason: most of the time the dealership that gets a lease turned in will sell it outright as used or CPO.

Once the car is sold, the dealership stands to make a nice profit. However, leasing used cars has become more relevant because with the slow economy it is a way for these dealerships to move inventory off their lot (to make room for higher margin offerings) while still making a profit. The benefit for the buyer is that they get a car that’s like-new at a lower price than they could if they were buying (or leasing) new.

When leasing a used car you will be locked into to a contract that will last, in most cases, 36-months, just like a new car lease. Over the course of those months you are mostly paying for the depreciated value of the car. In other words, you are not paying for the whole price of the car, just the portion that you use. This is ideal for those who can’t find a car that fits them at their price point.

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As the cold weather starts to leave us it means that spring has finally arrived. Some people see this as an ideal time of the year to give your finances a good old spring clean, especially if you’re still struggling from a start of the year hangover.

The start of the year is notorious for leaving you with a financial headache, the holidays have passed and money has inevitably been spent, but as we approach the months ahead you should be aiming to do something about it.

A financial spring clean is all about making your money work better for you, and you can do this by reviewing all aspects of personal finance, from your debts to your spending and saving until you can make your money go that extra yard.

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When someone asks if you’re happy in your job, the answer is generally “yes” or “no” after a short pause.

But something very interesting happens in between the question and the answer.

During that brief moment, your brain goes through an assessment to: compartmentalize, weight, and rank all aspects of the job which are most/least important to you. Your job satisfaction is then determined from the aggregate sum of these parts.

Imagine a set of 4 or 5 buckets. Each bucket has a label representing a desired job characteristic. There’s no set combination of buckets or labels – it’s entirely up to you. Just don’t end up with 10 buckets because then you dilute the importance of each. The labels could be anything: social impact, impressing the opposite sex, compensation, contribution, entertainment, work/life balance, ethical practices, whatever would constitute your “dream job”.

Once your satisfaction has been broken down into the buckets, it’s time to re-size them. Think about what’s most important. Determine how heavily each one weighs on your happiness. This will be a very personal process and different for everyone, which is why there are well-paid bankers who overlook their long hours or not as well-paid non-profit employees swelling with pride from their sense of purpose.

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