We had a pretty cold week in Minnesota, including some snow. I put up a picture to remind myself that warmer weather is (hopefully) right around the corner!
Welcome to the Weekly Quick Hits Roundup!
If you’re new here, every week I write a weekly wrap-up of things that were going on here at Young Adult Money, a few personal updates/thoughts, and finally a few posts I read this week that I thought were worth sharing.
If you don’t already, please considering Following us on Twitter, Liking us on Facebook, and Following us on Pinterest.
We also have our giveaway roundup every Friday. This Friday there are 124 giveaways listed this week that end today (3/28) through next Thursday (4/3).
_____________________________________________________________________
It’s Friday and I hope you all had – and are continuing to have – a great week!
- NCAA Tournament– I had a lot of fun catching some of the NCAA games last weekend. I only play in my family pool and for not very much money, but the bragging rights you gain from winning are a little ridiculous. It comes up at pretty much every holiday gathering! Part of it is my Uncle and I termed ourselves “The Winner’s Couch” and joke about it nonstop, much to the rest of the family’s disapproval.
Like I said last week I picked Iowa State to win the tournament. With one starter out they have a tough road ahead of them, but if you watched the game on Sunday it’s hard to count them out. Yes, they barely won their second-round game, but I think they have what it takes to go far in the tournament, if not win the whole thing.
I just realized how funny it would be if you are reading this after their game on Friday and they lost – let’s hope that’s not the case!
- Car Shopping – My wife and I are going car shopping this weekend and will likely make a purchase. We are looking at 2011 and 2012 Ford Escapes with low mileage. Driving older cars is great and can save you a lot of money, but with all the problems our cars have caused us the past 2-3 years we both agree that it’s time to have a car that’s reliable.
I DID finance the purchase and will talk about it in a future post. Yes, the money is already in my account. I realize this may be odd or not typical for a car loan, but it was super easy to apply for the loan and I got a ridiculously low rate. Again, more on that in a future post.
- Blog Redesign – So I’ve been pretty terrible about getting back to my blog designer in a timely fashion. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t cut ties with me yet, as I’m extremely picky.
One of the reasons I get back to him so slow is because I agonize over how I feel about the design samples he sends my way. I’ve received a number of compliments on the design of this blog and it makes me very hesitant to agree to a new design. With that being said, it’s time.
Below are the posts we published this week:
- On Sunday I shared 4 Habits That Help You Save Money.
- On Monday I shared 12 Tips for Beginner Couponers.
- On Tuesday Sally shared 5 Inexpensive Ways to Enjoy Yourself.
- On Wednesday Cat shared 3 Ways I Prepared My Finances for Twins.
- On Thursday I asked How Much are Fees Costing Your Retirement Savings?
Posts of the Week:
As usual, here are five posts from around the blogosphere that I enjoyed:
- Heather from 20 Something Syndrome shared a great post about the Top 5 Personal Finance Blogs
- Anne from Unique Gifter shared College Graduation Gift Ideas
- Brian from Luke 1428 shared the 5 Warning Signs When Choosing a Financial Adviser
- Tonya from Budget and the Beach talked about her recent trip in A Budget Traveler In Iceland: Part One
- Ryan from Impersonal Finance made a great point in Clothes don’t equal success
____________
What are you up to this weekend? Do you think it’s a bad idea to finance a car instead of pay cash? Is your pick to win the NCAA tournament still in?
____________
Photo by Jay Woodworth
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
I don’t think it’s necessarily bad to finance a car, especially if you can swing a low rate. I don’t know that we would finance again, but a good rate is hard to turn down. I’m hoping Iowa State pulls it out, but will be a challenge now that they’ve lost Niang. Too many of the Big 12 teams have gone down in flames, but anytime KU goes out in the second round is good in my book. :)
That’s for the inclusion! I know it’s not a bad idea to finance a car instead of pay cash, it all depends on the details and what the numbers look like, opportunity cost, etc. I’m surprised I’m aware of the existence of the NCAA, let alone having a bracket, haha. I don’t live with basketball fanatics anymore.
I’d definitely want a reliable car especially where you guys are with all that snow. I’ve seen some really low rates on car sales…I think it was under 2% at Penfed or something. At that rate, I don’t think it’s a bad idea if you have better use of your money. It seems like the weather should be finally getting better…pretty tired of this winter weather.
I hope you have a great weekend! I can understand financing a car if you got an extremely low rate…I just hate car payments!!! =/
Good luck with the car shopping and hope you find something! As you know I was just in that position, although a little under the gun because my other car was down and out. I did the same thing with financing even though I “technically” had the cash. But it was a good thing I did that because not one month later I’m getting hit with a huge tax bill and need that cash! With such a low interest rate why not? Thanks so much for the blog mention! Have a great weekend! Can’t wait to hear about what you got!
If you can get a low rate I don’t see why not. My sister once got car financing at 0% interest. Can’t beat that deal. You can always pay it off early if you start hating your car payments. Good Luck car shopping!
FrugalRules I wrote a whole post on the whole rate issue. From a numbers standpoint I really can’t figure out the argument for not financing. From a psychological standpoint I can, though.
I can’t even wait for the Iowa State game. I will definitely be sweating out this game and any more that they play. The last game was so intense. I was literally jumping up and down towards the end. Again, I’m a Gophers fan and I “adopted” ISU for this tourney, but it’s been fun!
Ugifter No problem! Haha they keep stressing how many Canadians are on teams in the tournament. Perhaps they are trying to grab more viewers from there?
Andrew LivingRichCheaply I have a post about the rate I got, but it’s definitely around 2%. Just looking at the numbers I don’t really see a reason to not finance. Sunday we might hit 60 here which will be awesome!
Holly at ClubThrifty Thanks Holly! Yes, I know how you hate your payments : )
Beachbudget No problem on the mention and I hope you have a good weekend as well! My car honestly might not make it much longer so it’s *slightly* rushed but not to a huge degree. We have a big tax bill as well so it’s nice having the cash available versus putting it towards the car.
Raquel@Practical Cents Thanks! I agree with you about the rate. I see no reason not to finance if you can get it at such a low rate.
Good luck on your car hunting/buying adventure. That’s always fun. And yes, there comes a point where reliability and safety trumps driving an old paid-for car. Sounds like now is the perfect time for you to replace an older vehicle. I can’t believe you guys are still getting snow!! It’s actually been a bit cooler this week here too. :) I really enjoyed Ryan’s post too. It sort of boggled my mind. Have a great weekend!
I am wishing spring your way! Have a great weekend!
I think it is SO funny when people in the PF blogger world feel a need to “justify” financing anything. I am a big proponent of a well-rounded financial picture and financing is part of the game for a number of reasons, but the biggest is money flexibility. Life is unpredictable and you have no idea what may happen next, and cash is the only thing you can rely on to get you through tough, random hiccups. But all of this is for a post at a later date I am sure. :-)
I would go with the 2011. Good year. But in all seriousness, man alive has March Madness killed some of my productivity. I always turn it on while I’m working just to keep an eye on it in the background, but by the time the second half rolls around it seems I’m watching that with my work in the background. Thanks for the mention, and have a great weekend DC!
We have financed before but will be paying cash for our next car purchase, probably coming up in the next 12 months. We’ve been saving for 18 months already in an effort to do that. I haven’t even looked at my bracket since the tournament began…I know it’s in shambles. My son is having fun filling out his though as the tournament unfolds. Appreciate you mentioning my post. Have a great weekend and happy car hunting.
ShannonRyan Haha I really hope the snow is over! We might get a slushy mix next Wednesday, but hopefully not. Hope you have a great weekend too!
brokeandbeau Thanks! Hope you have a great weekend as well!
blonde_finance Haha it really does seem like any sort of debt or financing is a “no-no” in the pf community. Kind of odd because most wealthy people leverage debt financing and use it in such a way that they can increase their wealth at a much more rapid pace.
ImpersonalFinance The 2011 and 2012 model is essentially the exact same. I’m sweating the Iowa State game as we speak! We can’t really have a TV on while we work in our cube farm, so that helps with productivity. I might have to take PTO for March madness next year.
Brian @ Luke1428 That’s great that you’ve been saving up specifically for the purchase. I’d like to do it for my next car, but if I get another rock-bottom rate like I did this time around I think it’ll be tough to pass it up. Hope you have a great weekend as well!
Hi DC, suprised that it is still quite cold over there, is that traditionally the case for Minnesota?
That’s why I love Sydney, Australia, the coldest it will get in July is around 13 degrees during the day and maybe 0 at nights (we’re talking celcius here too haha)..
Good luck with the car shopping, hope all goes well
Jef