Cash Car Convert

What a great show we have today!

Today, we have a young lady, Lauren Bowling, on who was a theater major and graduated with no student loan debt. Her parents made sure she had no student loans. The foe of most every college student got her though, credit cards. She finished college with thousands in debt and a dream.

Lauren Bowling dreamed of being an actor in New York city. With $300 and her dream, she left home for New York.

Soon after she arrived between the debt and lack of acting jobs, Lauren was forced to take an administrative job at a hedge fund company. Lauren spent her time there paying down her debt and learning from the fiscally responsible people working at the hedge fund.

After Lauren paid off her debt, she started to pursue her acting, only to find she didn't really enjoy it. She didn't really love the audition process. She said her nerves would often get the best of her. She often didn't perform at her best.

Lauren decided to head back home and take up residence with her parents. Lauren didn't stay with her parents' house too long. She received a bonus from the hedge fund and decided to put it towards a house.

Lauren's dream house quickly turned to a house of horrors when her home repairs outstripped her home repair loan and she found herself in $8,000 in debt. Reeling from a recent breakup and in debt Lauren spent a year finding her equilibrium.

In 2015, Lauren regained her footing, she got serious about her. Lauren set up a plan to pay off $8,000 in 90 days. Lauren hit her goal of paying off $8,000 in 90 days.

How you might ask did she do this?

It turns out Lauren had started a blog, L Bee and the Money Tree to discuss money and her journey with it back in 2012. She also started doing some free lance writing. She over the next two years and 2,000 blog posts, she built her reputation. She also built a know like and trust factor with her audience.

It was the free lance writing that allowed her to accelerate the pay off of her debt. She also discovered something else. She discovered she could make enough hustling as a free lance writer to leave her day job.

What started off as a problem, a house with excessive repair bills, resulted in an opportunity to leave her day job and pursue a new life.

Lauren also shared a personal story of a shopping addiction. She spoke of how shopping was comfort for what she felt lacking. She attended therapy sessions to get control of her addiction.

I thought it was brave of her to tell this personal story on my show. I believe her bravery in sharing this story, will touch someone out there who needed to hear her story.

Give this episode a listen, I know you'll enjoy!

Links:

L Bee and the Money Tree: http://www.lbeeandthemoneytree.com

Lauren Bowling YouTube Channel (Awkward Money Chat: https://www.youtube.com/user/LBeeMoneyTree

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Today, I will go through articles I found on the web to help listeners determine the best way to get out of an auto lease.

US News and World Report: Buying vs. Leasing

Benefits of Leasing a Car

Leasing a car is similar to financing the purchase of the car in many ways, but there are some key differences. You might be able to get more car for less money by leasing. That’s because a car loan is based on the full price of a new car, while a lease is based on only a percentage of the car’s price. For example, on a $30,000 car, you’d finance the entire $30,000 purchase price with a car loan. With a car lease, you only pay the difference between the car’s price and what it’s expected to be worth at the end of the lease, which is a car’s residual value. So if the car’s residual value is 55 percent after three years, for example, that means the $30,000 car would be worth $16,500 at the end of the lease. You’d make lease payments on the remaining $13,500 and not the full $30,000.http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Buying_vs_Leasing/

New York Times: Auto Leases Entice, but They’re Still Costly

Which is best new purchase, new lease, or used?

So let’s start with the hard numbers. Mr. Reed looked at three ways you could acquire a four-door Honda Accord EX: buying a new 2014 model, leasing the same 2014 car, or buying a used 2011 Accord with 36,000 miles. (Many people in the New York area are paying about $28,211 for the new car, including tax, title and registration.)

The analysis looked at the cost over six years, since the average person owns a car for that long, and it incorporated typical buying patterns: the new Accord is purchased with a five-year loan, the used car is financed with a four-year loan, and the person who is leasing must take out two consecutive 36-month leases. (The rest of the assumptions are detailed on the accompanying chart.http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/09/21/your-money/To-Buy-or-to-Lease.html?ref=your-money )

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Leasing initially seems to be the cheapest route when you look at total out-of-pocket expenses: It costs $5,244 less than buying new. (Buying a used car is still the most economical. You save $5,277 compared with leasing, and it’s about a whopping $10,500 less than buying new.)

But when you account for the teensy fact that you don’t own anything at the end of those six years, the calculus changes. If you had bought the car new, it would still be worth about $11,000, according to Edmunds.com’s calculators. The used Accord would be worth around $5,000.

So after you factor in that equity, leasing costs $5,756 more than buying a new car and $10,277 more than buying used. (Buying new costs $4,521 more than buying used.) Leasing is the loser across the board.

Leases Most Costly?

“If you asked me what is the most expensive way to get a car, the answer would be: You only want to own it during its period of greatest depreciation and then move to another new vehicle,” said Jeff Bartlett, deputy automotive editor at Consumer Reports. “Well, that’s what leasing is.”http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/your-money/car-leases-grow-more-enticing-but-no-less-expensive.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Auto Finance News: Average Auto Loans and Leasing on the Rise in 3Q, Experian Says

How Popular is leasing in Q3 2014?

Experian also found that leasing accounted for 29.1% of all new vehicle financing in 3Q, up 7.1% from a year ago, while 73-to-84 month new vehicle loans grew by 23.7% last quarter, compared with 3Q 2013. Used loans in the same range also grew, up 18% from a year ago.51.8% of all new auto saleshttp://www.autofinancenews.net/average-auto-loans-and-leasing-on-the-rise-in-3q-experian-says/

JD Power: How To End Your Lease Early

1) Return the vehicle to the dealership.

This is a traditional lease termination, and it is an expensive option. When you return the vehicle to the dealership, you will be required to pay all penalties. In some cases, you may be required to make all outstanding payments, and pay additional penalties on top of any other fees. This should be a last-resort option.

2) Trade in your vehicle for another vehicle.

It may be possible to lease another vehicle at the same dealership. The penalties and fees from your original leas...

Introduction to James Kinson and the Cash Car Convert Podcast. How Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover changed my life and how I now plan to help others. I want to educate and inspire people to become cash car converts with this podcast.

This episode will be about being a person of excellence.

Back in February on Cash Car Convert episode 12, I had some friends who were going to buy a newer car to get one that would have better gas milage and have a nice long warranty. I don’t know what the car payments would have been, but they decided not to buy the newer car after I offered to buy their old car for a little over the trade in amount they had been offered. Instead, they had their car repaired and have been driving it with no problem that I know of.

Recently, the husband was laid off. I was very sad to hear of this happening, but I was thankful they hadn’t purchased that newer car and incurred the car payments that would have come with it.

I’m pleased to know they have one less headache as he finds another job.

Each week, I listen to lots of Podcasts. Some of these are sermons.

I attend a local church, so I hear one sermon in person and the others via podcasts.

I listen to Robert Morris in person at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. Pastor Morris is an incredible teacher of God’s word. He makes the complexities of the bible simple.

Andy Stanley from Northpoint Church in Atlanta, GA Wisdom from a church for non-church people

Perry Noble from Newspring Church in SC not your typical pastor, but someone passionate about helping people and leading them to God.

Joel Osteen from Lakewood church in Houston, TX up lifting. Always helping me remember I may be going through something bad at any given moment, but it is only for a season and brighter days will come.

I get something different from each of the sermons. Each one a blessing to my life.

Today, I want to discuss a sermon I heard from Joel Osteen.

It was about having a spirit of excellence and being a person of excellent.

He told stories of what this means and what it looks like.

For Christens, it means we should always remember we are representatives of God.

If you don’t believe in God, this still applies to you, as you represent yourself, your family, city, state, and country.

All good reasons to try to always put your best self forward.

How do you live your life? How do you look when you leave your house? How does your house look, is it neat and in good repair? What about your car?

What do you do to make your small o large corner of the world better?

What do you do with shopping carts? Do you liter? Do you pick up liter?

I always put my shopping cart away and will often take a few strays as well.

I tend to walk along a street that gets a fair about of traffic. I’m always amazed that for such a nice neighborhood I find trash along my walking route. When I’m out for a walk, I will often pick up liter on the street.

Some of these things I have done for a long time, but some of it I have started doing after listening to Joel’s sermon on having a spirit of excellent.

You don’t do these things not because someone is watching, but because you are a person of excellence.

Joel tells the story of cleaning a 5 gallon water bottle not because he thought it needed it, but because he had promised his wife he would. So, even when he is alone, he does it because he wants to be a person of excellence.

H also told the story of how he had trash blowing out of his car and out into the parking lot. He chose to chase it down and was glad he did when he found he was being watch by people who watch his services on television. It pays to be a person of excellence all the time, as you never know who will be watching.

What if you don't feel like you are a person of excellence?

I talk about how using positive mental imagery can help you envision a new you and a new future. I speak about Dr. Maxwell Maltz book Psyco-Cybernetics published in 1960.

I also reference The Way of the SEAL a book by Mark Divine. I was amazed how much the use of positive mental imagery played a part in the life of a Navy SEAL.

It can help you to. Links below will help you understand why.

In this episode of the Cash Car Convert Podcast I will cover 10 questions you should ask before going to see a used car. Do spend your time or gas needlessly. Prequalify each car before you drive to inspect.