Considering a more fuel efficient car?

With gas prices climbing, a lot of people are thinking of replacing their present car with something more fuel efficient. That seems logical but does it really pencil out, considering everything you need to think about? Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture.

What’s going on with car sales in general?
According to recent news articles, the bargaining power of car buyers has been whittled down to about zero. How could that be, you may ask. Wasn’t the auto industry just in a funk because nobody was buying big-ticket items during the economic downturn? Yes, and manufacturers were offering all kinds of incentives to get buyers in the door.

Case study: making your own sale

I’ve been thinking about buying a new compact camera for a year or two. That should tell you two things. First, this is not something I need. Second, this will not be something I buy on impulse.

As with all consumer electronics, I’ll reap the benefits of spending less today for what were high-priced features a year ago.

Charities feeling the recession, too

This post comes from the NerdWallet.com team of personal finance bloggers, and experts in helping users to compare rewards credit cards.
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - - - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

In spite of the generosity of most Americans, donations are dwindling, and private foundations and public charities are being hit hard by the economic slide.

Good spending habits = freedom

Regular readers of Real World Finance know that one guiding principle is using good habits to get ahead. Some of the habits endorsed here are paying off the credit card every month, spending less than you earn, saving money from every paycheck, and being vigilant about prices.

That last item differs from the first ones because it’s not something we set on auto pilot and forget about. After all, prices fluctuate.

But if we look at the bigger picture, there are sources for those things we buy regularly (like food and household items) where we are likely to get the best deal. And that’s where habitual spending behavior comes in.

What you don't know about borrowing

There are a lot of people who don’t understand interest and interest payments. And when they learn, the first questions go something like this: “How can this be true? Is it legal??”

Yes it’s legal and it has a lot to do with the fact that lenders have the upper hand. As I’ve been saying, when you borrow money you give up power. You become subservient to the lender. Despite all the happy-talk you hear from lenders trying to get you in the door, the truth is once you sign on the dotted line, you belong to them.

Your guide to the best money books

by Tim Chen
founder and CEO of NerdWallet

Tim Chen is founder and CEO of NerdWallet.com, a website that helps consumers to compare credit card offers.  Tim also educates consumers about credit cards and debt management at the Forbes Moneybuilder Blog, The Huffington Post, and USNews.

Tackling a big financial decision

Making financial decisions (a.k.a. playing the WHAT-IF game) is never as simple as following a formula, no matter how long we’ve been doing it. The main thing is that we learn to examine our options based on questions about ourselves and our lifestyle.