In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why goals matter
• How to get in the right mindset to accomplish your goals
• How to confront limiting beliefs that are holding you back from success
• What the past can teach you about the future
• Practical steps to help you set and accomplish your goals

Research and resources from this episode:

• The top 20 goals Americans hope to achieve in 2020 (New York Post)
• Americans’ Top 10 Financial Goals — and Why Some of Them Are Shocking (The Motley Fool)
• Financial Order of Operations Course (The Money Guy Show)

Enjoy the Show?

• Sign up for the Financial Order of Operation (FOO) Online Course!
• Get FREE downloads full of financial advice from our Resource Page!
• Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
• Send us your questions or share your story.

If you interact with any other human beings, you are involved in negotiations! At its heart, the art of negotiation is an interpersonal skill that can not only help you save money, but can make you a better friend, co-worker, partner, or boss. Too often we think one person wins and the other loses when negotiating. That is not the case! It is all about setting aside your own desires long enough to learn about another person. This episode will show you our top five tips to transform your personal and professional interactions for the better.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to assess the numbers involved in a negotiation
• Practical tips on how to listen and understand
• When it’s ok to compromise, and when to press in
• Key secrets to being a likable person
• Questions to ask yourself when making a big decision

Research and resources in this episode:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Enjoy the Show?

• Sign up for the Financial Order of Operation (FOO) Online Course!
• Get FREE downloads full of financial advice from our Resource Page!
• Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
• Send us your questions or share your story.

If you have any questions (or just want to say hi!), join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Owning a new car sounds great… but is it actually keeping you poor? Buying a car can be a treacherous process, threatening to knock your financial life off course. This episode will walk you through everything you need to know! You’ll be able to walk off the lot knowing you made an informed decision and got a good deal!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The hard truth about buying a car
• Car purchase ground rules that keep your financial life from ruin
• The best and worst car brands for your financial life
• How to decide on a new vs. used car
• The 3 factors that create a great deal
• How to make the buying process easier

Research and resources from this episode:

• Vehicle Depreciation Rates (Direct Express Auto Transport)
• Car Depreciation: How Much Value Will a New Car Lose? (Carfax)
• What Car Brands Depreciate The Fastest? (The Mix)
• Top 10 Cars That Hold Their Value Best (iSeeCars)
• Depreciation Rankings – Popular Brands and Vehicles with the Best Resale Value after 5 Years (Car Edge)
• Dealer Cost Calculator – Find out what the dealer really paid. (Car Buying Strategies)
• When Is the Best Time to Buy a Car? (Edmunds)

Enjoy the Show?

• Sign up for the Financial Order of Operation (FOO) Online Course!
• Get FREE downloads full of financial advice from our Resource Page!
• Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
• Send us your questions or share your story.

If you have any questions (or just want to say hi!), join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Chances are, you’ll be purchasing a car multiple times throughout your life. While cars are necessities for a lot of us, they can easily become one of your biggest financial mistakes. In this episode, we’ll teach you our best tips and tricks for buying a car – the smart way!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The biggest car mistakes the average American makes
• How to calculate how much car you can afford
• How to research the best deals and negotiate like a pro
• Why financing might (surprisingly) be your best payment option

Research and resources from this show:

• How to Negotiate with Car Dealers (Money Guy Blog)
• A $45,000 Loan for a $27,000 Ride: More Borrowers Are Going Underwater on Car Loans (WSJ)
• The Average New Car Price Is Unbelievably High (Financial Samurai)
• What Is the Average Income in the U.S. in 2019? (TheStreet)
• Compare the Costs: Buying a New Car vs. Used (Nerd Wallet)
• More Americans go without health insurance for the first time in a decade (USA Today)
• State of Automotive Finance Market (Experian)

Enjoy the Show?

• Get FREE downloads full of financial advice from our Resource Page!
• Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
• Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.
• Send us your questions or share your story.

If you have any questions (or just want to say hi!), join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Everyday expenses eat into the budget, but there is a way to pay less if you know what to look for.

What if we told you there was a way to save one thousand dollars right now? Would you want to? Of course! No one wants to pay more than they have to, but knowing how to save on certain costs may not always be obvious.

There is one all-encompassing money skill that can be applied to most, if not all, financial scenarios. And if you do this one thing well, you can save a lot of money in the process of purchasing goods and services.

Here is why negotiating is the one thing you can do to save more and spend less every year.

Negotiation: Why it Works in Personal Finance

When it comes to your personal finances, you are probably already negotiating more than you realize. At the heart of negotiation is compromise and cooperation. So if you and your significant other have ever discussed finances, you probably wound up negotiating where to spend next, what to save for, or where to cut back. If you and your household have a goal to save a certain amount or percentage of money this year, one of the first things you will do is look at where you are spending your money and prioritize future spending.

Related content: Do This with Your Money and Live Like No One Else

Setting financial goals and negotiating priorities with your money are healthy signs that you are intentionally looking to save where and when you can. Personal finance is an ongoing negotiation with yourself, your loved ones, and the companies vying for your business.

Things You Can Negotiate

There was a time when people regularly negotiated the sales price for items and services they were prepared to buy. You might not walk into your local Target and negotiate the price of a lamp (though you probably could!), but there are definitely negotiating opportunities out there for regular expenditures.

• Utilities and Fees

Cable bills are notoriously negotiable, especially some of the random fees you’ll see on your bill. DIRECTV charges a $5/month “regional sports fee,” but if you don’t needs sports channels and change packages, you can watch that fee fall off your bill and save yourself a minimum of $60/year from just one fee.

• Insurance Premiums

Shop around annually or bi-annually for new rates. If you like your existing carrier, you can negotiate your rate down to what another company quoted you or switch providers if your insurance company isn’t willing to offer you the best price for your coverage.

• Appliances (and other big-ticket items)

Refrigerators, air conditioning units, washing machines… most stores will honor a lower price if you find the item somewhere else for less. With a little research beforehand and a willingness to negotiate with a store associate, you can nab a better deal on the item you want.

• Household and Renovation Services

Most services you buy for your house are negotiable when dealing with contractors. From house cleaning services to painters and installers, make sure you understand all of what you are getting for the price you’ve been quoted. There may be an opportunity to negotiate for more service or negotiate the price down. It can be worth the conversation to ensure you get the highest value for your dollar.

• Banking, Credit Card, Money Management Fees

Some fees are present at the start of your relationship, and other fees may creep up after you’re already engaged. Be sure to always look at your statements in case you notice something new or different than what you understood. From an annual credit card fee, checking account minimums and the fees imposed if you go below it, to the fees financial institutions charge – know what they are so you can negotiate them down or away when possible.

What Gives You Even More Negotiating Power

Having leverage is a powerful tool in a negotiation. Withholding your business until you can reach a price you can both agree on is one form of leverage. Another powerful tool is cash. Cash is the sort of leverage that can help you get what you want at the price you want, because it’s immediate. For instance, after the housing bubble burst in 2008 and real estate prices plummeted, all-cash buyers cleaned up and oftentimes had their lower offers accepted over higher, financed offers just because they came with cash.

Cash works in smaller transactions as well. If you’ve done your research and have cash in-hand, you are more likely to negotiate a better price for big-ticket items like furniture, automobiles, and appliances – especially if you are prepared to take your merchandise with you. We know of a couple who negotiated fifty percent off a table they purchased from a large furniture store just by presenting cash to take the one from the showroom floor. This is especially true for car purchases. You haggle far less with a salesman if you have cash, stick to what you are willing to pay, and don’t need to spend time with financing.

Keep in mind: Even though cash offers leverage when it comes to negotiating, it’s good to double check if the amount you can save by paying cash is higher than the potential cashback rewards you can earn by using your credit card without carrying a balance.

Successfully negotiating your personal finances is one of the smartest things you can do to save more every year. It’s a conversation between an informed consumer and provider of a service or good. And the more knowledge you have, the more effective you’ll be at negotiating.

Beyond how we feel driving them, they’re expensive to buy, own, and operate.

Fortunately, smart buyers can get an edge by doing their homework, collecting the right data, and having a negotiating strategy. Being smart definitely pays off!

4 Steps to Winning the New Car Game

1. Know what car you want first. Do your research and determine which car you want including which options are important to you. Help on model research can be obtained from Consumer Reports and Edmunds. Once you settle on a car, take a test drive, but promise yourself that once you test drive the vehicle you won’t go inside and begin negotiations (that’s what the dealer is counting on).
2. Go to the manufacturer’s website (Honda, Ford, Toyota, etc.) and locate the exact cars you want. Find at least two cars but hopefully three to five. HINT: On most car websites they want you to input your zipcode so they can refer you to the closest dealer. This zipcode also limits what car inventory shows up on the internet. Find all the dealers within 30-60 miles of your house and use Yahoo or Google to determine their zipcodes. By using each dealer’s zipcode, you can see what they have on their lot. Most manufacturers have their inventory listed including Honda, Toyota, and General Motors.
3. Figure out what to pay. I always start with CarsDirect to see what the MSRP and invoice prices are, including the options that I consider must-haves. The site will also provide you with a tentative price that a dealer is willing to sell at through the internet. Next, I always go to Edmunds and click the “Forums” button on the top of the page. From the “Forums” main page you can browse discussion by vehicle by first choosing the manufacturer, then the model, and finally choosing the discussion topic titled “Prices and Buying Experience”. From here there will be hundreds of postings from all over listing your model of car and what others have paid (this is valuable information because you are seeing what others in your area are paying for the cars).
4. Now that you are loaded up with the research and pricing information, call the dealership directly and ask to speak with the sales manager. Let whomever answers the phone know that they have the car you want on their lot and that you are ready to buy. Also tell them that you need rock bottom price because you have located 2-3 other cars of the exact same model at other dealerships and you are showing up with a check to whichever dealership has the best price.

Used Car Research Tools:

• Autotrader: Find used cars in your area that are for sale by individuals and dealers
• Kelley Blue Book: Evaluate what your current car is worth and what you should pay for the car you’re researching
• Edmunds: Provides true market value (what others are actually paying for new and used cars in your area) as well as other general research information

General Advice:

• Avoid negotiating with the dealership on site. You will have much more leverage on the phone than you will on their sales floor.
• Never discuss whether or not you want to trade in your existing car until after you have reached a deal on the new car. Likewise, separate your possible need to finance a loan from the car’s actual purchase. They’re different transactions and shouldn’t be rolled together unless the numbers work for you.
• Research, research, and more research! You need to know more about the car than the guy selling it.