Purchasing Life....

          Now as life progresses and you have the opportunities to be involve in big ticket items, following certain common sense logic and post "what did I just do" and "where do we go from here"  after thoughts will get you thru the basic concerns and worries that come with such acquisitions.  
           As I have had those opportunities to purchase either new cars, every 12 years or so and a once in a lifetime chance to acquire a home, I do have somewhat of a perspective of how to process the information and details of such contracts.  First, it is best to go out either in public or on the internet, or God Forbid, the newspaper and do research as far as what the cost is, what the problems are, and what attributes you desire in the purchase at hand.  Second, since most of us don't have the cash laying around to purchase either of these items outright, so consideration needs to be taken as to what added cost are, including such items as insurance, interest on the loan, and maintenance costs.
            As for the concepts involved with buying a car, there are two things to consider here, either it will be new, or it will be used.  Either way, you must think about the different costs between the new car and the used one as to what the insurance will run you.  The second is any warranty on the car, and any additional extended warranties that you can purchase.  At the time of purchase, when you buy a new car, you should consider, even though it seems like a lot of money to purchase these additional warranties, you must look at it is broken down on a monthly cost over the time of the loan, and the difference between what it would cost if you didn't have these coverages over the length of time you keep the vehicle in question.  Next, the best way to purchase a vehicle on credit is to put as much as possible down, so over the length of the loan, the monthly payments are as small as they can possible be.  
             If you are lucky enough these days to purchase a home, not necessarily for an investment, but to live in most of your life, then there are also some compelling concepts to remember here.  Obviously you want the type of house, new or used that has the requirements that you desire.  This could be the architectural style, the square footage, the size of the yard, and how much maintenance will be required to take care of the yard, and the condition of the house itself.  How much care will it take to bring it up to a comfortable standard of living, or is it in good enough shape to have a few years before there are major issues to contend to.  What type of neighbors are involved, if any, and if it is necessary to be involved with them, make sure you introduce yourself before you purchase, so you know the parameters of joint custody on purchases to maintain the property down the line.  With a loan for a home, the best thing that we thought was to get an impound account with the bank or credit union that holds the deed.  This way, you will know the cost of the property tax and the insurance, so you can realize in your budget the total monthly cost, and also someone else is taking care of the insurance and property taxes for you, and that impound account, though in small increments, collects interest, so it is another savings account that comes to fruition when you actually pay off the loan down the line.  We have been lucky because in both the original purchase and the refinance we were able to borrow the entire cost of the loan, including points.  It is not in your best interest not to put some money down on the loan, so the monthly payments are lower.  Secondly, if the monthly loan amount for the impound account is low enough, please, in your best interest, pay something each month toward the principle, so as to cut the length of the loan down over the course of the loan.  If hard times prevail at  any time during the loan, you can always back off of the extra payment to the principle, until you get back on your feet again.