Today we will continue our Personal Budget Research and start shopping for a car. Look over a site such as AutoTrader.com (see link below) to find the car of your dreams -- but try to stay reasonable and keep the price of the car below $35,001.
Open your Microsoft Word document from yesterday and make a section called "My Car". Include the following information on your page:- What is the year, make and model of your car? (i.e. 1994 Chevy Silverado, 1989 Toyota Celica, etc.)
- How much does the car cost?
- Copy & Paste a picture of your car.
- Use the Car Loan Payment Calculator to figure your monthly payment. Use 8% as the rate and 3 years (36 months) as the term. Calculate 5% as a down payment.
- Monthly Payment: $ ________
- Yearly Cost: $ ________ (Monthly Payment x 12)
- What income would you need to afford this car? (Yearly Cost divided by 12%)
- Look up the Kelley Blue Book value of your car to see if you're getting a good deal. (http://www.kbb.com/)
- Approximately what gas mileage (mpg = miles per gallon) does your car get?
Again, save your document in a safe location -- perhaps emailing a copy to yourself as a backup. You will be adding to this document on Monday when we begin looking at possible careers to support your lifestyle.
